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THE 1950s:

THE 1950s:. “Conservatism, Complacency, and Contentment”. Section 24: The 1950’s. Impact of the Cold War on American society Emergence of the modern civil rights movement The affluent society and “the other America” Consensus and conformity: suburbia and middle-class America

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THE 1950s:

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  1. THE 1950s: “Conservatism, Complacency, and Contentment”

  2. Section 24: The 1950’s • Impact of the Cold War on American society • Emergence of the modern civil rightsmovement • The affluent society and “the otherAmerica” • Consensus and conformity: suburbiaand middle-class America • Social critics, nonconformists, and cultural rebels • Impact of changes in science, technology, and medicine

  3. Readjustment and Recovery • By the Summer of 1946 10 million men and women had been released from the armed service • GI Bill of Rights-education, unemployment benefits, low interest loans • Returning vets faced a severe housing shortage.—mass producing of suburban living  • Redefining families- women did not want to give up new freedoms and many war marriages ended in divorce. • Economic readjustment- With war time contracts cancelled many faced unemployment. Prices skyrocketed and demand surpassed supply • Congress eventually reestablished controls on prices, wages and rents

  4. Americans are on a buying spree! • During the war people had gone so long without goods. • Money from service work and war bonds allowed consumers to buy anything from cars to houses • Economy boomed– demand was much higher than supply • Industry increases, more people back to work- “The affluent society” • Cold War also helped industry as the Marshall Plan helped foreign nations and created strong foreign markets for its exports

  5. Truman’s Domestic Policy • Two major challenges: dealing with the rising threat of Communism and restoring American economy to a strong footing after the war’s end. • 4.5 million steelworkers, coal miners, and railroad workers went on strike. • “The Buck Stops Here.” Truman threatened to draft the workers and as soldiers order them to stay on the job. He authorized the Federal Gov’t to seize the mines and even threatened to take the railroads. • 1946 80th Congressional elections, Republicans showed they had enough. Republicans took over the Senate and HOR (first time since 1928) • Taft-Hartley Act- prohibited Union only work environments, restricted labors right to strike, gave gov’t power to intervene in strikes. (Truman vetoed, but Congress overrode. This overturned many rights the unions won under the New Deal)

  6. Social Unrest Persists • Many African Americans that fought in the war demanded their rights as citizens • 1946, Truman created a Commission on Civil Rights. • Asked for a federal anti lynching law, a ban on poll tax, and a permanent civil rights commission • 1948- without Congress support, Truman calls for a integration of the armed forces, and forbid racial discrimination of federal hiring • NAACP- Fought against segregation of buses and schools • Jackie Robinson joined the LA Dodgers • *** These advances provoked an outbreak of racism especially in the South

  7. The Election of 1948 • Dixiecrats- Those angry with Truman’s fight for civil rights nominated own presidential candidate Gov. J. Strom Thurmond • Ran under the States’ Rights Democratic Party • Republican candidate-Thomas E. Dewey • Smart political move: Called a special session of the 80th Congress and challenged them to pass their platform • With nothing passed, Truman campaigned and denounced the “do-nothing 80th Congress”

  8. After his victory, Truman came up with the Fair Deal, an extension of Roosevelt economic program

  9. A New President • With the stalemate of the Cold War and McCarthyism at home Truman did not run for a third term • General Dwight D. Eisenhower- “I like Ike!” • “Modern Republicanism”- called for the government to be conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to human beings

  10. The Eisenhower Years(1953-1960) • Interstate Highway System- made moving soldiers and weapons around the country easier • New roads sped up travel, promoted tourism and helped with the development of suburbs • Termination- Eliminating reservations and requiring Native Americans to listen to state law. Plan failed in the 60’s, but caused depletion of many tribes • Civil Rights (Next Chapter) • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) • Little Rock High School integration (1957) • Montgomery Bus Boycott • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. • Greensboro sit-in

  11. THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THE FIFTIES

  12. A Changing Workplace Automation: 1947-1957  factory workers decreased by 4.3%, eliminating 1.5 million blue-collar jobs (industrial jobs). By 1956  more white-collar (clerical, managerial, or professional occupations) than blue-collar jobs in the U. S. Conglomerates: a major corporation that includes a number of smaller companies in an unrelated industry Ex: International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), bought rental car companies and hotel chains Franchise: a company that offers similar products or services in many locations Ex: McDonalds

  13. A Changing Workplace • New Corporate Culture: American workers found themselves becoming standardized. • -Paid well and had job security, but employers did not want creative thinkers or anyone to rock the “corporate boat” • The Organization Man- large corporations created “company people”. Personality tests were given and employees were rewarded for teamwork, cooperation, and loyalty

  14. Despite their success, some workers questioned whether pursuing the American dream exacted too high a price, as conformity replaced individuality

  15. Baby Boom Population explosion between 1940-1960. In 1957, one American infant was born every 7 seconds *Largest generation in nation’s history! Dr. Benjamin Spockand the Anderson Quintuplets Reasons: Reunion of husband and wife, decreasing marriage age, desirability of large families, confidence in economic prosperity, and advances in medicine

  16. Baby Boom It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America, 1958 1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds

  17. What does this mean for you? Your generation will be supporting an increasingly aging American population

  18. ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND CHILDCARE • Advances in the treatment of childhood diseases included drugs to combat typhoid fever and polio (Jonas Salk)

  19. DR. SPOCK ADVISES PARENTS • Many parents raised their children according to the guidelines of pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock • He thought children should be allowed to express themselves and parents should never physically punish their kids Dr. Spock’s book sold 10 million copies in the 1950s

  20. Women’s Roles • During the 1950’s the role of women as a homemaker and mother was glorified in magazines, movies, and TV shows • Father Knows Best • The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet • Time magazine described the woman, “ a key figure in all suburbia, the thread that weaves between family and community” • Many women were not happy and by 1960, almost 40% of mothers held jobs. • Still received lower pay and jobs were limited to nursing, teaching and office support

  21. Levittown, L. I.: “The American Dream” Suburban Living 1949 William Levitt produced 150 houses per week. $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.

  22. Suburban Living:The New “American Dream” • 1 story high • 12’x19’ living room • 2 bedrooms • tiled bathroom • garage • small backyard • front lawn By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs.

  23. Suburban Living SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1940-1970 1940195019601970 Central Cities 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% Suburbs 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 41.6% Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% Small Towns U. S. Bureau of the Census.

  24. Suburban Living:The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna Reed Show1958-1966 Leave It to Beaver1957-1963 Father Knows Best1954-1958 The Ozzie & Harriet Show1952-1966

  25. LEISURE IN THE 1950s • 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 • In 1953 alone Americans spent $30 billion on leisure • Popular activities included fishing, bowling, hunting and golf • Americans attended, or watched on T.V., football, baseball and basketball games

  26. Consumerism The first credit card (Diner’s Club) appeared in 1950 and American Express was introduced in 1958 Personal debt increased nearly 3x in the 1950s All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life Magazine (May, 1958)

  27. RISE OF CONSUMERISM 3B. Consumerism • By the mid-1950s, nearly 60% of Americans were members of the middle class • Consumerism (buying material goods) came to be equated with success and status

  28. The Culture of the Car Car registrations: 1945  25,000,000 1960  60,000,000 2-family cars doubles from 1951-1958 1958 Pink Cadillac 1959 Chevy Corvette • 1956 Interstate Highway Act largest public works project in American history! • Cost $32 billion. • 41,000 miles of new highways built.

  29. IMPACT OF THE HIGHWAY • “Automania” spurred the construction of roads linking major cities while connecting schools, shopping centers and workplaces to residential suburbs

  30. The Culture of the Car 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 The nation had become “homogenized” First McDonald’s (1955) Drive-In Movies Howard Johnson’s

  31. “Our new roads, with their ancillaries, the motels, filling stations, and restaurants advertising eats, have made it possible for you to drive from Brooklyn to Los Angeles without a change of diet, scenery, or culture.” • John Keats, The Insolent Chariots 1958

  32. 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.

  33. Television 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

  34. TELEVISION EXPERIMENTS WITH VARIOUS FORMATS • Television innovations like on-the-scene-news reporting, interviews, westerns and sporting events offered the viewer a variety of shows • Kids’ shows like The Howdy Doody Show and The Mickey Mouse Club were extremely popular

  35. Television - Family Shows Glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life. I Love Lucy The Honeymooners

  36. TV ADS, TV GUIDES AND TV DINNERS EXPAND • TV advertising soared from $170 million in 1950 to nearly $2 billion in 1960 • 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

  37. A subculture emerges • Although mass media and television were wildly popular in the 1950s, dissenting voices emerged • The “Beat Movement” in literature and rock n’ roll clashed with tidy suburban views of life

  38. BEATNIKS FOLLOW OWN PATH • Centered in San Francisco, L.A. and New York’s Greenwich Village, the Beat Movement expressed social nonconformity • Followers, called “beatniks”, tended to shun work and sought understanding through Zen Buddhism, music, and sometimes drugs Beatniks often performed poetry or music in coffeehouses or bars

  39. Rock ‘n’ Roll -Musicians in the 1950s added electronic instruments to traditional blues music, creating rhythm and blues -Cleveland DJ Alan Freed was the first to play this music in 1951– he called it “rock and roll” 1951 “race music” “ROCK ‘N ROLL” Elvis Presley “The King”

  40. In the early and mid-fifties, Richard Penniman, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, and especially Elvis Presley brought rock and roll to the forefront • The driving rhythm and lyrics featuring love, cars, and problems of being young --- captivated teenagers across the country

  41. THE OTHER AMERICA • In 1962, nearly one out of every four Americans was living below the poverty level • Most of these poor were the elderly, single women and their children, and/or minorities

  42. WHITE FLIGHT • In the 1950s, millions of middle-class white Americans left the cities for the suburbs • At the same time millions of African American rural poor migrated to the cities • The so-called “White Flight” drained cities of valuable resources, money and taxes

  43. Progress Through Science 1951 -- First IBM Mainframe Computer 1952 -- Hydrogen Bomb Test 1953 -- DNA Structure Discovered 1954 -- Salk Vaccine Tested for Polio 1957 -- First Commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant 1958 -- NASA Created 1959 -- Press Conference of the First 7 American Astronauts

  44. 1957  Russians launch SPUTNIK I Progress Through Science 1958 National Defense Education Act

  45. Progress Through Science UFO Sightings skyrocketed in the 1950s. War of the Worlds Hollywood used aliens as a metaphor for whom ??

  46. Progress Through Science Atomic Anxieties: • “Duck-and-Cover Generation” Atomic Testing: • 1946-1962  U. S. exploded 217 nuclear weapons over the Pacific and in Nevada.

  47. The 50s Come to a Close 1959  Nixon-Khrushchev “Kitchen Debate” Cold War ----->Tensions <----- Technology & Affluence

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