The Golden Age:
1950s
Leah Colvin, Lauren Tidwell,
Kasyn Ryan & Damon Melton
Entertainment
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The Disneyland amusement park in
California opened on July 17, 1955 .
Marilyn Monroe was very popular,
as she was an amazing model and
actress. She starred in numerous
famous movies such as Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes (1953).
The board game Scrabble was a
huge hit in the fifties.
The Western style television shoes
were very popular such as,
Hopalong Cassidy and Rawhide.
Barbie was the biggest fad and
entertainment for children in the
fifties.
The “Boeling Boom” was coined.
Dr. Seuss published The Cat in the
Hat in 1957.
Music
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The 1950s saw the emergence and
rise of what would come to be
known as Rock ‘n Roll.
The King of Rock and Roll was Elvis
Presley.
“They would literary tear his
clothes off they were so crazed by
him” (66)
Major hit song was “Blue Suede
Shoes”
His first movie was Love Me Tender
(69).
In 1957 Graceland was purchased
by Presley. It is located on the
outskirts of Memphis.
On Dec. 20,1957 he was drafted
into the war.
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Frank Sinatra produced songs like “I've
Got The World On A String”, “I Get A
Kick Out Of You” and “In The Wee Small
Hours Of The Morning”.
In 1954, Johnny Cash was signed to the
Sun Records label owned by Sam
Phillips, who had also discovered rock 'n
rollers Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee
Lewis. Philips was impressed with the
song "Hey Porter" Cash had written
when he was returning home from the
Air Force. When Phillips wanted a ballad
for the b-side of "Hey Porter," Cash
wrote "Cry, Cry, Cry" overnight.
Natural Disasters
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1950 marked the first public
tornado warning and use of
radar to track storms.
A deadly outbreak occurred
between February 11 and 13
across southern states. 19
tornadoes touched down
including F4’s in Louisiana.
The Red River Flood was a
devastating flood that took
place along the Red River in
the Dakotas and Manitoba in
early 1950. Winnipeg, Manitoba
was inundated on May 5, also
known as Black Friday to some
residents and was to be
partially evacuated.
• Hurricane Abel or
Hurricane Hiki hit the
Hawaiian island which
formed on August 12,
1950.
• Hurricane Dog was the
strongest hurricane of
the season.
50s Fashion
Men
Women
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Clean cut and preservative
“The grey flannel suit” was
referred to by the American
men.
Penny loafers were also very
popular for the guys.
Hats became less and less
popular
Men’s hair was kept cut clean
and short, typically a crew cut.
Bill Blass coined the style of
blue jeans, crew cuts and flat
tops for guys
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After WWII there was a huge push to
get the women back in the home
setting as housewives.
Femininity was produced through the
form of soft shoulders, stiletto heels,
wrist-length gloves and full billowing
skirts
Pencil slim skirts and hats with
feathers were also very popular.
The “New Look” originated for women
with the Christian Dior style.
Poodle skirts became a popular hit.
Hairstyles were softly curled.
Fashion
Teenagers
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Teenagers started the age of
rock-and-roll type clothing and
style.
For the first time, young people
stopped imitating their elders
and begin to transform their
own style with inventing new
styles of music, dress, and
expressing themselves.
Many of these young people
were looked at as “hellraisers”.
A leather jacket became
popular for a rebellious type
attitude.
Girls and Boys
• For a boy, his first
pair of jeans were a
sign of manhood
• Young girls wore
cotton dresses,
blouses, & cardigan
sweaters
Pop Culture
• Music and a dance style
known as “the jive” was very
popular.
• Model airplanes
• Dick Clark was a popular
T.V. dance star.
• Diners were known for
many crowd gatherings and
social time.
• Jukeboxes came about
• Baby Boom
• Drive-in movies was the hit
entertainment.
Science Inventions/Technology
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The first colored T.V. and motion
pictures were being used.
2/3 of all American families owned
one
The first frozen “french fries” were
invented by the JR Simplot
Company .
Hydrogen bombs were being
created.
The use of rockets were being
experimented.
Videotapes and recorders were
invented in 1956.
Nuclear power was the new source
of energy.
In 1947 the first transistor was
invented
The very first Polio Vaccine was
used
Sports Heroes
• Jackie Robinson- Professional baseball player. Broke the
color barrier of the MLB.
• Jim Brown- One of footballs best running backs. Later retired
at age 30 and became a movie star.
• Bob Cousy- Played for the Boston Celtics from 1950-1963.
• Sugar Ray Robinson- American boxer and 5 time middle
weight champ.
Headlines
1950
• Credit Cards introduced
• Korean War started
1951
• Color TV introduced
• WWII officially ends
1952
• Polio vaccine created
1953
• DNA discovered
• First Playboy Magazine
1954
• First Atomic submarine
launched
1955
•Disneyland opens
•Emmet Till murdered
•McDonald’s corporation
founded
•Rosa Parks refuses to give
up her seat on the bus.
1956
•Hungarian Revolution
•T.V. remote control was
invented
Headlines
1957
• Dr. Seuss publishes The
Cat in the Hat.
• Soviet Satellite Sputnik
launches space age.
1958
• Lego toy bricks introduced
• NASA founded
• Peace symbol created
1959
• Castro becomes Dictator of
Cuba
• Kitchen debate between
Nixon and Khrushchev
Family Roles
• Consisted of a bread winner father,
homemaker money, and several
children.
• Most lived in the suburbs on the
outskirts of a larger city.
• The model family
• Simple
• Still segregation and racism
50’s Transportation
• Railroads and later long-haul trucking lines
were the connection from local markets to
the consumers in the cities.
• In 1950 the average cost of a new car was
$1,510.00 .
Literature
• The main part of Literature in the 1950s was novelists and
poetry.
• Literature was a method of communication for the writers.
• Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• Other authors were writing novels that dealt on a personal
level.
• Many of Hemingway’s works are considered classics of
American Literature.
Communication
• Not everyone had a phone.
• Television was not like it is today.
• Radio and letters were still considered a primary source of
information.
• During this decade the telegram became outdated.
• People wrote letters to everyone they knew.
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgkNr04V
cCA&feature=youtu.be