The United States in the 1950s

• Following WWII, Americans prospered due to an expanding economy stimulated by America’s involvement in the war .
–
Think About It : Why would America have prospered from the war?
FROM
TO

• The rationing of consumer goods was over
• Businesses converted from production of war materials to consumer goods.
• Americans purchased goods on credit
• The workforce shifted back to men , and most women returned to family responsibilities

•
Labor unions merged and became more powerful
– Workers gained new benefits and higher salaries
• As economic prosperity continued and technology bloomed, the next generation of women reentered the workforce in larger numbers

• After the war ended,
Congress passed the
Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act (known informally as the GI Bill ) which allowed veterans to:
– Attend college
– Receive specialized training
– Set up businesses
– Buy homes
– Obtain unemployment and health care
• Helped by government funds ($$)

• This allowed men who, previously, had not had the money or ability to go to college or buy a house to now do so.
– “2,250,000 veterans received part of their college education from the GI Bill”

• Families grew in the
1950s , increasing the
U.S. population by
20%
– War is over
–
Higher Incomes
– Better Health Care
• Affects lives of women, the economy, and education systems

• Economy balances out and begins to boom
– Economic growth leads to suburban expansion
• 75% of new home construction took place in the suburbs in the 1950s
– More affordable
• Cars became a necessity
– Development of the modern highway system – now people could commute back and forth to work in their cars

• Americans begin to buy more things that they “want” using
Credit.
•
Television
– 6.5 million sets produced annually in the 1950s
• Mickey Mouse Club
•
American Bandstand
•
I Love Lucy
•
Leave it to Beaver