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Year 11
AQA

The American Dream in the 1940s and 1950s

I can assess the extent to which the American dream was experienced in the post-war period.

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New
New
Year 11
AQA

The American Dream in the 1940s and 1950s

I can assess the extent to which the American dream was experienced in the post-war period.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. American incomes rose during the post-war period.
  2. Americans began to buy more consumer goods after the end of WW2.
  3. Government policies were introduced in the 1940s to support economic growth.
  4. Many people were unable to live the American Dream.
  5. There were significant inequalities in 1940s and 1950s America.

Common misconception

Women experienced no economic improvements in the post-war period.

Female employment fell and women suffered from lower pay than men but average incomes for women did still rise.

Keywords

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

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

  • Tariff - a government tax on imports into a country is called a tariff

  • Inequality - inequality is a situation in which some groups in a society have more advantages than others

Before completing the last question, students might benefit from having different stakeholders identified (i.e. African Americans, women, average worker, veterans, poor white workers, etc) and then ask them to place them along a loss-gain spectrum to conceptualise different experiences.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word. A is a government tax on imports into a country.
Correct Answer: tariff, Tariff
Q2.
Who introduced the New Deal in the USA?
Warren G Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Correct answer: Franklin D Roosevelt
Q3.
How did the USA react to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?
Correct answer: remained neutral
fought alongside Britain and France
fought alongside Germany
Q4.
Which statement is most accurate?
Black nurses in the US Army could treat white soldiers but not black soldiers.
Correct answer: Black nurses in the US Army could treat black soldiers but not white soldiers.
Black nurses in the US Army could treat white soldiers and black soldiers.
Black nurses could not serve in the US Army.
Q5.
Which propaganda figure was used to encourage women in the USA to contribute to the war effort during WWII?
Haley the Housewife
Nancy the Nurse
Correct answer: Rosie the Riveter
Tracy the Teacher
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - WW1 ends
2 - 'Boom years' in the USA
3 - Great Depression
4 - WW2 begins
5 - America goes to war after attack on Pearl Harbor

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each keyword with its correct definition.
Correct Answer:GDP,the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year

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

Correct Answer:consumerism,where growing amounts of non-essential goods are sold and purchased

where growing amounts of non-essential goods are sold and purchased

Correct Answer:buy now, pay later,schemes where consumers buy products without full upfront payment

schemes where consumers buy products without full upfront payment

Q2.
How did average family incomes in the USA change between 1945 and 1954?
Correct answer: rose by 60%
rose by 30%
remained the same
fell by 30%
fell by 60%
Q3.
What was the name of the idea that all Americans could become successful through hard work?
Correct Answer: American Dream, the American Dream, American dream, the American dream, The American Dream
Q4.
What was the name of President Truman's plan to support those in poverty and tackle racial discrimination?
Dream Deal
Correct answer: Fair Deal
Great Deal
New Deal
Q5.
Which statement is most accurate about government aid in post-war America?
Correct answer: Veterans received more assistance than women and African Americans.
Women received more assistance than veterans and African Americans.
African Americans received more assistance than women and veterans
Q6.
In what way did female wages change between 1945 and 1951?
Correct answer: increased but remained lower than male wages
increased and became equal to male wages
did not change
decreased and fell even further behind male wages

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