The 1950s
A New American Society
http://www.history.com/videos/1950s#1950s
America After the War
 Cold War begins
 Idealistic society
 Conformity encouraged
 American life transitioned
to suburbia
 Women return to
traditional roles
Times Square, New York
V-J Day
 More “desk jobs” than
hands-on labor
 Some similarities to
1920s
 Postwar Economic
Growth
 New Commercialism
 Advertisements &
Television
 Credit Cards
1950s Family gathered
around the television
Desk jobs increased
during the 1950s
The Suburbs
 Success defined by home
ownership
 “American Dream”
 Focus on openness,
community, conformity
 Decline in urban living
 Populated mostly by young,
white, middle class families
 Husbands commuted to
cities to work, housewives
raised children
 Levittown leads the way
 4 types of houses built in
named communities with
similar sizes, yards, etc.
Levittown, PA
Ads such as
this one
demonstrated
the kinds of
homes
available in
Levittown
Roles of Women
 Women encouraged to be
homemakers
 “Keepers of the suburban
dream” (Time Magazine)
 Main role was to keep
house, raise children
 Limited job choices for
women
 Teachers, Nurses,
Secretaries
 Not for married women
Women were
encouraged to work
during WWII, but
when the war ended,
they were
encouraged to return
to the home
 M.R.S. degree
 Women encouraged to
use school to find a
husband
Teaching was one job available
to women
Baby Boom
Americans married
young and more
children than the
previous generation
 During the 1950s, the US
population grew by 30
million people
 People were getting
married and having
children earlier and in
larger numbers than
during the War years
 Larger families
contributed to more
traditional roles for
women
 Large families moved to
suburbia for good schools
TV and Commercialism
 Television debuted just after
WWII
 Over 45 million sold during the
1950s
 Programs directed toward
families and children
 Best medium for new
commercial-driven lifestyles
 Led Americans to believe
products could help perfect
their lives
 Could be use to sell almost
anything
“I Love Lucy” was
one of the most
popular shows of
the decade
Family television time
Shows like Howdy Doody
were aimed at children
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbCGT_A
WBI
 Concern over television
destroying family meal time led
to the TV Dinner in 1954
Ad for Swanson TV Dinners
“Teenagers” and Rock and Roll
 New form of music
Elvis combined
“hillbilly” music
and gospel
sounds to create
a new kind of
music

Teenagers
at a sock
hop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7riCWxe4_0
 Popular with Teenagers
 Elvis Presley was “King of
Rock and Roll”
Influences from Gospel
and Country music
 Teenagers defined as a
separate social group for
the first time
Events and Places just
for teenagers
 Soda shop
 Sock hops
Fashion
1950
2015
Cars
2015
Houses
Appliances
2015
Hair Styles
Toys
2015
Interstate Highway System
 One of Eisenhower’s top priorities
as President was an interstate
highway system.
 His first year in office, 1953, was
dominated by the Korean War, but
by 1954, he raised the highway
issue.
 Congress passed the Federal Aid
Hwy Act of 1954 authorizing $175
million, but Eisenhower considered
that just “one effective forward
step.”
 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of
1956 allowed the interstate system
to grow, and it is currently 46,876
miles.
The Cold War…
 Growing out of post-World War II
tensions between the US and the
Soviet Union, the Cold War lasted
for much of the second half of the
20th century.
 The Cold War resulted in mutual
suspicions, heightened tensions
and a series of international
incidents that brought the world’s
superpowers to the brink of
disaster.




Arms Race
Red Scare
Space Race
Berlin Wall

http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/eventstimelines/03-cold-war-timeline.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60
1950s Slang Assignment – DUE
TOMORROW!!
Use at least FIVE of the common slang
words from the 1950s to write a paragraph
that summarizes things you’ve learned about
life in America during the 1950s. Be creative
and have fun with this, but make sure you’re
using the words correctly and that you are
correctly describing life in the 1950s. Note:
You may use only ONE slang term per
sentence!