Postwar: 1945-1960
Changing Patterns
in Society
SAFARI Montage chap. 1
Post War USA
Fill in page #3 as the power point is reviewed
Following WWII, Americans prospered due to an
expanding economy stimulated by America’s
involvement in the war. Changing patterns in
American society at the end of WWII changed
the way most Americans lived and worked.
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Postwar Economy
Expansion
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Post War U.S.A
1. A strong economy and a healthy
job market increased
productivity and the demand for
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American products.
2. Businesses… With rationing of
consumer goods over,
businesses converted from
production of war materials to
consumer goods.
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INCREASED
CONSUMERISM
• By the mid-1950s, nearly 60% of
Americans were members of the
middle class
• Consumerism (buying material
goods) came to be equated with
success and status
• The advertising industry
capitalized on runaway
consumerism by encouraging
more spending
• Ad agencies increased their
spending 50% during the 1950s
3. Americans
purchased
goods on credit
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NEW PRODUCTS
• One new product after
another appeared in the
marketplace
• Appliances, electronics,
and other household
goods were especially
popular
• The first credit card
(Diner’s Club) appeared
in 1950 and American
Express was introduced
in 1958
• Personal debt increased
nearly 3x in the 1950s
LEISURE IN THE 1950s
• Americans
experienced shorter
work weeks and
more vacation time
than ever before
• Leisure time
activities became a
multi-billion dollar
industry
• Labor-saving devices
added more spare
time
Labor-saving
devices
provided
more leisure
time for
Americans
4. Labor Unions became more
powerful… … and workers gained
new benefits and higher salaries
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5. Improving Equality
• African Americans felt
they deserved equal
rights, especially after
hundreds of thousands
served in WWII
• Truman took action in
1948 by desegregating the
armed forces
• Additionally, Truman
ordered an end to
discrimination in the
hiring of governmental
employees
II. Social Changes Caused By the
Economy
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1.
Greater investment in education
…including the G.I. bill…
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…the G.I. Bill of Rights… …gave
educational, housing, and
employment benefits to World
War II veterans.
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2. The
Baby Boom …was
the main force behind
economic and social
changes.
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THE BABY BOOM
How did the birthrate rise and fall during the baby
boom years in the US?
• During the late 1940s
and through the early
1960s the birthrate in
the U.S. soared
• At its height in 1957, a
baby was born in
America every 7
seconds (over 4.3
million babies in ’57
alone)
• Baby boomers
represent the largest
generation in the
nation’s history
1940
2,559,000 births per year
1946
3,311,000 births per year
1955
4,097,000 births per year
1957
4,300,000 births per year
1964
4,027,000 births per year
1974
Johnny
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3,160,000 births per year
Maddie
WHY SO MANY BABIES?
•
•
•
•
•
Why did the baby boom
occur when it did?
Husbands returning from
war
Lower age of marriage
Desirability of large
families
Confidence in economy
Advances in medicine
ADVANCES IN MEDICINE
AND CHILDCARE
• Advances in the
treatment of
childhood
diseases included
drugs to combat
typhoid fever and
polio (Jonas Salk)
Dr. Salk was instrumental in
the eradication of polio
IMPACT OF BABY BOOM
• As a result of the baby
boom, 10 million
students entered
elementary schools in
the 1950s
• California built a new
school every 7 days in
the late ’50s
• Toy sales reached an
all-time high in 1958
when $1.25 billion in
toys were sold
Symbols of the Baby Boom in
Suburbia
1950
1960
Hot Dog Production (millions of lbs)
750
1050
Potato Chip Production (millions of lbs)
320
532
Sales of lawn and porch furniture (millions of dollars)
53.6
145.2
Sales of power mowers (millions of dollars)
1.0
3.8
Sales of floor polishers (millions of dollars)
0.24
1.0
Sales of Encyclopaedia (millions of dollars)
72
300
Number of Children age 5-14
24.3
35.5
776
5,700
Number of baseball Little Leagues
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Fads of the Baby Boomers
Hula Hoops
Frozen Foods
Poodle Skirts and Saddle Shoes
What celebrity deaths have most
affected the Baby Boomers?
John F. Kennedy
Barbie and GI Joe Dolls
Marilyn Monroe
Bikinis
Frisbees
Martin Luther King
Yo-yos
John Lennon
Ouija Boards
Dune Buggies
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3.
The Baby Boom led
to……two income
families and…
What year were more babies born?
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…the suburbs and changing demographics.
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THE SUBURBAN LIFESTYLE
The American Dream complete with
a white picket fence
• Most Americans worked in
cities, but fewer and fewer
of them lived there
• New highways and the
affordability of cars and
gasoline made commuting
possible
• Of the 13 million homes
built in the 1950s, 85%
were built in suburbs
• For many, the suburbs
were the American Dream
4. Need for more housing and cars led to
automobile culture and the interstate
highway system
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THE AUTOMOBILE
CULTURE
• After the rationing of WWII, inexpensive
and plentiful fuel and easy credit led many
to buy cars
• By 1960, over 60 million Americans owned
autos
INTERSTATE HIGHWAY ACT
1956
In 1956 Eisenhower authorized a nationwide highway
network – 41,000 miles of road linking America
The Interstate
Highway
system
resulted in:
• More
trucking
• Less railroad
• More
suburbs,
further away
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5. POPULAR CULTURE
• A new era of mass
media led by
television emerged
in the 1950s
• In 1948, only 9% of
homes had TV
• In 1950, 55% of
homes had TV
• By 1960, 90% of
American homes
had TV
THE AMERICAN
DREAM IN THE
FIFTIES
• After WWII ended, Americans turned SAFARI Montage chap. 4 Post
War U.S.A.
their attention to their families and
jobs
• New businesses and technology
created opportunities for many
• By the end of the 1950s, Americans
were enjoying the highest standard of
living in the world
Ozzie and Harriet
reflected the perfect
American family
THE GOLDEN AGE
OF TELEVISION
• The 1950s was
known as the
“Golden Age of
Television”
• Comedies were the
main attraction as
Milton Berle,
Lucille Ball and
Desi Arnaz were
very popular
Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball starred in I Love Lucy
Lucy Clips
TELEVISION EXPERIMENTS
WITH VARIOUS FORMATS
• Television innovations
like on-the-scene-news
reporting, interviews,
westerns and sporting
events offered the
viewer a variety of
shows
• Kids’ shows like The
Howdy Doody Show
and The Mickey Mouse
Club were extremely
popular
TV ADS, TV GUIDES AND TV
DINNERS EXPAND
• TV advertising soared from $170 million in 1950 to nearly
$2 billion in 1960
• TV Guide magazine quickly became the best selling
magazine
• Frozen TV dinners were introduced in 1954 – these
complete ready-to-heat meals on disposable aluminum
trays made it easy for people to eat without missing their
favorite shows
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MUSIC IN THE 1950s
• Musicians in the 1950s
added electronic
instruments to
traditional blues music,
creating rhythm and
blues
• Cleveland DJ Alan
Freed was the first to
play this music in
1951– he called it “rock
and roll”
FREED
ROCK N’ ROLL
Beatles Clip
• In the early and mid-fifties, Richard Penniman, Chuck
Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, and especially Elvis
Presley brought rock and roll to the forefront
• The driving rhythm and lyrics featuring love, cars,
and problems of being young --captivated teenagers across the
country
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THE KING
Elvis clips
• Presley’s
rebellious style
captured young
audiences
• Girls screamed
and fainted, and
boys tried to
imitate him
III. Changing Role of Women
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EVOLVING ROLE OF
WOMEN in the 1950S
• During the 1950s, the
role of homemaker
and mother was
glorified in popular
magazines, movies
and television
• Women were
expected to play a
supporting role in the
family while
increasingly working
outside the home
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1.
The workforce shifted back to men… and women
returned to family responsibilities immediately after
WWII. Conflict emerged as many women wanted to
stay in the workforce.
2. As economic prosperity continued and
technology boomed… the next generation
of women re-entered the labor force in
large numbers.
•Job opportunities
limited to fields such as
nursing, teaching and
office support
•Women earned far less
than men
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3. Eleanor Roosevelt
helped expand
women’s and
workers’ rights. She
also wanted equal
rights for African
Americans and other
minorities. She was
also the U.S.
delegate to the
United Nations.
Eleanor Roosevelt
1884 - 1962
IV. Increasing Diversity
SAFARI Montage chap. 10 Post
War USA
Truman desegregated the armed forces.
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2. Increased equal opportunities for
African Americans
Non-Violent
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Civil Rights legislation led to increased…
educational, economic, and political
opportunities
…for women…
…and minorities.
President Richard Nixon
signing a bill giving NativeAmericans title to their land.
Senator Barbara Jordan
So what?
What is important to understand
about this?
P. 3 The 50’s Dream BDVD
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Following WWII, Americans prospered due
to an expanding economy stimulated by
America’s involvement in the war.
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Changing
patterns in
American
society at the
end of WWII
changed the
way most
Americans
lived and
worked.
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The Interstate Highway
Stations Activity
Discussion Question
1. What contributed to the prosperity of
Americans following World War II?
2. What factors led to changing patterns
of society in the post-World War II era?
3. What policies and programs expanded
educational and employment
opportunities for the military, women,
and minorities?
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How much do
you
remember?
Pop Quiz
slide 56-66
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1. With regard to businesses, after
World War II the United States:
a. Continued with war time production
quantities.
b. Continued to produce war materials
equally to consumer goods.
c. Produced less consumer goods.
d. Shifted from war to peace time industry.
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2.
When comparing the Depression era to
the post World War II era, which of the
following is true of America?
a. Credit was being used to purchase
consumer goods
b. Americans were saving their money
before buying consumer goods
c. Americans were avoiding buying
consumer goods
d. Economic forecasters were predicting
another Great Depression
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3. With the continuation of the postwar economic prosperity:
a. Women re-entered the labor force in
larger numbers.
b. Women participated in the labor force
in smaller numbers.
c. Soldiers returned home from war and
large numbers of women left industry
never to return
d. Labor unions began to discriminate
against women in
the workforce
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4. After World War II, the labor
unions of America:
a. Became isolated and lost the
strength to make change.
b. Vanished due to lack of member
participation.
c. Worked together with industry to
keep salaries non-competitive.
d. Merged together to become stronger
and workers gained new benefits.
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5. The desegregation of the armed
forces was ordered by President:
a. Truman
b. Roosevelt
c. Eisenhower
d. Kennedy
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6. The GI Bill had many components.
Of the following, which was not a
part of that program?
a. education benefits
b. housing benefits
c. employment assistance
d. exemption from taxes
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7. All of the following are
accomplishments of Eleanor
Roosevelt except:
a. Traveled around being an advocate for
women and worker’s rights
b. Sought equal rights for African
Americans and other minorities
c. Was U.S. delegate to the United Nations
d. Joined the Supreme Court of the United
States
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8. The Civil Rights movement was
encouraged by many events.
Which of these did NOT
encourage those changes?
a. African-American experiences in
World War II
b. Military desegregation
c. The Interstate Highway system
d. Passage of civil rights laws
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9. Many changes were evident in
American society after World War
II. All of the following are accurate
examples of those changes,
EXCEPT:
a. The "Baby Boom"
b. More women working outside the home
c. Few job opportunities for veterans
d. Increased educational opportunities
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10. Which of the following cultural
groups saw increased
immigration to the United States,
after World War II?
a. Latinos and British
b. Hispanics and Germans
c. Asians and Africans
d. Asians and Hispanics
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