List as many
Franchises/Ads that
you can recall that I
just showed you.
What are people who work
“desk” type jobs referred to as?
White collar
What part of the business sector
expanded?
Advertising, Marketing, Communications
What is a franchise?
a company that offers similar services in many
locations
• 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
In 1953 alone Americans spent $30 billion on
leisure Bowling remains one of the top leisure
activities in the U.S.
• 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
• In 1956 Congress passed the Federal
Highway Act
• Construction of 40,000 miles of
interstate highways.
• This was needed because
• the number of Americans who
owned cars increased
• In times of crisis it would be
necessary to transport missiles
and military supplies quickly
• The Interstate Highway
system resulted in:
• More trucking
• Less railroad
• More suburbs, and
commuting
• Another effect of
the highway
system was that
the scenery of
America began to
look the same
• Restaurants,
motels, highway
billboards, gas
stations, etc. all
began to look
similar
What was the primary purpose of creating a U.S.
Interstate Highway System, funded by the 1956
Federal Highway Act?
In times of crisis it would be necessary to
transport missiles and military supplies quickly
Popular Culture
• A new era of mass media led by
television emerged in the 1950s
• In 1948, only 9% of homes had T.V
• In 1950, 55% of homes had T.V.
• By 1960, 90% of American homes had
T.V.
Golden Age of TV
• 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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1Nubw8XJw
TV Ads, TV Guides, & TV
Dinners
• By 1957 there were 40 million television sets. In the late 1950s, the
television news became an important source of information.
Advertising and sporting events became more common
• 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
45:00
Iconic Movie Stars
How did television impact
American society?
Promoted products, caught people up on
news, showed the latest trends, defined
gender roles and social norms
Artistic Movement
Beatniks
• The word may have
come from the group
feeling beat down by
American culture.
• Followers, called
“beatniks”, tended to
shun work and sought
understanding through
Zen Buddhism, music,
and sometimes drugs
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=Ba9yazkl0UE
Beatniks often performed poetry or
music in coffeehouses or bars
Young Americans
• Young Americans
rebelled against
the conformist
ideals of adult
society and looked
to controversial
styles in music and
literature
FREED
Music in the 1950s
• In 1951 radio disc jockey
Alan Freed gained
permission from his
manager to play African
American rhythm and blues
on the radio.
– He called it “rock and
roll”
• The listeners loved the new
songs, and soon white
artists were copying the
sound
FREED
1:26:00
Rock n’ Roll
• In the early and mid-fifties,
Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and
the Comets, and especially
Elvis Presley brought rock
and roll to the forefront
• Several cities banned rock
‘n’ roll. These varying
opinions led to what
became known as a
generation gap, or cultural
separation between
children and parents.
King of Rock and Roll
• Presley’s
rebellious style
captured young
audiences
• Girls screamed and
fainted, and boys
tried to imitate
him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka6JrKUM5U
How were Beatniks different
from the norm?
Shun work, did drugs, against conformity
Rock and Roll can be traced to What
African American style of music?
Rhythm and blues
Social RebelGreasers
GREASERS- During the 1950s there
was a rise in, juvenile delinquency—
criminal behavior of youths.
While most teens did not participate
in any illegal activity, teens were
stereotyped, especially if they had
long hair and dressed in an
alternative manner they were
known as greasers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHFbhhi_XVc
Choose the strongest
J/K you are going to
GREASER in your
play Rock-Papergroup to arm
Scissors
wrestle.
• Rise in KKK against
African Americans
due to the growing
Civil Rights
Movement (we’ll
talk more about this
in the Civil Rights
Unit)
Who were seen as social
rebels in the 1950s?
Greasers
Last challenge to
send us home. List as
many examples of
50s CONFORMITY
from our notes as
you can and do the
same for DISSENT
Business-White Collar
Submissive Housewife
Birth Control
Suburbs
Playboy
Civil Rights
Franchises
Keeping
up with
the Jones
Greaser
Rock n Roll
Beatniks
Baby Boom
The postwar era witnessed tremendous economic
growth and rising social contentment and conformity.
Yet in the midst of such increasing abundance and
comfortable domestic lives; some social critics
expressed a growing sense of unease with American
culture in the 1950s.
.
Ticket out the Door:
What did you like least
about living in the 50s and
What did you like best?
1950’s Pop Culture
Directions: answer the questions below and draw a sketch
for each of the categories on the back.
Category
Question
White
Collar
Jobs
Franchis
es
White type of business jobs
increased in the 1950s?
Baby
Boom
List reasons why the
birth rate dramatically
increased after the war
Leisure
Why did American’s
have more leisure time
in the 1950s?
Automob
ile
What was the purpose of
the Federal Highway Act?
How did the highway
change America?
Suburbs
Why were suburbs
formed?
Standard
of Living
Describe the standard of
living for Americans in
the 50s.
New
Music
Advertisin
g
Describe the influence
of Advertising during the
20s.
Artistic
moveme
What is a franchise?
Answer
Category
Question
Consume
rism
What were expensive items
Americans were buying in the
50s?
Women
after the
War
Mass
Media
After WWII how were women
portrayed in the media ?
Conformi
ty
Provide examples of
conformity during the 1950s
Advance
s in
Medicine
Social
Rebel
Who was Dr Salk?
What new media technology
swept the nation in the
1950s?
Who were seen as the social
rebels of the 1950s?
What was the new popular
music of the 1950’s?
What was the artistic
movement of the 1950s?
Answer
Baby
Boom
Standard
of Living
Sub
urb
s
Women
after the
War
Franc
hises
White Collar
Jobs
Lei
sur
e
Advances in
Medicine
Auto
mobil
e
1950’s
Culture
Consu
merism
Social
Rebel
New
Music
Mass
Media
Confo
rmity
Modern
Family
Artistic
Movement