THE FIFTIES- THE GOLDEN AGE

The Golden Age

What were the characteristics of the affluent age?

1. Changed Economy 2. A Suburban nation 3. A consumer culture 4. The TV world A New Ford Women at Work Segregated Landscape

Economic Boom

Robust post war economy fueled by a society eager to spend after years of depression and war.

Factories re-tooled from machinery of war to consumer goods!

The Organization and the Organization Man

During the 1950’s businesses expanded rapidly

More people hold “white-collar” jobs

The fields of sales, advertising, insurance, and communication exploded

A Suburban Nation

Causes Good Economy Returning Veterans Baby Boom Shortage of housing in cities Highway Act Automobiles

Baby Boom During the late 1940s and

through the early 1960s the birthrate in the U.S. soared

Why did the baby boom happen? Husbands returning from war Decreasing marriage age Confidence in economy Advances in medicine

Baby boomers represent the largest generation on the nation’s history

Highway Construction

Interstate Highway and Defense Act, 1956

Purpose? Unintended Consequence?

Why would this bill promote suburbanization?

Federal funds helped cities pay for the highways needed for suburbanization

Levittown Houses cheap

and plentiful

FHA and VA subsidies

The dream of home ownership came within the reach of the majority of Americans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUrf_jzn_To

A Consumer Culture

Freedom interpreted as buying?

Consumer Goods TV, Cars, Stereos, Dishwashers National Fads Rise in Consumer Credit up 800% (1945-

57)

We will continue the 1950s notes tomorrow.

Homework – Create a visual summary for today’s notes. Write the main idea for 5 of the following subheading and illustrate each one. The Golden Age Economic Boom The Organization and the Organization Man A Suburban Nation Baby Boom Highway Construction Levittown Consumer Culture

The TV World

TV replaces newspaper as the most common source of information

Provided Americans with a common cultural experience

TV avoided controversy and projected bland image of middle-class life

Effective advertising medium

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbCGT_AWBI&list=FL_FeRENpHqj0K6lq4EsISow&index=1&feature=plpp_video

The average family watched 4 to 5 hours of TV a day

A New Car Culture

Along with a home and TV, the car became part of what sociologists called “the standard consumer package” of the 1950s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhR8GZ_WWMM

Main form of urban transportation Allowed the suburbs to expand In the 1950s car manufacturers

began making yearly changes to car designs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhR8GZ_WWMM

Female Sphere

Did Women lose or gain during this period?

After 1945, women lost many of the jobs they had performed during the war

By the mid-1950s women were working again, but the nature and aims had changed

Women were expected to get married, have children, and stay at home

Women at Home

Popular culture glorified marriage, family, and parenthood (Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best)

Educational programs promoted domestic sciences

Leisure in the 1950s

Shorter work weeks and longer vacations

Labor-saving devices added more spare time

TV Ads, TV Guides and TV Dinners TV ads increase from $170 million in

1950 to nearly $ 2 billion in 1960 TV Guide TV Dinners

Leisure Activities

In 1953 alone $30 billion is spent on leisure

Popular activities include bowling, hunting, golf

Americans attended or watched sports

Drive-ins

Fear in the 1950s

Internal Domestic Prosperity VS External Fear of Communism

Fear of the Bomb

Fear of Polio

Fear of Teenage Culture The term

teenager was not really used until after WWII

Cultural Split between parent/teens – different dress/ hair

Teenage Culture

The term teenager was not really used until after WWII

Cultural Split between parent/teens – different dress/ hair

Teens: Boring Suburbs

Teens rejected the suburbs/ nothing ever happened

Many teens felt misunderstood

The ideal of being a rebel increases juvenile crime

Teens: Rock and Roll

Birth of Rock and Roll Grown out of rhythm and

blues tradition Lyrics more explicit Teens love it, parents hate it Rock influenced race

relations/ integrated concerts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOvUdZgl7vo&list=PLF8106F33BA3D28A9&index=2&feature=plpp_video

Elvis

Elvis brought rock and roll to white middle class America

A huge hit with young female fans

Became a symbol of rebellious youth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdVqWuqUsI&list=FL_FeRENpHqj0K6lq4EsISow&index=4&feature=plpp_video

Rebels without a Cause

Generational tensions lay beneath the bland surface of the 1950s life

The Beats The Beats were a

small group of poets and writers who went against mainstream culture

Rejected Work ethic The “desperate

materialism” of the suburbs

The militarization of US life by the cold war

Celebrated impulsive action, immediate pleasure

The Beatniks

Emergence of literature and film dealing with alienation

Against conformity Jack Kerouac J.D. Salinger Allen Ginsberg