THE 1950s

1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds Post-War Baby Boom “It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant.” -- British visitor to America, 1958 1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds

$7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Growth of the Suburbs Levittown: “The American Dream” 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week. Suburbs of New York and Philadelphia Many suburbs included discriminatory restrictions on who could move in. $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.

National Interstate and Defense Highway System, 1956 Largest Public Works Project in US History

1950s Car Culture! Hot-Rods Fast-Food NASCAR Muscle Cars Malls Car registrations: 1945  25,000,000 1960  60,000,000 Hot-Rods Fast-Food NASCAR Muscle Cars Malls Drive-In Movies Drag Racing

A Changing Workplace Automation: By 1956  more white-collar than blue-collar jobs in the U. S. Computers!  Mark I (1944). First IB mainframe computer (1951). Corporate Consolidation: By 1960  600 corporations (1/2% of all U. S. companies) accounted for 53% of total corporate income.

G.I. Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) Education job training college Loans for homes and businesses J. Jones, P. Wood, et al, CREATED EQUAL: A Social and Political History of the US, http://wps.ablongman.com/long_jones_ce_1/0,7283,494555-,00.html

G.I. Bill & College Enrollment

“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 family’s suburban house and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12 figure.” -- Life magazine, 1956

Gender Roles Return of the Cult of Domesticity NOW WITH CONSUMERISM! Harriet the Housewife over Rosie the Riveter Starker Definitions of Masculinity and Femininity Idea of “Family” as society’s nucleus

Even so . . . Two books studies by Alfred Kinsey challenged the traditional narrative. 1948  Sexual Behavior in the Human Male 1953  Sexual Behavior in the Human Female Conclusions: Premarital sex was common. Extramarital affairs were frequent among married couples. Homosexual relationships more common than expected.

Kinsey’s results are an assault on the family as a basic unit of society, a negation of moral law, and a celebration of licentiousness. -- Life magazine, early 1950s

Religious Revival Marked Increase in Religiousness in 1950s. Possible Cold War influence [?] Church Membership rose by 78%. 95% of Americans professed a belief in God. Religious Community > Doctrinal Debates

Truth, Justice, and the American way! Television 1946  7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1950  50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. TV celebrated traditional American values. Leave it to Beaver Truth, Justice, and the American way!