The 1950s A New American Society

America After the War Cold War begins Idealistic society  Conformity encouraged American life transitioned to suburbia  Women return to traditional roles More “desk jobs” than hands-on labor Some similarities to 1920s  Postwar Economic Growth  New Commercialism Advertisements & Television Credit Cards Times Square, New York V-J Day 1950s Family gathered around the television Desk jobs increased during the 1950s

The Suburbs Success defined by home ownership  “American Dream”  Focus on openness, community, conformity  Decline in urban living  Populated mostly by young, white, middle class families  Husbands commuted to cities to work, housewives raised children Levittown leads the way  4 types of houses built in named communities with similar sizes, yards, etc. Levittown, PA Ads such as this one demonstrated the kinds of homes available in Levittown

Roles of Women Women encouraged to be homemakers  “Keepers of the suburban dream” (Time Magazine)  Main role was to keep house, raise children Limited job choices for women  Teachers, Nurses, Secretaries  Not for married women M.R.S. degree  Women encouraged to use school to find a husband Women were encouraged to work during WWII, but when the war ended, they were encouraged to return to the home Teaching was one job available to women

Baby Boom During the 1950s, the US population grew by 30 million people People were getting married and having children earlier and in larger numbers than during the War years Larger families contributed to more traditional roles for women Large families moved to suburbia for good schools Americans married young and more children than the previous generation

TV and Commercialism Television debuted just after WWII Over 45 million sold during the 1950s Programs directed toward families and children Best medium for new commercial-driven lifestyles  Led Americans to believe products could help perfect their lives  Could be use to sell almost anything  WBI WBI Concern over television destroying family meal time led to the TV Dinner in 1954 Family television time Ad for Swanson TV Dinners Shows like Howdy Doody were aimed at children “I Love Lucy” was one of the most popular shows of the decade

“Teenagers” and Rock and Roll New form of music  Popular with Teenagers Elvis Presley was “King of Rock and Roll”  Influences from Gospel and Country music Teenagers defined as a separate social group for the first time  Events and Places just for teenagers Soda shop Sock hops Elvis combined “hillbilly” music and gospel sounds to create a new kind of music Teenagers at a sock hop

Fashion

Cars 2015

Houses

Appliances 2015

Hair Styles

Toys 2015

Interstate Highway System One of Eisenhower’s top priorities as President was an interstate highway system. His first year in office, 1953, was dominated by the Korean War, but by 1954, he raised the highway issue. Congress passed the Federal Aid Hwy Act of 1954 authorizing $175 million, but Eisenhower considered that just “one effective forward step.” The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 allowed the interstate system to grow, and it is currently 46,876 miles.

The Cold War… Growing out of post-World War II tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, the Cold War lasted for much of the second half of the 20th century. The Cold War resulted in mutual suspicions, heightened tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster.  Arms Race  Red Scare  Space Race  Berlin Wall timelines/03-cold-war-timeline.htm timelines/03-cold-war-timeline.htm

1950s Slang Assignment – DUE TOMORROW!! Use at least FIVE of the common slang words from the 1950s to write a paragraph that summarizes things you’ve learned about life in America during the 1950s. Be creative and have fun with this, but make sure you’re using the words correctly and that you are correctly describing life in the 1950s. Note: You may use only ONE slang term per sentence!