PEOPLE

Dwight D. Eisenhower

. Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during WWII, then Republican president from 1953 to 1961

. As young man, he was member of Transcontinental Motor Convoy, which investigated conditions of America's roads

. Experiences with TMC inspired him to advocate construction of highways

. Signed Interstate Highway Act as national defense measure in 1956

Betty Friedan

. Feminist author best known for her book The Feminine Mystique, 1963

. Founded the National Organization of Women, 1966

. Wrote of "The Problem that Has No Name": restlessness of middle-class American housewives during the 1950s

Robert Moses

. City planner who played role in building of highways, major public roads, and parks in New York

. Influenced city planning in major cities all over the country

. Promoted auto-centered patterns of development

Franklin Roosevelt

. Democratic president from 1933 to 1945

. Best known for authoring New Deal programs, which helped Americans regain some confidence during the Great Depression

. Oversaw creation of the Homeowners Loan Corporation to help Americans purchase homes and to protect them from foreclosure

. Also created the Federal Housing Administration, which helped Americans invest safely in real estate

. Housing policies instituted by Roosevelt structured patterns of postwar suburban development

EVENTS

1929 Stock Market Crash

. Marked the beginning the Great Depression

. Set into motion a major economic recession, severe unemployment, and a sharp rise in homelessness

1932 Presidential Election

. Held at height of Great Depression

. Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover

. Marked the beginning of sweeping federal reforms under FDR's New Deal, including several measures to deal with the housing crisis

1933 Homeowners Loan Corp. Created

. Government agency organized under New Deal

. Intended to help homebuyers and protect them from mortgage foreclosure

. Refinanced restrictive home loans and set up long-term mortgage payment plans with manageable monthly fees

. Established new opportunities for most Americans, but limited homeownership options for ethnic and racial minorities

1939 New York World's Fair

. Featured "Futurama" exhibit, which depicted the future as a world shaped by cars

. "Futurama" exhibit featured superhighways, skyscrapers, and massive parking lots

. Displayed integration of car into everyday life as mark of progress

1941 U.S. Enters World War II

. Following Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. declared war against Axis powers and joined the Allies in the war

. Employment created by war mobilization ended the Great Depression

. Sparked an economic boom

1946 Invention of Tupperware

. New plastic kitchenware, used for food prep and storage

. The product's "burp seal" was the company's claim to fame

. Used direct marketing strategy to sell product to women inside their suburban homes rather than in department stores

. Offered post-WWII housewives who had been pushed out of the workforce the opportunity to gain some financial independence by selling Tupperware

1954 Opening of First McDonald's

. First hamburger stand in chain opened in Illinois, selling burgers for 15 cents each

. By mid-1960s, it had become a franchise with 700 restaurants

. Most early restaurants built along highways

. Marked beginning of trend in American business development toward auto-serving chain franchises

1959 Kitchen Debate

. Debate between Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon

. Held in full-scale model of an American kitchen at the American National Exposition in Moscow

. The two leaders discussed technology, militarism, and political power

. Nixon's strong showing helped earn him Republican nomination for president the following year

GROUPS

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

. Government agency established before World War II

. Practiced racial and ethnic discrimination by devaluing homes and neighborhoods inhabited by ethnic and racial minorities

. Aided white homebuyers but made it difficult, sometimes impossible, for many minorities to own property

Homeowners Loan Corporation (HOLC)

. Government agency created in 1933 during the New Deal

. Intended to help prospective homebuyers and protect them from mortgage foreclosure

. Refinanced restrictive home loans and set up long-term mortgage payment plans with manageable monthly fees

. Like FHA, practiced racial and ethnic discrimination

Levitt & Sons

. Homebuilding business established in 1940s by Abraham Levitt and two sons

. Pioneered suburban tract development at Levittown, N.Y., transforming 4,000 acres of farmland outside New York City into thousands of homes

. Revolutionized the business of home production, helping to grow nation's housing supply and usher in era of suburb

CONCEPTS

"Hoovervilles"

. Nickname for makeshift shantytowns erected by those rendered homeless by the Great Depression

. Name derived from President Herbert Hoover, who led the nation during the first years of the Depression and failed to bring aid to millions left homeless and jobless

. Characterized by cardboard, tin, and tar-paper structures

"Nuclear Family"

. Unit consisting of a father, mother, and their biological children

. In the 1950s, seen as the center of the modern suburban paradise

PLACES

Levittown, New York

. Sprawling suburban development built by Levitt & Sons on Long Island shortly after WWII

. Pioneered auto-centric model of suburban development that came to dominate postwar period