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The 1950’s

The 1950’s. Happy Days?. Returning soldiers wanted to put the horrors of the battlefields behind them when they came back home Americans could now spend money they had saved when most items were rationed during the war or unaffordable during the Depression. Huge Economic Expansion.

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The 1950’s

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  1. The 1950’s

  2. Happy Days? • Returning soldiers wanted to put the horrors of the battlefields behind them when they came back home • Americans could now spend money they had saved when most items were rationed during the war or unaffordable during the Depression

  3. Huge Economic Expansion • Avg. income almost doubled in post-war years

  4. Big Corporations • Car companies like Ford and General Motors • General Electric (GE) dominated the electrical business

  5. Fast Food • Fast food industry sprung up because of fast, efficient service and location along new busy highways • McDonald’s and 100’s of other restaurant franchises(the right to open a restaurant using a parent company’s brand name and system)

  6. New Technology • New and improved products like dishwashsaved consumers time and moneyersand gas-powered lawnmowers that • Television – 2/3 of American families owned one by 1953 - “fell in love” with it

  7. TV • Howdy Doody, The Mickey Mouse Club, I Love Lucy, and American Bandstand (the 1st MTV) • Only 3 networks controlled all shows • Sold advertising/commericials– buy stuff!

  8. Other Advances • 1st computers that could fit on a desk instead of filling a room • Nuclear power – generated electrical power using same technology as atomic bomb

  9. Medicine • Advances in medicine – Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine (had killed or disabled 20,000 kids in US every year) • Penicillin and antibiotics • Heart surgery • Psychiatric medication (for mentally ill)

  10. Changes in the Workplace • Before the war most had blue-collar jobs in factories producing goods • By mid 1950’s majority had white-collar jobs working in offices or selling products

  11. Large Corporations • Downside to this: large corporations were impersonal, less connection to the products the company made, employees often told to dress, think, and act alike

  12. Suburbs and Highways • Baby boom continued – lots of new babies! • Growing families wanted to live outside cities and could now drive in to work in new cars on new highways

  13. New Homes • GI Bill – gave low-interest loans to soldiers so they could buy a home – “cookie-cutter “neighborhoods (all looked alike) starting springing up everywhere and quickly

  14. Highways • Stores moved from cities to shopping centers further away • People used more private cars and less public transportation

  15. Highways • More cars led to building 40,000 miles of roads and highways connecting towns & states • Credit cards introduced so people could buy stuff (gas, etc.) easier while on the road

  16. The Mood of the 1950’s • People felt comfortable • Preferred securityover adventure • Wanted better life for their children than they had • Now preferred conformityto individuality

  17. Youth Culture • The “silent generation” • Most had little interest in problems of the larger world • Could now stay in school instead of dropping out to help family pay bills

  18. Teen Culture • Ads and movies created image of what it meant to be a teenager • Boys in varsity letter sweaters • Girls in bobby socks and poodle skirts

  19. Challenges to Conformity While most wanted to fit in, a few rejected the values of their parents and society and felt misunderstood and alone Beatniks – the “Beat Generation” – embraced poetry, art, and more meaningful ideas and rejected materialism and conformity of mainstream America

  20. Rock n’ Roll Rock and roll first introduced – gave teens something rebellious Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Screaming teenage girls and large record sales Parents thought it was devil’s music and tried to ban it – made it more popular

  21. Politics WWII war hero Dwight Eisenhower (or Ike as he was affectionately called) won the presidential election in 1952 and 1956 (his slogan was “I like Ike”) As a republican he scaled back some of the social programs that the democrats Truman and FDR supported Republican ideas – cut spending, reduce taxes, and balance the budget

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