THE 1950s: THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THE 1950s

Returning veterans would cause problems in the work forceReturning veterans would cause problems in the work force Needed to keep them out of the work forceNeeded to keep them out of the work force GI BillGI Bill –Gave them money to go to college This would produce a skilled labor force and not an unskilled labor forceThis would produce a skilled labor force and not an unskilled labor force –Gave them money to buy a home This would help stimulate the economyThis would help stimulate the economy The GI Bill

Baby Boom “It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant.” -- British visitor to America, 1958

Dr. Benjamin Spock was the expert on raising children in the 1950

During the late 1940s and through the early 1960s the birthrate in the U.S. soared At its height in 1957, a baby was born in America every 7 seconds (over 4.3 million babies in ’57 alone) Baby boomers represent the largest generation in the nation’s history

Suburban Living “The American Dream”

Most Americans worked in cities, but fewer and fewer of them lived there. New highways and the affordability of cars and gasoline made commuting possible. Of the 13 million homes built in the 1950s, 85% were built in suburbs. For many, the suburbs were the “American Dream”

Suburban Living: Levitt Towns in New York k 1 story high k 12’x19’ living room k 2 bedrooms k tiled bathroom k garage k small backyard k front lawn 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week. By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs. $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.

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

mass-production of affordable homes the increase in personal income the baby boom. a system of highway and roads. Reasons for Suburb Living

ConsumerismConsumerism

ConsumerismConsumerism By the mid-1950s, nearly 60% of Americans were members of the middle class Consumerism (buying material goods) came to be equated with success and status 1950  Introduction of the Diner’s Card

Gender Roles During the 1950s, the role of homemaker and mother was glorified in popular magazines, movies and television Men were the wage earner of the family Women took care of the home and family

A Changing Workplace New Corporate Culture: “The Company Man” 1956  Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit 1956  Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit White collar vs Blue Collar identified with occupation

The Culture of the Car Car registrations: 1945  25,000,  60,000,000 2-family cars doubles from  Interstate Highway Act  President Eisenhower built the largest public works project in American history! Å Cost $32 billion. Å 41,000 miles of new highways built Chevy Corvette 1958 Pink Cadillac

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

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

TelevisionTelevision 1946  7,000 TV sets in the U. S  50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. Mass Audience  TV celebrated traditional American values. Television is a vast wasteland.  Newton Minnow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, 1961 Truth, Justice, and the American way!

A new era of mass media led by television emerged in the 1950s In 1948, only 9% of homes had T.V In 1950, 55% of homes had T.V. By 1960, 90% of American homes had T.V.

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

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  new type of music “ROCK ‘N ROLL” Elvis Presley  “The King”

Teen Culture The “Beat” Generation : Centered in San Francisco, L.A. and York’s Greenwich Village, the Beat Movement expressed social nonconformity Followers, called “beatniks”, tended to shun work and sought understanding through Zen Buddhism, music, and sometimes drugs Rebelled against conformity and traditional social patterns

Teen Culture “Beatnik” “Clean” Teen

Teen Culture Behavioral Rules of the 1950s: U Obey Authority. U Control Your Emotions. U Don’t Make Waves  Fit in with the Group. U Don’t Even Think About Sex!!!

The American Dream Middle ClassMiddle Class Two kidsTwo kids A home in the suburbs with a white picket fenceA home in the suburbs with a white picket fence Leisure timeLeisure time

American Dream for all?