By: Jasmine Mitchell, Megan Zager

Period 2

April 22, 2011

Affluent SocietyThe 1950s are often seen as a counterpoint to the decades that followed it — a period of conformity, prosperity, and peace (after the Korean War ended), as compared to the rebellion, unrest, and war that began in the 1960s. However, the decade was not without its problems. Many domestic and foreign policy issues surfaced in the '50s that the United States would grapple with in the years ahead. Throughout the country, while many Americans enjoyed the fruits of an affluent society, poverty was more widespread than most believed, and the struggle for civil rights by minorities, particularly African-Americans, became a national concern. Internationally, the Cold War continued. Although Eisenhower initiated the first steps toward improving relations with the Soviet Union, the United States became involved in Southeast Asia and offered pro-Western governments in the Middle East and Latin America financial and military support.

Fad-Fashion

Men wore gray flannel suits and women wore dresses with pinched in waists and high heels. French fashion designerssuch as Dior, Chanel and Givenchy were popular and copied in America. Families worked together, played together and vacationed together at family themed entertainment areas like national parks and the new Disneyland. Gender roles were strongly held, girls played with Barbie dolls and Dale Evans gear, boys with Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett paraphernalia. Drive-in movies became popular for families and teens. Cars were seen as an indicator of prosperity and cool-ness. Highways were built to take people quickly from one place to another, by-passing small towns and helping to create central marketing areas or shopping malls such as Sharps town Mall, Gulf gate Mall and Meyer land Plaza in Houston. Fashion successes were Bill Blass and his blue jeans, poodle skirts made of felt and decorated with sequins and poodle appliqués, pony tails for girls, and flat tops and crew cuts for guys. Saddle shoes and blue suede loafers were popular. Teenagers were defined as a separate generation and were represented by James Dean who wore blue jeans in Rebel Without a Cause and created a fashion and attitude sensation. Activities we liked were flying saucer watching, and watching and dancing to Dick Clark's American Bandstand . Fad hits with kids were toys like hula hoops and Hop along Cassidy guns and western gear, Davy Crockett coon skin hats and silly putty .

Cars-National Highway Act

Shopping /Consumerism

Labor Unions

Role of Women

AdChoices

Music

Leisure Time

Alaska- Hawaii

Dance

Journalism

Governments- Ike

Containment (FP)

Containment began as a new answer to a radically different international dilemma. Communism posed a grave threat to democracy everywhere. If the U.S. failed to stop it, then capitalism would inevitably crash. Truman opted to diplomatically and economically freeze the Russian economy rather than to begin WWIII. Recognized as containment, this theory postulates that by keeping ‘the bad’ out, the good would thrive. By indirectly dealing with the problem, Truman hoped to skirt nuclear attacks and keep the American ideal strong. McCarthy held this same notion when dealing with communist infiltration in the U.S. government. Incidentally the new nuclear family hoped to escape an economic slump and fear of the present by flocking to the suburbs. With their foundations in international policies regarding communism, both McCarthyism and the nuclear family provided means of containment in order to achieve security on the political and social levels

United NationsThe United States was not yet in the war. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union and after the U.S. entered World War II, the above powers were joined by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in what was called the "Declaration by United Nations," signed in Washington on January 1, 1942. Each government pledged "to employ its full resources, military or economic" to defeat Germany, Japan and Italy. They agreed not to make a separate peace with the enemy. A number of Latin American nations joined the group, as did Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and some smaller African states.

Nuclear Fears- H-bomb

In the summer of 1945, the world was forever changed. The annihilation of two citiesand the surrender of Japan showed the potency of atomic weapons in war. The atomic age wasushered in as one of great technological development and much fear. With the end of WWII, anew conflict arose between the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. Most Americans saw the SovietUnion as aggressors leaving its massive army in Eastern Europe. This conflict between twosuper powers developed into the Cold War. The Soviet threat became real to Americans in theSeptember of 1949 when the Soviet Union detonated its own nuclear weapon. A technologicalrace between the Soviet Union and U.S.A. began. To exert dominance, the U.S. developed thethermonuclear bomb. The thermonuclear bomb, also known as the Hydrogen bomb, works bysetting off a fission based nuclear reaction which heats up deuterium and tritium (hydrogenisotopes) to point in which the isotopes began to fuse

Barbie- Twiggy

Believe it or not, Barbie originally was a real person. Her name was Barbara (Barbie) Handler and her mother and father were Ruth and Elliot. In the early 1950's, Barbie's mother watched her and her girlfriends play with adult female dolls more than they did the baby dolls. Her mother knew it was just as important for young girls to imagine what it would be like to be grown up. Since most of the adult dolls available at that time were paper or cardboard, Barbie's mother decided to make a three-dimensional female adult doll. One that was lifelike enough to serve as an inspiration for little girl's dreams of the future.

McDonalds

In the 1950s and 60s, fast food chains – epitomized by McDonald's –revolutionized the restaurant industry and changed farming and food distribution businesses. The first McDonald's restaurant was actually a barbecue joint that opened in 1940 by brothers Dick and Maurice (Mac) McDonald along Route 66 in San Bernardino, California. With success, the brothers franchised their enterprise and had eight restaurants open by the early 50s. It's significant that McDonald's concentrated on milkshakes because that brought Ray Kroc to McDonalds in 1954. By 1958, the company sold its 100 millionth hamburger.

Rebellious TeensThey hung out with their friends at malt shops, “necked” at drive-in movies, and gathered around the television with their families – only one set per household in those days – to watch respectable programs such as “I Love Lucy” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Teenage boys – from slick-haired “greasers” to cardigan-wearing preppies – spent ample time salivating over the increasingly sleek and sporty cars that were being churned out each year. Girls swooned over pin-ups of teen idols like Troy Donahue and Fabian, and consulted newly inaugurated teen magazines for advice on dating or fashion. Perhaps if the teens of the ‘50s had gone no further with their exploration of fun, perhaps the world would be a different place. But America’s first teenagers clearly wanted more than wholesome fun. And when rock ‘n rollers such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley burst onto the scene, teens were ready. They latched onto rock ‘n roll’s reckless, thrilling beat and refused to let go. With the advent of rock ‘n roll, and a spate of movies featuring disaffected teens (most notably being James Dean in “Rebel Without A Cause”), America got its first taste of teenage rebellion.

McCarthyism- HUAC

Joseph McCarthy was born on a farm in Appleton , Wisconsin , on 14th November, 1908. McCarthy's first years in the Senate were unimpressive. People also started coming forward claiming that he had lied about his war record. Another problem for McCarthy was that he was being investigated for tax offences and for taking bribes from the Pepsi-Cola Company. In May, 1950, afraid that he would be defeated in the next election, McCarthy held a meeting with some of his closest advisers and asked for suggestions on how he could retain his seat. Edmund Walsh, a Roman Catholics priest, came up with the idea that he should begin a campaign against communist subversives working in the Democratic administration. Anderson provided McCarthy with information about politicians and state officials he suspected of being "communists". Anderson later recalled that his decision to work with McCarthy "was almost automatic.. for one thing, I owed him; for another, he might be able to flesh out some of our inconclusive material, and if so, I would no doubt get the scoop."