THE 1950s “Conservatism, Complacency, and Contentment”

The Truman Legacy: United Nations Truman Doctrine, containment, Marshall Plan G.I. Bill ended segregation in Army and US government Fair Deal: programs that attempted to improve living conditions. Higher minimum wage, and social security benefits to more Americans Taft- Hartley Act- reduced strength of unions.

G.I. Bill (1944) Loans and pensions Buy homes and businesses College tuition

GI Bill 4 million veterans buy homes 8 million attend college Helps economic growth Growth of Suburbs

President Eisenhower ( )

Well-Defined Gender Roles 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. -- Life magazine, 1956 The ideal 1950s man was the provider, protector, and the boss of the house. -- Life magazine, Life magazine, 1955

Baby Boom It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America,  1 baby born every 7 seconds

Baby Boom Dr. Benjamin Spock Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care End of WWII and G.I. Bill Medical science improved increasing the survival rate of babies. Jonas Salk invents Polio vaccine Prosperous economy encouraged parents to have babies sooner.

Based on the cartoon how did the baby boom impact the country?

Suburban Living $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Levittown, L. I.: “The American Dream” 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week.

Suburban Living: The New “American Dream” By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs.

Suburban Living: The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna Reed Show Leave It to Beaver Father Knows Best The Ozzie & Harriet Show

Television 1946  7,000 TV 1950  50,000,000 TV Mass Audience  TV celebrated traditional American values. Truth, Justice, and the American way!

Impact of Television TV became the center of consumer culture TV Guide outsold every other magazine. TV Dinner was introduced in 1954 and altered America’s eating habits.

The Television Revolution, 1950–1994

The Perfect Family Shows like Leave it to Beaver, and I love Lucy portrayed a perfect family life and not the reality of everyday homes.I love Lucy

Television – The Western Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier The Lone Ranger (and his faithful sidekick, Tonto): Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke

Consumerism 1950  Diner’s Card (1 st Credit Card) All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life Magazine (May, 1958)

Consumerism “Keeping up with the Jones”

The Culture of the Car Car registrations: 1945  25,000,  60,000,000 2-family cars doubles from Chevy Corvette 1958 Pink Cadillac

The Culture of the Car The U. S. population was on the move in the 1950s. NE & Mid-W  S & SW (“Sunbelt” states) 1955  Disneyland opened in Southern California. (40% of the guests came from outside California, most by car.) Frontier Land Main Street Tomorrow Land

The Culture of the Car First McDonald’s (1955) America became a more homogeneous nation because of the automobile. Drive-In Movies Howard Johnson’s

The Culture of the Car 1956  Interstate Highway Act largest public works project in American history!  41,000 miles of new highways  Cost $32 billion.

Eisenhower’s Legacy Ended Korean War Booming economy Highway Act: expanded highway system which aided in growth of suburbs N.A.S.A and Space Race Brown v. Board of Education and Little Rock Nine

Quick Review of 1950’s Government funding for science and math

Teen Culture In the 1950s the word “teenager” “teenager” entered the American language. By 1956 13 mil. teens with $7 bil. to spend a year  “race music”  “ROCK ‘N ROLL” Elvis Presley  “The King”

Progress Through Science First IBM Mainframe Computer Hydrogen Bomb Test DNA Structure Discovered Salk Vaccine Tested for Polio First Commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant NASA Created Press Conference of the First 7 American Astronauts

Progress Through Science 1957  Russians launch SPUTNIK I 1958  National Defense Education Act

Progress Through Science Atomic Anxieties:  “Duck-and-Cover Generation” Atomic Testing: à  U. S. exploded 217 nuclear weapons over the Pacific and in Nevada.