Ch. 27, Section 3
“The Nation Prospers”
Baby Boom
• It is a significant
increase in the
number of babies
born
• It took place in
the years
following World
War II
• As people were
better off after
the war, more
got married and
started families
←1960
←1945
Sun Belt
• the Sun Belt is the
nickname for
southern and
western states
• Starting in the 1950s
many workers and
businesses moved
there
• They were attracted
by the warm weather
and low taxes in the
region
Highway Act
of 1956
• Law passed by Pres.
Eisenhower built over
40,000 miles of interstate
freeways at $25 billion for
defense purposes
• It was the largest public
works project of all time
• People traveled more
• Shopping malls, gas
stations, restaurants, and
other businesses were
built along these roads
• People could live further
from work
• Suburbs grew
Levittown
• William Levitt built one of
the nation’s first
preplanned suburbs on
Long Island, NY
• Between 1946 and 1951 he
built 17,000 low-priced,
mass-produced homes
• They were simple and
affordable
• Builders across the nation
copied this method
• By 1970 more people lived
in suburbs than in cities
Life in the
Suburbs
• People moving from
apartments in the cities
liked:
– having a home with a
driveway for their car
– having a yard for kids to
play in
– being near nice schools
• People used their
newfound wealth to buy
consumer products
Problems
in the Cities
• “white flight” – white,
middle and upper class
people left the cities
and moved to suburbs
• Cities were left with
less tax income, but
still needed to pay for
city services like police
and fire protection,
garbage collection,
road repairs, park
maintenance, etc.
Popular
Culture
in the 1950s
• Shopping
malls
• Drive-in
theaters
• Fast-food
restaurants
• Television
• Rock’n’Roll
Television
• 90% of families owned a TV
• On average, Americans
watched 6 hours of TV a day
• Popular shows included: Lone
Ranger, Texaco Star Theater, I
Love Lucy, Dragnet, Your Show
of Shows, Ed Sullivan Show,
and Gunsmoke
Bebop
Charlie Parker
Dizzy Gillespie
• Bebop or bop is a style of
jazz characterized by fast
tempo, instrumental
virtuosity and
improvisation based on
the combination of
harmonic structure and
melody
• It was developed in the
early and mid-1940s after
World War II
• This style of jazz ultimately
became synonymous with
modern jazz
• The biggest Bebop stars
were Charlie Parker and
Dizzy Gillespie
Rock’n’Roll
• a genre of popular music
that originated and evolved
during the late 1940s and
early 1950s, primarily from
a combination of African
American blues, country,
jazz, and gospel music.
• In the earliest rock and roll
styles either the piano or
saxophone was often the
lead instrument
• These were generally
replaced or supplemented
by guitar in the middle to
late 1950s
• The biggest Rock’n’Roll
stars were Buddy Holly,
Chuck Berry, and Little
Richard, and Elvis Presley
Women in the
1950s
• Women could only find
work in a limited
number of fields
• There pay was also
lower than that of men
• They were often fired
when they became
married or pregnant
• Popular culture
portrayed the woman’s
place in the home
raising a family
Culture Wars:
Teenagers v. Adults
• Teenagers liked to
listen to rock’n’roll,
dance, go to drive-in
movies and watch a lot
of TV
• Adults thought the
morals of teenagers
were eroding, and were
caught up in the
conformity and
consumerism of the
decade