Transcript of Post War- 1950’s American Society Reading Assignment Read Chapter 18 Section 1,2,3 pages 598-624...
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- Post War- 1950s American Society
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- Reading Assignment Read Chapter 18 Section 1,2,3 pages 598-624
Quiz on Tuesday
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- Slang of the 1950s List the terms we still use today.
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- Post War Economic Boom GI Bill Millions go to college-white
collar- middle class FHA makes low interest loans, spurs growth of
suburban American Consumer Goods-Cars, T.V., Appliances, AC,
electric everything Wages increase by 20% during the 1950s,
dominate world manufacturing
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- A Moving Society Americans love for cars is everywhere in the
1950s- overwhelming majority have 1 by 1960 Symbol of American
freedom, individualism, standard of living Car registrations: 1945-
25,000,000 1960 -60,000,000 2-family cars doubles from 1951-1958
Interstate Highway Act of 1956- Builds freeway system in the U.S.-
43,100 miles of road Todays Problems TodayProblems
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- The Culture of the Car First McDonalds (1955) Drive in culture,
very socially mobile society Drive-In Movies Howard Johnsons
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- Growth of the Suburbs- American Dream and White Flight
Levittown, Long Island was one of the first ideal suburban towns
created Houses, streets, trees, etc. are all the same Little Boxes
White Flight- 1950s-1960s- mass movement of middle class whites to
the suburbs By 1960-1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs.
Sunbelt Migration 1949 -William Levitt produced 150 houses per
week. $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.
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- Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes, Little boxes, all the same. There's a
green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And
they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the
same. And the people in the houses All go to the university, And
they all get put in boxes, Little boxes, all the same. And there's
doctors and there's lawyers And business executives, And they're
all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. And
they all play on the golf-course, And drink their Martini dry, And
they all have pretty children, And the children go to school. And
the children go to summer camp And then to the university, And they
all get put in boxes And they all come out the same. And the boys
go into business, And marry, and raise a family, And they all get
put in boxes, Little boxes, all the same. There's a green one and a
pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out
of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. Little Boxes,
1962-Malvina Reynolds: Critique of the American Dream
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- Suburban Living: The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna
Reed Show 1958-1966 Leave It to Beaver 1957-1963 Father Knows Best
1954-1958 The Ozzie & Harriet Show 1952-1966 I Love Lucy
1951-1957 Present a glossy image of ideal American life and
values
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- Gender Roles T.V. shows, magazines, advertisement and
government propaganda promote the ideal American family Traditional
Gender Roles- Reading 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 familys 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 Backlash against 50s gender role conformity. Betty
Friedan writes the groundbreaking book, The Feminine Mystique. Sows
seeds for Feminist movement of 60s.
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- American Dream in the 1950s White Middle Class America thrived
in the 1950s Suburban Growth create new ideal communities with many
activities Baby Boom- 1945-1964, largest in U.S. History, 70+
million! Religious revival Keeping up with The Joneses McCarthyism
and Cold War fears, along with T.V. and government propaganda, push
for social conformity
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- 1950s Consumerism 1950 Introduction of the Diners Card Spending
on credit becomes the foundation of the American economy!
Advertising drives Americas spending habits.
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- Television in the 1950s 1946 7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1950
50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. Mass Audience TV celebrated
traditional American values. Truth, Justice, and the American
way!
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- Television The Western Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke
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- Popular Culture Changes-Birth of Rock and Roll Teenager culture
drives pop culture Dances, diners, drive ins Rock and Roll is born
-1951 Alan Freed 1954-Elvis cuts Thats alright Mama, Bill Haley
Rock Around the Clock Elvis on T.V. Chuck Berry, Little Richard,
Buddy Holly American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show dominate
T.V.
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- Rebellion and Dissent The 1950s sees a rise in juvenile
delinquency Rock and Roll was seen as the devils music by some
Hollywood had its rebels also... The Beat Generation: First Counter
Culture, roots of the Hippie movement Jack Kerouac- On The Road
Allen Ginsberg poem-Howl
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- The Other America: Poverty And Segregation in the 1950s Not
everyone sharing in prosperity. Jim Crow is still alive and well in
the south. In the north, de-facto segregation and discrimination.
Women are questioning traditional gender roles. The Feminine
Mystique is the beginning of the Feminist Movement Not everyone
conforming (Counter-culture) Poverty exists, but mainstream America
ignores it. The Other America is written to expose poverty. The
Invisible Man is written to expose racism and segregation