Name: ______________________ Date:______________
American Life in the 1950’s
Source #1 – Little Boxes
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.
And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
Source: “Little Boxes” Words and music by Malvina Reynolds
Source #2 – Boomer Stats
Babies born…
Per year
4,000,000
Per day
10,958
Per hour
456
Per minute
7.1
Source: Baby Boomer Headquarters, http://www.bbhq.com/bomrstat.htm
Source #3 – How to Be a Good Wife
The guide below was published in a women’s magazine in 1955.
The Good Wife’s Guide




Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal
ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have
been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs.
Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he
arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking.
Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to
unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and
it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with
immense personal satisfaction.
Prepare the children. They are little treasures and he would like to see them
playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise





of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him.
Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night.
Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and
pleasant voice.
Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity.
Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his
will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
A good wife always knows her place.
Source: Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May 1955
Source #4 – Levittown
Levitt was quick to admit that he had borrowed Henry Ford’s production system at the great Rouge plant in Detroit. But his adaptation of
it was sheer genius: A car was small enough to be moved along an assembly line while the workers remained stationary. Obviously, one could not do
that with houses, so why not make the teams of workers mobile, moving them from one stationary house to the next? As such he created a new kind
of assembly line, of specialized groups of workers who performed their chores and moved on. The site, as Levitt liked to point out, became the
factory. By July 1948 they were building 180 houses a week or, in effect, finishing thirty-six houses a day. It was, Bill Levitt noted, like clockwork:
“Eighteen houses completed from 12:20 to 4:30.”
Knowing that many first-time homebuyers feared being fleeced by lawyers and businessmen during the paperwork, the Levitts simplified
the buying process as well. There were no down payment, no closing costs, and no secret extras. Veterans who signed up for the first Levitt houses
had to put down a one-hundred dollar deposit, which they eventually got back. It was an unusual and appealing concept: The price was the price.
Certain differences were most definitely not welcomed in Levittown, however. Blacks could not buy in—a policy that lasted for two
decades, long after the nation began legally trying to rid itself of lawful segregation. “The Negroes in America are trying to do in 400 years what the
Jews in the world have not wholly accomplished in 600 years. As a Jew I have no room in my mind or heart for racial prejudice. But…I have come
to know that if we sell one house to a Negro family, then 90 or 95 percent of our white customers will not buy into the community. That is their
attitude, not ours…As a company our position is simply this: We can solve a housing problem, or we can try to solve a racial problem but we cannot
combine the two,” Bill Levitt said in the early fifties.
Source: Adapted from The Fifties by David Halberstam, 1993
Source #5 – Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Sam Phillips, the man who discovered Elvis Presley, denies he
versions by the likes of Pat Boone. "There wasn't nobody playing it at
ever said it, but the quote is still among the most famous--and most
the time but black people--myself, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry. White
prescient--in the history of rock 'n' roll. "If I could find a white man who
kids started paying more attention to this music, white girls were going
had the Negro sound and the Negro feel," Phillips is said to have said, "I
over to this music, they needed somebody to come in there--like Elvis."
could make a billion dollars." In a segregated America in which certain
Pretty much since then, black artists who wanted to play rock
radio stations would not play songs by black artists, Presley more than
'n' roll--as opposed to pop, or doo-wop, or soul music, or funk, or
filled the bill, and in the process helped solidify the image of rock 'n' roll
disco, or rap--have had a hard time getting a hearing from the music
as the music of white teenage rebellion. Unfortunately for Phillips--who
industry, which, thanks to its perceived marketing needs, tends to
sold Presley's contract for an unprecedented $35,000--it was RCA that
pigeonhole artists in "black" and "white" slots. The irony, of course, is
ended up making most of the money on Presley.
that while white artists like the Rolling Stones are exalted for their
But the point is, rock 'n' roll is an art form that was created by
borrowings from black music, black artists who try to reclaim the now
blacks. "It started out as rhythm and blues," says Little Richard, the
predominantly white classic-rock tradition are often met with industry
flamboyant rock pioneer who saw such tumultuous songs of his as Tutti
indifference, if not hostility.
Frutti and Long Tall Sally taken to the charts in white-bread "cover"
Source: “Is Rock ‘n’ Roll a White Man’s Game?” Time Magazine, 29 April 1996
Source #6 – Elvis Presley
Elvis, wearing a loud plaid jacket, greeted
the audience from a set decorated with stylized
guitar shapes. He announced that the show was
“probably the greatest honor I have ever had in my
life,” and then launched into “Don’t Be Cruel.” The
camera stayed above his waist for now, sometimes
closing in on his face, sometimes turning to show
his backup singers, but something Elvis was doing
out of lens range was causing unexplained screams
from the audience. After the number was over, he
acknowledged the vocal segment of the crowd,
saying, “Thank you, ladies.”
Viewers got to see the full Elvis—legs, hips,
and all—during the second segment, when he
performed the up-tempo Little Richard song “Ready
Teddy” and two verses of “Hound Dog.” Young rock
fans today would doubtless have a hard time
understanding what all the scandal was about, as
his frenetic swivels and shuffles look chaste
compared to the gyrations common on MTV. But
Elvis on that night (and his rock star peers in
general around the same time) arguably set in
motion a trend that continues today. The press was
quick to note that the cameras switched to close-up
shots whenever he started dancing, in effect
censoring him, but the TV audience got to see
plenty, and besides, the girls screamed when he
grunted, moved his tongue, crossed his eyes, or
even stood perfectly still.
Source: “Elvis on Ed Sullivan – The Real Story,” American Heritage magazine, 6 September 2005
Question
Source #1
 How do the lyrics describe life in American suburbs? Do you think this is a
positive or a negative portrayal of suburban life in the 1950’s? Why?
Source #2
 What year was the birth rate highest?

What were some causes of the baby boom?
Source #3
 What piece of advice seems strangest to you?

Do any of the suggestions seem like good advice to you?
Source #4
 What were some positive aspects of Levittown?

What were some negative aspects of Levittown?
Source #5
 Why did white rock ‘n’ roll musicians enjoy more success than black rock
‘n’ roll musicians, even though rock ‘n’ roll was created by the AfricanAmerican community?
Source #6
 Why do you think parents often didn’t approve of their children listening to
Elvis Presley?
Answer