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10: Postwar California- Prosperity and Discontent in the Golden State- 1946–1963

  • Page ID
    127016
    • Robert W. Cherny, Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, & Richard Griswold del Castillo
    • San Francisco State University, Saint Mary's College of California, & San Diego State University via Self Published
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    Main Topics

    • Unbridled Growth
    • Postwar Politics
    • Social and Cultural Dissent
    • Summary

    Catherine “Kay” Spaulding was born in Los Angeles in 1911. Bright, independent, and longing to advance California’s muckraking literary tradition, she majored in journalism at Stanford University. While attending a youth peace conference in 1934, she met and fell in love with Clark Kerr. After marrying him on Christmas Day of the same year, Kay channeled her formidable energy and talent into raising a family and advancing her husband’s career. Clark, with Kay’s support and advice, went on to draft California’s Master Plan for Higher Education, serve as U.C. Berkeley’s chancellor from 1952 until 1958, and fill the office of U.C. president from 1958 until 1967.

    Residing in a Berkeley home that overlooked the San Francisco bay, Kay was disturbed at the diminishing expanse of water. The bay, already one third smaller that it was 100 years earlier, was being filled at an alarming pace by developers and landfill operators. Just as troubling, most Bay Area residents were seemingly unaware that their vast, sparkling

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    jewel was disappearing. By 1960, the public had access to only four miles of shoreline.

    In 1961, one year before Rachel Carson published Silent Spring and nine years before the first Earth Day celebration, Kay and two other “university wives” founded Save the San Francisco Bay Association. Coming up against powerful corporate and political opponents, the three women successfully lobbied for the 1965 McAteer Petris Act, which placed a moratorium on filling the bay and created the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the first state agency in the nation devoted to coastal protection. The group also advocated for public access, helping to establish the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, and a network of shoreline parks and trails.

    Catherine Kerr’s story illustrates the spirit of optimism that prevailed during the postwar period. Coming out of the Depression and war, many Californians viewed government in positive terms, calling on their elected officials to balance private interests and the public good. Moreover, the state’s economy was booming, bolstered by Cold War military spending, the growth of new industries, an expanding population, and government investment in transportation, housing, education, and resource development. Established residents and newcomers, enjoying an unprecedented level of prosperity, were more willing than ever to support environmental protection, social welfare spending, and fair housing and employment legislation—measures designed to preserve and extend the California dream. By the early 1960s, however, California was still a long way from solving its most pressing problems. Environmental degradation outpaced conservation efforts. Housing and employment discrimination continued to reinforce existing social and economic inequalities, leading to growing frustration and anger within inner-city minority communities. Even middle-class suburbs harbored discontent. Many women and youth, anxious to escape the stifling conformity and isolation of these homogeneous enclaves, launched a quiet protest that soon erupted into more overt forms of rebellion.

    Questions to Consider

    • How did federal and state government policies contribute to postwar economic expansion and suburban growth?
    • How would you define liberalism? Which liberal policies or reforms had the most significant impact on Californians during the postwar period?
    • How did California’s Red Scare affect the state’s political, social, and cultural landscapes?
    • Did all Californians benefit from postwar economic expansion and the suburban boom? Why or why not?


    This page titled 10: Postwar California- Prosperity and Discontent in the Golden State- 1946–1963 is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Robert W. Cherny, Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, & Richard Griswold del Castillo (Self Published) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.