Say hello to the suburbs Automobile Boom Say hello to the suburbs

Suburbs William Levitt and Henry Kaiser used assembly line methods to produce houses after the war “cookie-cutter” houses Small residential areas around cities Most jobs were in the city, which led to the car becoming a necessity rather than a commodity

Automania New car sales rose from 6.7 million to 7.9 million in 1955 Total # of private cars in 1950 was 40 million 1960= 60 million Interstate Highway System Act signed by Eisenhower in 1956 Authorized building of 41,000 miles of expressways Veiled purpose: Possible invasion or other threat would allow tanks and military vehicles ease of transport

The space race and the U-2 incident Commies in Space! The space race and the U-2 incident

Sputnik October 4, 1957 Sputnik launched into space US doesn’t launch one until January 31, 1958

U-2 Incident Spy planes had been going over to soviet union since 1955 May 15, 1960 one crashes on soviet territory Pilot: Francis Gary Powers Eisenhower and Krushchev were on the verge of a summit and nearly reconciled, until this happened Khruschev demanded apology Eisenhower denied Led to increased tension in the 60s

Rise of Consumerism Appliances and leisure product purchases increased Planned Obsolescence In order to encourage consumers to purchase more goods, manufacturers purposely designed products to become obsolete (become outdated or wear out) in a short period of time. The Diner’s Club issued the first credit card in 1950

Beat movement & rock and roll New Cultures Beat movement & rock and roll

Rise of TV 1950 in 9 percent of homes 1954 in 55 percent of homes

Beatniks – the first hipsters Beat movement Centered in San Francisco, LA, and New York City’s Greenwich Village Followers called “beats” or “beatniks” Lived non-conformist lives. Tended to shun regular work Sought higher consciousness through Zen Buddhism, music and drugs Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg

Rock ‘N’ Roll inspires teen culture Chuck Berry “duck-walk” and fast fretting fingers Most famous song: “Johnny B. Goode”

Elvis Blended gospel, country, and blues music Rebellious style captivated young audiences. Boys imitated him Girls screamed and fainted when he performed Only shown from above the waist when performing on TV Often ambushed by fans after concerts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MnmIVBSZYM

Rock creates social harmony Condemned by adults, loved by teens Helped “break” the racial divide Started not standing/sitting in separate sections at concerts Many songs written by African-Americans made popular