Hello, and thank you for joining me.

I'm Mr. Marchant, and I'll be your history teacher for today's lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources, and my top aims are to ensure not only that you enjoy our learning but also that you can successfully meet today's lesson objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on society in the USA, where we are asking ourselves, how far did American society change after World War II? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to assess the extent to which the American Dream was experienced in the post-war period.

There are four keywords which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are GDP, consumerism, tariff, and inequality.

GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year.

Consumerism is a situation where growing amounts of non-essential goods are sold and purchased.

A tariff is a government tax on imports into a country, and inequality is a situation in which some groups in a society have more advantages than others.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts, and we'll begin by focusing on post-war prosperity.

The Second World War ended in 1945.

In the USA, many feared that the end of the war, and the end of demand for wartime goods, would lead to an economic crisis, like America had experienced during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

In reality, the post-war years in the 1940s and 1950s proved to be a time of economic prosperity in the USA.

Various indicators can be relied upon to show that there was prosperity in the US economy in the post-war period.

These indicators include production, employment, income, and spending.

So we'll think about each of these areas in turn.

So let's start by thinking about production in the USA after 1945.

Despite the end of wartime demand, production continued to rise in the USA after 1945.

US GDP rose consistently in the decade after the war.

Whereas GDP was worth $228 billion in 1945, this had risen to $299.

8 billion by 1950.

And by 1955, the value of US GDP had nearly doubled.

By 1952, 65% of all manufactured goods in the world were made in America, making it really clear just how much production was rising in the USA.

So, let's think about what we've just heard.

How did US GDP change between 1945 and 1955? Was it that it nearly doubled, that it remained virtually the same, or that it nearly halved? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

Between 1945 and 1955, the value of US GDP nearly doubled.

So now we can think about employment as an indicator of American prosperity.

The size of the US armed forces was cut after the war and wartime production ended.

As a result of this, there was a slight increase in US unemployment after 1945.

However, post-war unemployment still remained low and was significantly below levels seen during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

So whereas the US unemployment rate stood at 20.

1% in 1935 during the middle of the Great Depression, 10 years after the end of the Second World War, and 20 years after 1935, the US unemployment rate was just 4.

4%, a very low rate, even if it was slightly higher than the 1945 level.

So, let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that reads, "Cuts to the size of the army led to mass unemployment in the USA." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false.

But we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that unemployment remained exactly the same after 1945 as it had been before.

And the second says that unemployment rose slightly after 1945 but remained at a low level.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was B.

Although unemployment did rise slightly after the end of the Second World War, it still remained at a low level.

It was just 4.

4% by 1955.

So now we'll turn our attention to income.

Average incomes rose in the US after the end of the Second World War.

This was enjoyed by almost all groups in American society, including men, women, and non-white Americans.

Average family incomes in the USA were actually 60% higher in 1954 than they had been in 1945.

So as the average family was making $2,621 per year in 1945, this had grown to $4,173 on average by 1954.

Higher incomes gave people more spending power and this could have a big impact on their day-to-day lives.

So, thinking about what we just heard, which groups experienced rising wages in the post-war period? You should select all of the answers that apply from the following options.

Women, men, white workers, and non-white workers.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that every single one of the groups shown in our list experienced rising wages in the post-war period.

Growing incomes was something that women, men, white workers, and non-white workers were able to benefit from in the 1940s and 1950s.

And so finally, we can think about spending in the USA after World War II.

Spending in the USA increased.

Americans consumed more goods and services than any other country in the world.

Large shopping malls were built on the outskirts of towns, giving a really clear indication of rising consumer spending.

By the end of the 1950s, nine out of 10 American households owned a TV, eight out of 10 households owned a car and a telephone.

And all this indicates how with growing spending power, Americans' lives were able to become more comfortable.

So, let's reflect on what we just heard.

I want you to write the missing number for the following sentence.

Blank out of 10 US households owned a TV by the end of the 1950s.

So what's the missing number? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, so well done to everybody who said that the missing number was nine.

Nine out of 10 US households owned a TV by the end of the 1950s.

So now we're in a good position to put all of our knowledge into practise.

I want you to study the table.

It provides different indicators of US post-war prosperity.

So production, employment, income, and spending.

You should complete the table by providing an example which demonstrates US post-war prosperity for each indicator.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you to provide examples of prosperity that related to each of our indicators of prosperity in the table.

And you may have written for production, that US GDP nearly doubled between 1945 and 1955.

For employment, you may have written that unemployment rose slightly but remained low during the 1940s and '50s.

For income, you may have written that incomes rose for women, men, and non-white Americans.

And for spending, you may have put that 90%, or nine out of 10 households, owned a TV by the end of the 1950s.

So, really well done for all of your effort on that task.

And now we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today, where we're going to focus on the causes of post-war prosperity.

The prosperity experienced in the USA during the post-war period had a number of different causes.

These factors responsible for US prosperity included consumerism, government policies, and also foreign demand.

So we'll think about each of these different causes in turn.

After the end of World War II, American factories continued to use the efficient methods they had developed for wartime mass production.

As a result, the cost of luxury consumer goods, such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and televisions, fell to prices which made them affordable to many ordinary Americans.

Furthermore, "buy now, pay later" schemes allowed most consumer goods to be purchased without paying the full price up front, making it even easier for Americans to acquire these products.

Demand for consumer goods was also high in the post-war years because these products had been so rare during the war.

Once the production of TVs, radios, cars, and other products resumed as normal in 1945, Americans jumped at the opportunity to purchase them.

Consumerism was also encouraged by adverts on radio, magazines, newspapers, and TV, which pushed people to buy new products.

For example, Motorola published adverts which told Americans that if they purchased one of their TVs, they would know you own the best.

So, let's reflect on what we've just heard.

I want you to identify two reasons why consumerism increased after the end of World War II.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done to everybody who said any of the following reasons, that average incomes rose, that more consumer goods were produced, that "buy now, pay later" schemes were introduced, and because of advertising.

The US government also helped to support prosperity in the USA.

In 1944, the GI Bill was passed into law to help veterans who had fought in World War II.

Between 1944 and 1949, $4 billion of government assistance was provided for 9 million American veterans.

The help provided to veterans was very varied.

Some money was used to provide cheap home loans, which would allow veterans to purchase homes, and many soldiers were even funded to attend college or trade schools, allowing them to develop skills and find new jobs after they had left the army.

President Truman also introduced his Fair Deal after 1945, a set of policies aimed at tackling poverty and supporting African Americans against discrimination.

In 1949, the minimum hourly wage in the USA was increased from 40 cents to 75 cents, which was particularly beneficial for low-income workers.

However, other parts of Truman's Fair Deal, such as his attempts to increase access to healthcare and improve the rights of African Americans, were blocked by Republicans and southern Democrats in the US Congress.

Okay, so, let's check our understanding of what we've just heard.

Which group received extra government funding from 1944 to 1949 to return to education? Was it African Americans, Native Americans, veterans, or women? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Veterans received extra funding as part of the GI Bill from 1944 to 1949 to help them return to education.

They also received support for many other things such as buying homes.

And let's try another question.

I want you to change one word to correct the following sentence.

"Most of President Truman's Fair Deal policies received significant support from politicians in Congress." So, consider which one of those words seems like it's incorrect, and what should it be changed to? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who changed the word "support" to "opposition." Most of President Truman's Fair Deal policies received significant opposition from politicians in Congress.

Foreign demand also helped the US economy to grow after 1945.

During World War II, the US government encouraged many of its allies, such as Britain and France, to reduce tariffs they had placed on American-made goods in the 1930s.

This made it easier for American companies to export their products.

During the 1950s, as European countries recovered from the devastation of World War II, partly thanks to aid provided by the USA, their populations were able to afford even more American goods, leading to further increases in American exports.

In fact, whereas US exports had been worth just over $3 billion in 1935, this had grown to over $16 billion by 1945 and to over $27 billion by 1960.

So, let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

What happened to American exports after European tariffs were reduced? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that American exports increased after European tariffs were reduced, as it became easier for American companies to sell their products abroad.

So, we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about the causes of American post-war prosperity into practise.

There are two parts to Task B that I want you to complete.

Firstly, I want you to give one way that government policies helped Americans in the post-war period.

And then secondly, I want you to give one way that government policies failed to help Americans in the post-war period.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So, for the first part of Task B, I asked you to give one way that government policies helped Americans in the post-war period.

And your answer may have included: "The 1944 GI Bill provided government support for veterans returning to the USA after World War II.

For instance, veterans were funded to go to college or trade schools, allowing them to develop new skills.

This helped veterans find employment after leaving the army and provided US companies with more skilled workers." So really well done if your own response to question one looks something like that model.

And then for the second part of Task B, I asked you to give one way that government policies failed to help Americans in the post-war period.

And your answer may have included: "President Truman's Fair Deal aimed to help Americans living in poverty and support African Americans facing racial discrimination.

However, Fair Deal policies, such as providing greater access to affordable healthcare, were blocked by Truman's opponents in Congress.

As a result, some groups of Americans continued to face significant issues during the post-war period." So really well done again if your own answer looks something like that model.

And now we're ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today, where we are going to focus on the American Dream.

It has been suggested by some historians that the post-war period was a time when many people were living the American Dream.

The American Dream is the idea that anyone in the USA can succeed and establish a comfortable life through hard work.

The claim that many people were able to live the American Dream in the post-war period has been debated by historians.

So, let's reflect on what we just heard.

What was the American Dream? Was it the idea that anyone in the US can succeed through hard work? Was it the name for President Truman's economic policies? Or was it a popular TV brand sold in the 1940s and 1950s? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

The American Dream was the idea that anyone in the US could succeed through hard work.

So, I want you to study the information in the table on the screen.

It shows average US family incomes between 1945 and 1954.

So does the information in the table suggest that many people were living the American Dream after the end of World War II? And how can you tell? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the table we saw suggests that many Americans were able to live the American Dream.

This is because it tells us that average incomes rose consistently between 1945 and 1954, suggesting that many people were benefiting from rising prosperity.

Significant inequalities between Americans existed in the years after 1945, as they had before World War II.

So, we've now got a new table on the screen that shows us information about US poverty in 1959.

Based on the information in the table, what can you infer about inequality in post-war America? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your effort responding to that quick question.

So, based on our table, you may have inferred that there was wealth inequality in post-war America because 39.

5 million Americans were living in poverty.

So clearly not everyone was doing well.

You may also have inferred that there was racial inequality in post-war America.

Black Americans were three times more likely to live in poverty than white Americans.

It's because we can see that 18% of white Americans were living in poverty, whereas 56%, more than half of the entire African American population was living in poverty.

So, let's think about what we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that says, "Poverty only affected African Americans." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false.

But we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that some African Americans lived in poverty but white Americans were worse affected.

And the second says that many white Americans lived in poverty, though African Americans were more likely to.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was B.

Many white Americans did live in poverty in the USA after 1945, but African Americans were three times more likely to.

As well as inequalities in wealth and between different racial groups, gender inequality also remained a problem in post-war American society.

During World War II, millions of women had entered the American workforce, even in traditionally male industries such as ship building.

However, when the conflict was finished, many women did not remain in these new roles.

In part, this was because returning male veterans were often given preference to return to their old jobs.

Some women returned to traditionally female jobs, such as teaching and nursing, whilst many others left paid employment altogether to become housewives.

Those women who did remain in paid employment after 1945 mostly benefited from rising wages in the post-war period.

For instance, whereas women on average earned $980 a year in 1945, this rose to $1,189 per year by 1948 and $1,361 per year by 1951.

However, whilst the average income of a female worker was higher by 1951 than it had been in 1945, women were earning less than half the wages of the average male worker in America at the same time and less than the average male worker had been earning back in 1945.

So to be really clear about that, whilst women were making more in 1951 than they had in 1945 by nearly $400 per year, the $1,361 that most women were earning in 1951 was much less than men at the same time, who were making $3,083 per year.

Additionally, it was often the case that women struggled to receive promotions at work regardless of the experience or the qualifications that they possessed.

So, let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

Whose view is most accurate? Jun says that on average, women experienced no improvements in the 1940s and 1950s.

Izzy says that on average, women became richer in the 1940s and 1950s.

And Lucas says that on average, women secured better work in the 1940s and 1950s.

So whose view is most accurate? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that Izzy's view was the most accurate.

On average, women became richer in the 1940s and 1950s.

Their incomes did rise, although they didn't rise to the same levels as men's.

So, we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge from today's lesson into practise.

We have a statement on the screen that reads, "People living in the US were able to live the American Dream in the post-war years." And I wanna know how far do you agree with that statement? You need to explain your answer, and you should consider the experiences of different groups of Americans when coming to your judgement.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So, we had the statement, "People living in the US were able to live the American Dream in the post-war years." And I asked how far you agreed with that statement.

Your answer may have included: "Many people living in the USA during the post-war period were able to live the American Dream, as they experienced rising prosperity.

For instance, the success of the US economy meant that the average family benefited from incomes nearly twice as large by 1955 as they had been in 1945.

This was significant because it meant that people's purchasing power increased and allowed many Americans to live in greater comfort.

The rising ownership of consumer goods demonstrates this, as nine out of 10 American households owned a TV by the end of the 1950s.

Nevertheless, it is important to recognise that prosperity was experienced unevenly in the USA during the post-war period.

Wealth, racial, and gender inequality all made it harder for some groups to experience the American Dream than others.

For instance, 39.

5 million people lived in poverty, including more than half of the African American population.

Meanwhile, on average, female workers earned less than half as much as men, even by 1951.

These inequalities meant that whilst many Americans grew richer and were able to live the American Dream, a significant minority did not." So, really well done if your own answer looks something like that model, especially if it was able to consider the experiences of different groups of Americans after the Second World War.

And that means we'd now reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning.

We've seen that the average American, including women and non-whites, enjoyed rising incomes during the 1940s and 1950s.

Consumerism was widespread after World War II, helped by advertising, "buy now, pay later" schemes, and rising incomes.

Government policies such as tariffs, help for veterans, and Truman's Fair Deal helped to increase the prosperity of some Americans.

And millions of Americans worked but were still unable to live the American Dream, and wealth, racial, and gender inequalities continued in post-war America.

So, really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources, and I look forward to seeing you again in the future as we think further about US society and continue to ask ourselves, how far did American society change after World War II?.