 I Love Lucy: sYqUEKU sYqUEKU  Leave it to Beaver:  What are some similarities and differences from today’s culture? Think of these topics:  Role of men & women  Fashion  Technology  Music

The Fifties American Studies Campbell High School

1. The Cold War created new job opportunities for women. 2. By 1952, over two million more women were employed than in Women, however, continued to earn two-thirds less than men. 4. During the 1950s, social pressure on women to remain at home grew. 5. More women dropped out of school and married at an earlier age.

 Read through the Good Wife’s Guide and record 4-5 stereotypes about woman that are still prevalent today

1. Between 1945 and 1961, the US birthrate increased so rapidly people refer to the period as the “baby boom.” 2. During the baby boom, more than 65 million children were born in the US.

1. During the Korean War, President Truman ordered the integration of the US military. 2. On the whole, minorities benefited from the Cold War manufacturing boom. 3. As economic status improved, many African Americans sought to wipe out Jim Crow laws and achieve civil rights.

1. WWII hero Dwight Eisenhower (Republican) promised to end the war in Korea. 2. He easily won the 1952 and 1956 Presidential Elections. 3. Unlike President Truman, President Eisenhower practiced a hands-off style of leadership.

1. Ike’s record was a mixed bag. 2. During the 1950s, 3,000 companies merged with the 500 largest corporations without any antitrust challenges by the government. 3. With Ike’s support, Congress increased Social Security benefits, and extended it to seven million more people 4. Unemployment compensation was also extended to four million more people. 5. Eisenhower tried, without success, to create federally funded health insurance.

1. During the 1950s, US made scientific discoveries. 2. Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for preventing polio. 3. By 1960, major illnesses like pneumonia and tuberculosis were nearly wiped out. 4. Factories and industries began using automation; productivity soared. 5. Computers began to revolutionize American industry.

1. Farmers struggled in the Fifties. 2. Between 1948 and 1956, farm income dropped from nine to four percent of national income. 3. The problem: overproduction. 4. Ike resisted farm subsidies. 1. small farm families sold out to large corporate owned farms, known as agribusinesses. 5. By 1959 half of US farmland belonged to only four percent of the farmers.

1. Autos allowed people to live away from the workplace. 2. The 1950s saw the rapid growth of suburbs. 3. Businesses and factories began relocating from cities to suburbs. 4. Cities became centers for the poor and minorities.

1. Strong pressure to conform. 2. This pressure led to discrimination against the non-conformists. 3. Conforming meant obeying all the “rules,” having the “right” type of family and belonging to all the “right” groups.

1. A television set was a status symbol in the Fifties. 2. Televisions were in many US homes by the middle of the Fifties. 3. Television changed political campaigns, ushered in the era of mass marketing, and gave families a form of shared entertainment.

 The 1950's were a time of changes and the music of the decade both reflected the cultural changes that were happening while still holding on to the societal norms of the past  1950's saw the emergence and rise of Rock 'n' Roll  Elvis Presley: =gj0Rz-uP4Mk =gj0Rz-uP4Mk  Buddy Holly: =ku5UeUT7yIQ =ku5UeUT7yIQ

1. Major Issues by the decades end: 1. civil rights in the US and the hostilities in French Indochina were brewing. 2. Conformity challenged