1. 1950s Society Video Cultural Overview Video Cultural Overview

2. Economics after WW2  1950-1970 long economic boom  National income doubles in 1950s and again in 1960s  Middle Class doubles to 60% of pop’n  Own cars, TVs, washing machines  Agribusiness – mechanized farming  More workers shift to industry/white collar

5. “Affluent Society”  Luckiest Generation Luckiest Generation Luckiest Generation

6. Causes

7. Economics after WW2  Economy recovers – why?  Cheap energy – low cost of petroleum  Productivity  cold war spending, marshall plan

8. GI Bill of 1944  15 million returning veterans  Encouraged veterans to get an education  Unemployment benefits  Loans for homes, farms, businesses

9. 1956 Interstate Highway Act  largest public works project in American history!  Cost $32 billion.  41,000 miles of new highways built.

10. Baby Boom

11.  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

12. Effects

13. Suburbia  By 1960, 25% of Americans live in suburbs  FHA/VA low interest loans  Tax deductions for mortgage payers

14. Suburban Living  The American Dream  1949  William Levitt built 150 houses/week. William Levitt William Levitt  Standardized plans, factory assembled frames

16. Consumerism

17. Consumerism What do you notice? Washer Machine Washer Machine Coffee TV

18. Well-Defined Gender Roles The ideal modern woman married, cooked and cared for her family, and kept herself busy by joining the local PTA and leading a troop of Campfire Girls. She entertained guests in her family’s suburban house and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12 figure. -- Life magazine, 1956 The ideal 1950s man was the provider, protector, and the boss of the house. -- Life magazine, 1955

19. Teen Culture  From Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley Frank SinatraElvis PresleyFrank SinatraElvis Presley  Result = Generation Gap  Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Sept 1956 Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Sept 1956 Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Sept 1956  vs.  Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Oct 1956 Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Oct 1956 Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Oct 1956

20. Reasons for Generation Gap? Example1Example1 vs. Example2 Example2 Example1Example2  Rock ‘n’ Roll based on African American rhythm and blues music of the 1930s and 1940s  Chuck Berry Chuck Berry Chuck Berry

21. Examples of Generation Gap  1953: six counties in South Carolina outlawed any jukebox in hearing distance of a church.  1954: “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Elvis was deemed objectionable by the Juvenile Delinquency and Crime Commission in Houston. They wanted it banned from the radio and record stores.*  1955: CBS cancelled “Rock-n-Roll Dance Party” after they showed a black singer dancing with a white girl.  1956: San Antonio, TX removed all rock-n-roll from jukeboxes by swimming pools.

22. Unintended Impacts of Prosperity?

23. Conformity  Reactions:  Group of writers and artists, called the beats or beatniks, criticized American culture for being stale and empty  Little Boxes Little Boxes Little Boxes

28. Poverty Amid Prosperity  Poverty rate nearly double today’s  As middle class families moved to the suburbs, cities lost important tax dollars  “White Flight”  Patterns of racial discrimination left many minorities in poverty

31. Racial Tensions Heighten  Despite 15 th Amendment:  Literacy tests  Poll taxes  Voter registration included address, employer, list of family members

32. Brown v. Board of Education  1954 Supreme Court case determined segregation in public schools was unconstitutional

33. Crisis in Little Rock

36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAPOvdOEYE8  Arkansas governor used National Guard soldiers to block 9 African American students from entering a high school.  When the president told the governor to remove the soldiers, an angry mob of white citizens prevented the students from entering  Finally, President Eisenhower had to send U.S. soldiers to Arkansas to force integration and following of law.