2.  After WWII, Truman had enormous challenge of converting country back to peacetime economy  Pushed for end to segregation and proposed Fair Deal – raise minimum wage, enact national health insurance program, etc.  Met with resistance – Congress refused to act!  Why do you think this plan was met with resistance?  1952, Eisenhower elected president  Republican war hero; “I like Ike!”

3.  How is this ad different than what we see today?  Does this indicate anything about the direction in which politics has taken over the past 60 years?

4.  After WWII, millions got married; resulted in baby boom – large increase in births in proportion to size of population  Think about all the 55+ communities popping up today!  After WWII, women were asked to retake traditional roles in the household  Mass-media reinforced traditional family roles  Leave it to Beaver clip  Word to the Wives clip w/ reflection questions

5.  Suburbanization – process of residential, commercial, and industrial growth and development beyond central city; movement of people out of cities into new surrounding neighborhoods  Major contributing factors:  Baby boom  Change in housing mortgages (from 10 year loan with 80% down payment to 30 year loan with 10% down payment)  GI Bill subsidized education and housing  Automobiles became more available, affordable  Levittown Video Clip

6.  Went from war production and rationing to producing consumer goods and having money to spend…  Real Income (the amount your income will buy regardless of inflation) doubled between 1920 and 1950  Before 1950s, most Americans shopped on Main Street; During 1950s, suburban shopping centers (malls) sprang up  Charge cards (specific store) and credit cards (general use) available

7.  The desire to own something a little newer, better (and a little sooner than necessary!)  Aim: to make items that are still usable look obsolete or out of date  Advertisements used this method (and still do!)  Planned Obsolescence Video Clip

8.  Start of the service industry – i.e. McDonalds!!!  Birth of franchises – an agreement to operate a business and carry a company’s name and sell its products (Fun Fact about Ms. Wynn: My dream job was to own an Auntie Anne’s)  Before 1950s, most jobs blue collar – jobs in factories or skilled trades like pluming or auto repair  By the end of the 1950s, most jobs white collar – professional positions like doctors, lawyers, engineers, salespersons, managers, office staff

9.  Choose one of the options below to answer today’s LEQ:  Write a beat poem. Your poem should be at least eight lines.  Write a 1950s rock ‘n’ roll song. Your song should have at least three versus (three lines each)  Draw the cover of a comic book. Include a one- paragraph written description of how your comic book cover answers the LEQ.  Create an abstract piece of art. Include a one- paragraph written description of how your art answers the LEQ.

10.  Using the term “Nifty Fifties” create an acrostic poem that answers LEQs 1 & 2. Use as much “Beat Slang” as you can!  Why are the 1950s remembered as an age of affluence?  How did some Americans rebel against conformity in the 1950s?