Why was America so prosperous in the 1950s?

Its industry had been expanded rather than damaged by the war, wages and wartime savings were high, and there was huge demand for its goods at home and abroad.

What is meant by the American Dream?

The belief that anyone in America, whatever their background, could rise by hard work to a home of their own, a car and a comfortable family life.

What was McCarthyism?

The hunt for supposed communists in public life led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, in which an accusation alone was enough to destroy a career.

AQA GCSE History 8145

America, 1840–1895: Expansion and ConsolidationPeriod study

Topic overview The geography of North America Why the early settlers went west and the challenges they faced Dealing with a different culture Increasing conflict on the Plains The background to the American Civil War Coming to terms with the Mormons The aftermath of the American Civil War The continued settlement of the west The resolution of ‘the Indian problem’ after 1865

America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and InequalityPeriod study

Topic overview The ‘Boom’Social and cultural developments A divided society: prohibition, organised crime and racial tension American society during the Depression The effectiveness of the New Deal on different groups in society The impact of the Second World War Post-war American society and economy Racial tension and developments in the Civil Rights campaigns in the 1950s and 1960s America and the ‘Great Society'

Conflict and Tension Between East and West, 1945–1972Wider world depth

Topic overview The end of the Second World War The Iron Curtain and the evolution of East-West rivalry The significance of events in Asia for superpower relations Military rivalries: the arms race and the space race The ‘Thaw’The building of the Berlin Wall Tensions over Cuba Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring Easing of tension

Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975Wider world depth

Topic overview The causes of the Korean War The development of the Korean War The end of the Korean War The end of French colonial rule US involvement in Vietnam under Eisenhower and Kennedy Johnson’s War Nixon’s War Opposition to the Vietnam War The end of the war

Conflict and Tension in the Gulf and Afghanistan, 1990–2009Wider world depth

Topic overview Regional instability The Gulf War, 1990 Al-Qaeda and the 11 September attacks Afghanistan and the Taliban regime Bush’s war against terror Saddam Hussein's regime The invasion of Iraq 2003 The impact of war on the Iraqi people and across the world

Conflict and Tension: The First World War, 1894–1918Wider world depth

Topic overview The Alliance System Anglo-German rivalry Outbreak of war The Schlieffen Plan The Western Front The wider war: other fronts, Gallipoli and the war at sea Changes in the Allied Forces Military developments in 1918 and their contribution to Germany’s defeat Germany surrenders

Conflict and Tension: The Inter-War Years, 1918–1939Wider world depth

Topic overview The armistice The Versailles Settlement Impact of the treaty and wider settlement The League of Nations Diplomacy outside the League The collapse of the League The development of tension Escalation of tension The outbreak of war

Elizabethan England, c1568–1603British depth

Topic overview Elizabeth I and her court The difficulties of a female ruler A ‘Golden Age’Poverty and the treatment of the poor English sailors: Hawkins, Drake, Raleigh and circumnavigation Religious matters: Catholic plots and the threat to the settlement Mary Queen of Scots Conflict with Spain The historic environment of Elizabethan England Historic site: the Spanish Armada (2027)Historic site: Kenilworth Castle (2028)

Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and DictatorshipPeriod study

Topic overview Kaiser Wilhelm and the difficulties of ruling Germany Impact of the First World War Weimar democracy The impact of the Depression The failure of Weimar democracy The establishment of Hitler’s dictatorship Nazi economic changes and the impact of war Nazi social policy: women, youth, education, churches and racial persecution Nazi control: propaganda, the police state, opposition and resistance

Health and the People in Britain, c1000 to the Present DayThematic study

Topic overview The factors that shape this study Medieval medicine Medical progress Public health in the Middle Ages The impact of the Renaissance on Britain Dealing with disease Prevention of disease The development of Germ Theory and its impact on the treatment of disease in Britain A revolution in surgery Improvements in public health Modern treatment of disease The impact of war and technology on surgery Modern public health

Medieval England: The Reign of Edward I, 1272–1307British depth

Topic overview Henry III’s legacy Development of government, rights and justice Trade, towns and villages Education and learning The development of the legal system Medieval warfare, tactics and technology The invasion and colonisation of Wales Relations with Scotland The historic environment of Medieval England Historic site: the Battle of Stirling Bridge (2027)Historic site: Acton Burnell Castle (2028)

Migration, Empires and the People in Britain, c790 to the Present DayThematic study

Topic overview The factors that shape this study Invasion: the Vikings, the Danelaw and the North Sea Empire A Norman Kingdom and ‘Angevin’ Empire The birth of English identity Sugar and the Caribbean Colonisation in North America Migrants to and from Britain Expansion in India Expansion in Africa Migrants to, from and within Britain The end of Empire The legacy of Empire Britain’s relationship with Europe and its impact

Norman England, c1066–c1100British depth

Topic overview Causes of Norman Conquest Military aspects: Stamford Bridge, Hastings and Norman tactics Establishing and maintaining control Feudalism and government Economic and social changes and their consequences The Norman Church and Archbishop Lanfranc Norman monasticism, learning and education The historic environment of Norman England Historic site: the Battle of Hastings (2027)Historic site: the White Tower (2028)

Power and the People in Britain, c1170 to the Present DayThematic study

Topic overview The factors that shape this study Constraints on kingship The origins of parliament Medieval revolt and royal authority Popular uprisings against the Crown Divine Right and parliamentary authority Royal authority and the right to representation The extension of the franchise Protest and change Workers’ movements and the growth of trade unionism Women’s rights Workers’ rights Minority rights

Restoration England, 1660–1685British depth

Topic overview Crown and Parliament The Catholic question Charles II’s court Crisis: the Great Plague of 1665 and the Fire of London Restoration culture Land: the East India Company and overseas possessions Trade: mercantilism, the Navigation Acts and the slave trade War: sea power and conflict with the Dutch The historic environment of Restoration England Historic site: the Dutch Raid on the Medway (2027)Historic site: St Paul's Cathedral (2028)

Russia, 1894–1945: Tsardom and CommunismPeriod study

Topic overview Russia’s economy and society Nicholas II’s autocracy and the court The First World War and the collapse of Tsarist government The Provisional Government The impact of Lenin's dictatorship War Communism, the Kronstadt Rising and the New Economic Policy Stalin the dictator Stalin's modernisation of the USSR Impact of the Second World War

America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and Inequality

Post-war American society and economy

3 things to know
Paper 1 section A

Overview

The prosperity of the 1950s and the GI Bill, suburbs such as Levittown and the American Dream, the people left out of the affluent society, McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist, and the rise of television and Rock and Roll.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What did the GI Bill offer returning servicemen?

Key term

What were suburbs such as Levittown?

Key term

Who was left out of the affluent society of the 1950s?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Why was America so prosperous in the 1950s?
Model answer
Its industry had been expanded rather than damaged by the war, wages and wartime savings were high, and there was huge demand for its goods at home and abroad.
2
What did the GI Bill offer returning servicemen?
Model answer
Help with college fees, cheap loans to buy a house or start a business, and unemployment pay, which lifted many working-class families into the middle class.
3
What were suburbs such as Levittown?
Model answer
Estates of cheap, mass-produced family houses thrown up outside the cities and bought on easy mortgages by young white families with cars.
4
What is meant by the American Dream?
Model answer
The belief that anyone in America, whatever their background, could rise by hard work to a home of their own, a car and a comfortable family life.
5
Who was left out of the affluent society of the 1950s?
Model answer
Black, Hispanic and Native Americans, and families in declining rural areas and inner cities, who stayed in poor housing and low-paid work.
6
What was McCarthyism?
Model answer
The hunt for supposed communists in public life led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, in which an accusation alone was enough to destroy a career.

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America, 1840–1895: Expansion and Consolidation

America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and Inequality

Conflict and Tension Between East and West, 1945–1972

Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975

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11 1918.

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ABlight destroyed the potato crop the poor lived on.

BThe Great Famine drove around a million people to emigrate.

CBritain was the nearest and cheapest place to go.

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James Burbage opened The Theatre at Shoreditch in 1576.

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