1950s Culture
Baby Boom
Baby Boom
Objectives
Terms
 What caused the Baby
 GI Bill
Boom?
 Baby Boom
GI Bill. Created June 24, 1944
 GI BILL
 Created to help ease soldier back into
every day life.
 Details of Bill
 Gave job priority to veterans
 52 weeks of unemployment
 monthly allowance
 low interest loans.
 Effect
 Four million veterans
bought homes with low
interest government loans.
 A lot of veterans went to
college with the money
Baby Boom
 “It seems to me that every other young
housewife I see is pregnant.”
 Baby Boom- Largest Generation in the US
History
 1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds
Baby BOOM!
 Why?
More men in society due to end of
WWII.

Married at a younger age then
their parents ( 1 in 3 women
married by age 19)
2. GI bill Helped men to start a
family.
1.
Medical science improved
increasing the survival rate
of babies.
2. High flying economy
encouraged parents to have
babies sooner.
1.
Baby Boom
Objectives
Terms
 What caused the Baby
 GI Bill
Boom?
 Men coming home
from WWII
 Increase in Marriages
 GI Bill
 Medical Advancements
 Strong Economy
 Bill that gave WWII
veterans financial
assistance after the war.
 Baby Boom
 Largest generation in US
History
Suburbia
Suburbia
Objectives
Terms
 What major population
 Levittown
trends took place in
regards to Suburban and
Rural living?
 What is the make up of a typical House?
Suburban Living
 Levittown
 “The American
Dream”
 1949  William
Levitt produced 150
houses per week.
 1 story high
 12’x19’ living room
 2 bedrooms
 tiled bathroom
 garage
 small backyard
$7,990 or $60/month with no down
payment.
 front lawn
Suburb Living
Suburbia Clip
- Movement
to Suburbs
SHIFTS IN POPULATION
- Movement
DISTRIBUTION,
Away from
1940-1970
Rural Areas
Suburbs
Rural Areas/Small Towns
1940
19.5%
48.9%
1950
23.8%
43.9%
1960
30.7%
36.7%
U. S. Bureau of the Census.
By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in
the suburbs.
Suburbia
Objectives
Terms
 What major population
 Levittown
trends to place in regards
to Suburban and Rural
living?
 Americans moved away
from rural areas and
into suburban areas.
 Name given for
standard suburban
housing built in the
1950s
Television Culture and Consumerism
Consumerism
Objectives
Terms
 What trends took place in the
television industry during the
1950s?
 What lead to the increase in
consumerism during the 1950s?
 What were the tobacco usage
trends of the 1950s?
 What were the trends regarding
car usage in the 1950s?
 Interstate Highway Act
The Television Revolution
 1946 
7,000 TV sets in the
U. S.
1950  50,000,000 TV sets
in the U. S.
 Black and White
Television – The Western
Davy Crockett
King of the Wild Frontier
Sheriff Matt
Dillon, Gunsmoke
The Lone Ranger
(and his faithful
sidekick, Tonto):
Who is that masked man??
Lone Ranger
The Television Family
 Shows like Leave it to Beaver, and I
love Lucy portrayed a perfect
family life and not the reality of
everyday homes.
 Moms were always pretty and
doing domestic things
 Children were adventurous but
obedient
 Dads never worked late, never
lost their temper and knew all
the right answers.
The Typical TV Suburban
Families
Leave It to Beaver
The Donna
Reed Show
1958-1966
I Love Lucy
Father Knows Best
1954-1958
Leave It
to Beaver
1957-1963
The Honeymooners
Consumerism
Good Economy
+
Advertising
TV
RADIO
MAGAZINES
NEWSPAPERS
=
Lots of
Spending
Advertising continued…
 1950s was the
Golden Age for
smoking
 You could smoke
 Anywhere
 Anytime
 Cheap
Age of the Cigarette
Doctors Smoke
The Culture of the Car
 Car registrations:
1945  25,000,000
1960
 60,000,000
 2-family cars doubles
 Interstate Highway
from 1951-1958
Act
 Largest public works
project in American
history!
 Cost $32 billion.
 41,000 miles of
First McDonald’s
(1955)
Drive-In
Movies
new highways
built.
Consumerism
Objectives
 What trends took place in the
television industry during the 1950s
 TV sets increased dramatically
 What lead to the increase in
consumerism during the 1950s?
 Strong Economy
 Advertising
 What were the tobacco usage trends
of the 1950s?
 Tobacco usage very common
 All ages, all genders
 What were the trends regarding car
usage in the 1950s?
 2 car families and car registration
doubled
Terms
 Interstate Highway Act
 Largest public works
project in American
history!
Gender Roles
Gender Roles
Objectives
 What were the ideal Gender
Roles of the Males in the 1950s?
 What were the ideal Gender
Roles of the Females in the
1950s?
Terms
 Duck and Cover Society
Well-Defined Gender Roles
Gender Roles as of Life magazine, 1955
Ideal Woman
 Married Young
 Cooked and cared for her family
 Kept herself busy by joining local
clubs
 Entertained guests
Ideal Man
 Provider for family
 Protector of family
 Boss of the house
 Took care of outside work
Role of middle class women.
 Women were told to be
“helpmates” to their husband’s
and full time mothers to their
children
 “A woman isn’t a woman
until she is married and had
children.”
 Working women were called
“a menace”
 The ideal wife was married
at 16, raised 4 children,
cooked and sewed, headed
the PTA and exercised to
keep her size 12 figure
1950s Home Ed Book
1950s Video
Duck and Cover Society
 Cold War had and
effect on People
 “Duck and Cover
Society”
 Fear of Nuclear
War
 Bomb shelters
Two Different Boys
Mr. Tough Guy
Mr. Clean
 Break Rules
 Obey Authority.
 Control Your Emotions.
 Don’t Make Waves  Fit in
 Show anger
 Loner
 Don’t bring home to visit
mother
with the Group.
 Don’t Even Think About
Sex!!!
Gender Roles
Objectives
 What were the ideal Gender
Roles of the Males in the 1950s?
 Provider for family
 Protector of family
 Boss of the house
 Took care of outside work
 What were the ideal Gender
Roles of the Females in the
1950s?
 Married Young
 Cooked and cared for her family
 Joined local clubs
 Entertained guests
Terms
 Duck and Cover Society
 Fear of Nuclear War
 Creation of bomb shelters
Music and Fashion
Gender Roles
Objectives
 What were the major fashion trends
for women in the 1950s?
 What were the major fashion trends
for men in the 1950s?
Terms
 Bubble Gum Music
 Rock N Roll Music
Movies
1950s Movies
Science Fictions
3-D Movies
1950s Music
Bubble Gum
 Sweet sound and nice lyrics
 Light Melodies
 Innocent Lyrics
 Wholesome Singers
 Music reflected the Post
W.W.II good feelings
Rock n Roll
 Very new sound
 Exciting and racy
melodies/lyrics
 Sex Symbols
 Music represented new age
of kid “teenager”
1950s Fashion Women
 A time to wear Dresses
 Hourglass look is back
 Circle Skirt
 Poodle Skirt- most popular
 Pencil Skirt
 Chemise Dress
 Tube dress with a belt
 Other Trends




Floral Patterns
Sleeveless tops
Kakis were ok for casual affairs
Hair
 Youth- Long- Pony tails
 Older you get the shorter it gets or
you put it up
Teenage Girls
Skits and Prom Dresses
1950’s
Pants/Outfits
1950s Male Fashion
 A time to be comfortable but yet formal
 Suit jackets with stripes became as much in
demand as plain colored jackets.
 Shirts were often short, loose, and
with short sleeves.
 Button up shirts were the norm
 Plaid and Checkered patterns
 Leather jackets became a huge rage
 Formal Hats
 Most male preferred wearing pants
made of Khaki
Shirts and Hats
1950’s Hair
Gender Roles
Objectives
 What were the major fashion trends
for women in the 1950s?
 Dresses very popular
 Hourglass look back
 Causal – Blouse and Kakis
 Hair Young – Long
 Old- Pull up or short
 What were the major fashion trends
for men in the 1950s?
 Work- Suit and Tie
 Causal- Kakis and button up shirt
 Hair
 High and Tight
 Hats
Terms
 Bubble Gum Music
 Light Melodies
 Innocent Lyrics
 Rock N Roll Music
 Exciting and racy
melodies/lyrics
 Sex Symbols
Telephone Cramming
 Comes to California in
1959.
 22 in America