1950s Society
Video Cultural Overview
Economics after WW2
 1950-1970 long economic boom
 National income doubles in 1950s and again in 1960s
 Middle Class doubles to 60% of pop’n
 Own cars, TVs, washing machines
 Agribusiness – mechanized farming
 More workers shift to industry/white collar
“Affluent Society”
 Luckiest Generation
Causes
Economics after WW2
 Economy recovers – why?
 Cheap energy – low cost of petroleum
 Productivity
 cold war spending, marshall plan
GI Bill of 1944
 15 million returning veterans
 Encouraged veterans to get an education
 Unemployment benefits
 Loans for homes, farms, businesses
1956 Interstate Highway Act
 largest public works project in
American history!
 Cost $32 billion.
 41,000 miles of new highways built.
Baby Boom
Baby Boom
 It seems to me that every other young
housewife I see is pregnant.
-- British visitor to America, 1958
 1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds
Effects
Suburbia
 By 1960, 25% of Americans live in suburbs
 FHA/VA low interest loans
 Tax deductions for mortgage payers
Suburban Living
 The American Dream
 1949  William Levitt built 150 houses/week.
 Standardized plans, factory assembled frames
Consumerism
Consumerism
What do you notice?
Washer Machine
Coffee
TV
Well-Defined Gender Roles
The ideal modern woman married, cooked and
cared for her family, and kept herself busy by
joining the local PTA and leading a troop of
Campfire Girls. She entertained guests in her
family’s suburban house and worked out on the
trampoline to keep her size 12 figure.
-- Life magazine, 1956
The ideal 1950s man was the provider, protector,
and the boss of the house. -- Life magazine,
1955
Teen Culture
 From Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley
 Result = Generation Gap
 Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Sept 1956
 vs.
 Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Oct 1956
Reasons for Generation
Gap?
Example1 vs. Example2
 Rock ‘n’ Roll based on African American rhythm and
blues music of the 1930s and 1940s
 Chuck Berry
Examples of Generation
Gap
 1953: six counties in South Carolina outlawed any
jukebox in hearing distance of a church.
 1954: “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Elvis was deemed
objectionable by the Juvenile Delinquency and Crime
Commission in Houston. They wanted it banned from
the radio and record stores.*
 1955: CBS cancelled “Rock-n-Roll Dance Party” after
they showed a black singer dancing with a white girl.
 1956: San Antonio, TX removed all rock-n-roll from
jukeboxes by swimming pools.
Unintended Impacts
of Prosperity?
Conformity
 Reactions:
 Group of writers and artists, called the beats
or beatniks, criticized American culture for
being stale and empty
 Little Boxes
Poverty Amid Prosperity
 Poverty rate nearly double today’s
 As middle class families moved to the
suburbs, cities lost important tax dollars
 “White Flight”
 Patterns of racial discrimination left many
minorities in poverty
Racial Tensions Heighten
 Despite 15th Amendment:
 Literacy tests
 Poll taxes
 Voter registration included address,
employer, list of family members
Brown v. Board of Education
 1954 Supreme Court case determined
segregation in public schools was
unconstitutional
Crisis in Little Rock
Crisis in Little Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAPOvdOEYE8
 Arkansas governor used National Guard
soldiers to block 9 African American
students from entering a high school.
 When the president told the governor to
remove the soldiers, an angry mob of white
citizens prevented the students from
entering
 Finally, President Eisenhower had to send
U.S. soldiers to Arkansas to force
integration and following of law.