1950’s
America:
An Era of
Prosperity
Prosperous America
• Entering the 1950’s most Americans owned
the 3 symbols of American Prosperity.
– 1. A new suburb home.
– 2. A car
– 3. Television
• Children got into the act buying and using
consumer items such as:
– Gum, Cokes, Hamburgers, Records, Clothes, hula
hoops, plastic toys.
Prosperous America
• 1950’s saw a shift in media moving from radio
and film to TV.
• People were “Keeping up with
the Jones’s”
• Many people flaunted their
extravagant items.
• Caused some to be rebellious because of
conformity. People often turned to drugs,
music, alcohol, and religion to help ease their
anxiety. (These were luxury items now)
WWII Aftermath: Baby
Boom
• In the mid 1950’s almost 30% of the population was
15 years or younger.
• This created a HUGE demand in products for kids
(toys, diapers, bikes, games) which helped fuel our
post war economy.
• Polio Vaccine was introduced in 1952.
– But not made for the public until a little later.
• Death rate dropped, birth rate was up.
• Penicillin was now common.
• People were living longer (thus creating more of a
consumer demand)
Booming Suburbs
• People started to move away from the busy
urban cities into the suburbs (owning a car
allowed for further daily travel)
• This caused a high demand for houses and
“planned” neighborhoods. “Levittown's”
• People moved south to rising job markets
after the war.
Prosperous America 1950’s
• In the 1950’s unemployment remained low
• Purchasing power was up (meaning the dollar
value was strong)
• People could afford more things than they
ever thought possible. (People were living
above their previous Standard of Living)
• Purchasing on credit became popular.
Credit Cards
• 1950 Diner’s Club issued the 1st “general credit
card”
– General Credit Card was a card that could be used at
all stores that accepted credit (not store specific)
• Private debt rose drastically.
– Private debt is not governmental loans. It’s debt to
individual department stores and personal debt to
banks etc. (It also refers to purchasing debt not
investment debt)
Automobile Expansion
The Trickle Down Effect
• By the late 1950’s almost 2/3 of all Americans
commuted to their jobs by car.
• Demand for cars had a trickle down effect
– This caused a demand for more service stations,
gas stations, motels, garages, and road crews.
– This caused the US Government to tax gasoline.
(To pay for road paving etc)
Industrial Growth
• Industries began pumping out products such as…
– Dacron (Polyester fiber) used in clothing and plastics.
– Teflon (Nonstick chemical used on cooking surfaces)
– Aerosol Spray Cans (did contain CFC’s)
– Hairdryers, Air Conditioners, Electric Blankets, Washer
and Dyers, Portable “transistor radios” Crabby Old
Man
– Everything was about speed and convenience.
– Marketing campaigns advertised how much more
time women would have if they purchased their
product.
Industrial Growth
• With all these inventions and chemical
advancements certain industries started to
slide.
– Coal couldn’t compete with Natural Gas, and Oil.
– Trucking and Air travel hurt the Railroad industries
– Cotton and wool were losing out to synthetic fibers
made in labs (nylon, rayon, and Dacron)
– Small farms couldn’t compete with large farm
corporations (because large farms could afford
fertilizers, pesticides and used mass machines)
Industrial Growth—Labor Unions
• Labor unions and corporations agreed to
“automatic annual cost of living raises”
– They simply passed the increase of wages onto
the consumers by raising prices.
• Labor Unions though became very powerful
during the 1950’s and often became corrupt.
• Robert Kennedy was chief council on an
investigation into the crookedness of the
Teamsters Union
Unions Weaken
• In the late 1950’s unions started to weaken
because jobs were moving south (where
unions weren’t present)
• Also people in the north would not join unions
because of high union dues and they could
make more $ and better benefits by
negotiating directly with their employer.
• Our country was shifting from blue collar jobs
to white collar jobs by the late 1950’s.
Unions Weaken
• 1956 white collar jobs outnumbered blue
collar jobs in our country for the 1st time.
• Technological advances also reduced the
amount of labors need in blue collar jobs.
• Some unions did manage to get into the white
collar sector though. (meaning unionized
white collar workers)
Good and Bad
• While we had a rise in middle class in the
1950’s the number of people below the
poverty line also rose.
• 25% of the population were considered poor
in 1960.
• The elderly were 65% of the poor class.
• The poor began to move to the cities:
– Raising crime rates
– Raising homeless rates in cities
Good and Bad
• 1960’s: Statistics
– 5% of the nation held 50% of the wealth.
– 50% of the nation had no savings.
– Wage laws and legislation didn’t reach to many of
the low income jobs and wages.
– Welfare programs for the poor kept them at poor
levels and had stipulations that more or less kept
them dependent on the program. (didn’t provide
a solution/avenue to get out of poverty)
– The poorer class was often swept under the rug.
(not focused on)
Levittown NY
Wonder Years
SURBURBIA!!!
• Following WWII people fled cities and settled in
the Suburbs.
– Wanted to escape city taxes, smog, traffic jams,
crime, overcrowding and wanted little contact with
mixing races.
• Suburbia life was very appealing:
– Spacious housing (wanted a yard)
– A fraction of the cost of living compared to the city
– Privacy (quiet neighborhoods)
– Community involvement. (Like neighborhoods)
SURBURBIA!!!
• Suburbia life was very appealing: (Cont)
– Low interest mortgage loans (people could afford
them who couldn’t have prior to the loan rates)
– Shopping centers were built to accommodate the
suburbs (so no more traveling to the city to shop)
– Freeways were constructed (made travel easier)
LEVITTOWN
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• William Levitt “The Father of Modern Suburbia”
• First one was on Long Island NY between 19471952.
• Originally Levitt designed this town for 2000
military families coming home to have an
affordable place to stay.
• But the demand became so high they had to
alter their construction plans and add an
additional 4000.
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• Built on concrete slabs (no basements)
• Had unfinished 2nd floors so the family could
expand if they wanted.
• Assembly line houses. (Workers moved not
the house or product)
• Workers specialized in doing 1 aspect of the
home then moved onto the next.
• They used precut lumber shipped from their
own lumber yards. This allowed for speed
building.
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• They were able to turn out 30,000 houses a
day. (combining all their building sites)
• The Levittown became a community with its
own post office, schools, shops, police force,
etc. The became very centralized.
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• Originally they were
rental houses. (for
military families)
– Could rent for $65 per
month with $0 down.
– Within 2 years he stopped
renting and only sold
houses. Selling price was
$8,000 which was only $58
per month and that
included a Refrigerator and
washer! ($0 down for vets)
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• YouTube - Levittown (song) by Bob Koenig
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• Levittown’s also had criticisms.
– They were Ticky Tacky houses.
Little Boxes
• Ticky Tacky: Poor quality houses. Built with cheap
materials and no finishing touches.
– They were almost always white neighborhoods.
– By 1960 Levittown's were almost 98% white.
– People didn’t want to live in the same community as
black people so Levitt’s sales people wouldn’t sell to
blacks because they didn’t want to alienate the white
population who bought most of the homes.
– Levittown's still today are predominantly white.
LEVITTOWNS USA!!!!
• There was no individuality in the neighborhoods or
with the people.
• The people all were the same, (white/middle class)
doing the same thing, living the same life, the
complaint was that the house were the same causing
the people to be the same.
• Sometimes this lead to people having a feeling of drones
(where they were nothing special so they sometimes turned
to drugs/alcohol because of depression)---but not the norm.
Culture Shift
• Teenagers were becoming abundant in the
1950’s.
• They were setting trends because of their
shear population numbers.
• This lead marketing departments to target the
youth and their “extra” cash to spend.
• This lead to………..
The Birth of McDonalds
McDonalds
• “McDonald’s Restaurant” was originally owned by
Richard and Maurice McDonald and began serving
food in 1940.
• In 1948 they went to the “Speedy Service System”
which meant a limited menu:
– Burgers
– Fries
– Cooked in volume
– (Milkshakes added later)
Original Mascot….
Changed to Ronald McDonald in 1968
McDonalds
• 1953 the McDonalds brothers franchised the
“Speedy Service System” only to Neil Fox.
– This meant they allowed Fox to copy the idea of
fast food service. (Not specifically the McDonalds
product or name etc.)
– Fox copied everything including the name.
– After that, the McDonalds brothers began
franchising their entire restaurant.
McDonalds
• 1954 milkshake machine salesman Ray Kroc from
Illinois was traveling through California and
stumbled the original McDonalds.
• He saw huge potential for the concept of fast food
by taking it further with the assembly line
approach and creating standard burgers.
• He sold McDonalds their milkshake machines and
partnered with the brothers to open a franchise in
Illinois in 1955.
McDonalds
• Kroc helped open up several more McDonalds
restaurants.
• He became annoyed that the Mac Brothers
were not onboard to open up a ton of
restaurants and decided to buy the franchise
rights of the company outright. (Bought it in
1961)—Shrewd businessman.
• He implemented the Standardization of his
resturants.
McDonalds
• Standardization of restaurants:
– This meant that all Big Macs would be identically
tasting regardless of the restaurant. (Strict rules
were required for food preparation in all
franchises to be uniform.
• Ex. Quantities were pre-portioned, cook times were
standard, weight of burgers, size of packages, etc.
• Franchisers were able to experiment with
some different styles of food though.
McDonalds
• Jim Delligatti created the 1st Big Mac in
Uniontown PA!!!!! (1967) Big Mac
– He noticed sales were slipping because of Elby’s
Big Boy burger and petitioned McDonalds to try
his own version.
– It worked so well that before the year was out it
was nationally adopted by McDonalds Corp.
– Mcdonald's Rap
• The Big Mac is now used as an economic
indicator.
Disneyland
• Opened in Anaheim California 1955 (Same
year as Kroc’s McDonalds)
• Offered a family theme park.
– Fun or the family.
– HUGE attraction (Autopia)
– Had separate sections of the park (Adventureland,
Frontierland, Main Street etc.)
– Disneyland was a clear sign that the nation was far
removed from the Great Depression and the age
of consumerism was upon us.
– YouTube - Disneyland history
Women and Family:
Women in the 1950’s
• “American Women’s Dilemma”
– Concept of being a stay at home mom and
working outside in the workforce.
• During WWII a ton of women worked in
factories.
• Now the war was over and men came back
and a baby boom followed women were torn
on being the “typical” homemaker or
continuing to work.
Women in the 1950’s
• Dr. Benjamin Spock published his
“Baby and Child Care Book” (1947)
– It really took off in the 1950’s and
1960’s
– He stated that women that they should
make child rearing their most
important task.
– Put children’s needs first.
– Advised women to stay out of the
workforce because they were needed
at home where their babies were.
Women in the 1950’s
• Some psychologists suggested that women
who worked outside of the home were trying
to “Imitate men” and that their true
happiness should be found in being
domesticated.
– Root of this was the “Feminine Mystique”
• The concept that women formed the foundation of
society.
• They were what kept the family together by being
home and taking away stress from the family.
• They were the organizers.
Marjorie Sutton
• Highlighted in 1956 Life
Magazine.
– As a successful woman
who fulfilled her duties.
• Worked in the home.
• Was active in Campfire
Girls, PTA, and charities.
• Chauffeured children to
and from actives
• Helped her husband
entertain his business
clients.
Women gotta look good!
Women’s appearance
• 1950’s also highlighted the
idea of femininity.
• Women were expected to
sacrifice comfort and
practicality for fashion.
– High heals
– Hair always done to the “T”
– Always in make up
Working Women of the 1950’s
• The tide shifted in the late 50’s toward women
working outside the home.
• By 1960, 40% of women were working outside
the home.
– Usually they were married mothers.
– But most were working part time “women’s work
jobs”.
– They were not being equally treated as men in the
workplace in terms of salary and or
professionalism.
Working Women of the 1950’s
• These women primarily worked part time to
supplement their family income so they could
have:
– A second car
– A color TV
– A larger house
• Women working in the 1950’s-1960’s didn’t
destroy families. Often times it brought them
together because the extra income allowed
them to do leisure activities with the family.
Togetherness:
• The word first appeared in the 1950’s.
• It meant a blended, happy, loving family who
spends time together who shares values and is
essentially “good”.
• It instituted family life. Sticking together was
important.
Religion
• Besides family gatherings…
helped keep family together in the 1950’s.
Religion
• 1950’s we were involved in the Cold War
• Pres Eisenhower tied religion to patriotism to
help fight the communist menace. He stated:
– “God was the first and most basic of Americanism”
– Communists were “Godless”
• Atheism was associated with communism.
• Religion was also associated with the family and
“Togetherness” --”The family that prays
together stays together.”
Religion
• The notion of religion = family = patriotism = not
being a communist became popular.
• The Bible topped the chart as the best seller in the
1950’s.
• 1954 the words “Under God” were added to the
Pledge of Allegiance.
• 1956 the words “In God We Trust” became the
new official US Motto replacing “E Pluribus Unum”
• 1957 “In God We Trust” was put on US Currency.
Religion
• Southern Baptist and
evangelical leader Billy
Graham lead a mass
movement back to bible
fundamentalism.
• Founded the Billy
Graham Evangelical
Association in 1950.
– It’s focus was to spread
the Gospel of Jesus
– Focused on the crusade
style of preaching.
Dr. Reverend Billy Graham
He had a TV show called “Hour of
Decision” that ran for 50 years.
Evangelical= relaying a set of beliefs to
those who do not share the same beliefs
Religion
• Over 95% of Americans in the mid 1950’s believe
in religion.
• Religion and attending services became a “social
activity”.
– It was the “thing to do”
– Religion found it’s way into such things as High School
Sports (prayers before games), Bingo games. (Helped
add the acceptableness to the activity.
• Religion helped add the sense of “togetherness”