1950s

Economic Boom

• Decade of prosperity• Average American income tripled• Spent on consumer goods like refrigerators,

televisions, air conditioners• Advertising became fastest growing industry in

US• More white-collar jobs

GI Bill

• Provided generous funds to veterans to help them buy homes, attend college, and create businesses

• Low Interest loans to veterans

Fair Deal

• Truman’s Program to promote his domestic agenda

• Raised minimum wage to 75 cents• Increased social security• Passed National Housing Act – provided

construction of low income housing

Eisenhower

• Won election in 1952• Conservative• Cut federal spending• Extended social security• Extended

unemployment compensation

Interstate Highway

• Federal Highway Act• Allowed people to move

to suburbs• Impact of car– Allowed vacationing– Drive-ins– Hotels

Levittown

• Earliest mass-produced suburbs

• Planned residential community

• Moved to suburbs to escape crime and congestion

• Thought it would be better life for children

• GI Bill made it affordable

Baby Boom

• Increase in American birthrate

• Young people who delayed marriage due to war could marry, buy home with GI bill, and start family

• Pop culture (TVs, mags, etc) celebrated pregnancy

Polio Vaccine

• Jonas Salk developed vaccine to prevent polio

• Threat of polio disappeared

• Other medical breakthroughs: radiation and chemotherapy, CPR, Tuberculosis antibiotics

Rock n Roll

• Alan Freed – Cleveland radio jockey– First to convince station to

play

• White artists began making music that stemmed from African American R&B sounds

• Elvis Presley – King of Rock n Roll

• Chuck Barry, Buddy Holly, Lionel Richie

• Created Generation Gap

Television

• More than 80% of families had a TV by 1957

• Comedy, action, adventure, variety

• I Love Lucy• Ed Sullivan show• Gunsmoke• Dragnet• Athletic events• Presidential debates

Beat Generation

• Mostly white writers and artists

• Beatniks• Criticized conformity of

American culture and emptiness of popular culture

• Created values gap• Laid foundations of youth

cultural rebellion of 1960s

Groups Left Out of the Prosperity• Other Problems: • Inner city Decline

– Middle class moved to the suburbs leaving behind poor

– City centers deteriorated due to no longer receiving taxes from middle class that moved out

• Juvenile Delinquency– Rise of caused people to

stereotype teens– Reasons: TV, Racism, Rebelling

against conformity? – Education – parents started

focusing on school to keep kids out of trouble• When Sputnik was launched

increased focus on education especially science and math

• African Americans– Racial discrimination in schools,

housing, hiring, and salaries kept them in poverty

• Hispanics– Hard laborers who lived in extreme

poverty

• Native Americans– Termination Policy- the gov’t

withdrew all recognition of Native American groups as legal entities

– Encouraged them to ‘blend in’ with mainstream society

• Appalachia– Few doctors– Unemployment due to

mechanization of mining– Poor education