History 479B
Devine
Fall 2012
Wells,
American Capitalism, 1945-2000, Introduction, Chapter 1
- How
did liberals and conservatives differ in their views of the source
of wealth? To what extent were their views incompatible?
- What
were the New Dealers’ basic assumptions about the US economy? How
did the experience World War II cast doubt on these assumptions?
- According
to Wells, “Traditionally economists had believed that the volume of
savings determined investment.” Why did Keynes disagree? Why
did he argue that the reverse was true – investment determines the volume
of savings?
- How
did liberals and conservatives differ in their views on investment in the
economy?
- After
World War II, what steps did national leaders take to avoid the
international economic instability that had occurred after World War I?
- How
did the system of labor relations change in the US after World War
II? What were the benefits and drawbacks for labor and for the
entire country?
- What
problems did the Marshall Plan propose to solve? What positive effects did
it produce? Did it have any negative effects?
- Why
does a nation’s devaluing its currency make its exports cheaper and its
imports more expensive?
- In
what ways did the interests of prosperous nations diverge from those of
developing nations? For example, why did prosperous nations prefer
an open, international economy and free trade while developing nations
wanted protection from imports and foreign investment?
- What
role did the federal government and certain key industries play in fueling
the economic boom of the 1950s?
- What
overall effect did military spending have on the economy during the 1950s?
- What
steps did American businesses and farmers take to improve
productivity? What were the social consequences – positive and
negative – that resulted from such efforts?
- Why
did President Truman’s attempts to extend the economic reform policies of
the New Deal garner little support after World War II? What economic
policies did the Truman Administration pursue more successfully?
- What
impact did the Korean War have on the U.S. economy?
- How
did Eisenhower’s economic policies differ from Truman’s? How did his
policies reflect the conservative view of the source of wealth and the
need for stability of prices?
Oakley,
“Good Times: The American Economy in the Fifties”
- What
developments in the economy during the 1950s caused people, including many
economists, to speak of the new “people’s capitalism” or a “new era of
capitalism”? What distinguished the
US
economy of the ‘50s from that of the ‘30s?
- What
were some of the causes of ‘50s prosperity?
- How
did the expansion of the advertising industry and the expansion of easy
access to credit during the ‘50s reflect the shift from a production
economy to a consumption economy?
- What
were some of the major transformations in the US economy during the 1950s?
- What
was the social impact of the growth of large conglomerates? How did the emerging dominance of these
giant corporations change people’s everyday lives?
- How
did the economic boom of the ‘50s affect organized labor? How did the government’s role in
mediating employer-employee disputes change after World War II?
- How
did the agricultural sector of the economy fare in the 1950s? In your view, was there more change or
continuity from the 1930s?
- If
you were looking to make money in the 1950s, what kinds of career paths
seemed the most promising? Why?
- With
regard to its effect on the economy and on everyday life, how was the
interstate highway system of the 1950s similar to the railroad system of
the 1880s? How was it different? In
what ways were rail and road transport similar? How did they differ?
- Why
might “poverty in the midst of plenty” be an apt phrase to describe the
social situation in the US
during the 1950s? Why was
persistent poverty not a widespread concern during the 1950s?
- To what extent should great disparities
of wealth be of concern when the majority of the population feels that
times are good?