The Way We Never Were Family Life in the 1950s and 1960s
Television and the Perfect Family Homogenized American culture Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ( ) Father Knows Best ( ) Leave It to Beaver ( )
June Cleaver The ideal mother The ideal family “The Way We Never Were”
Cold War Democracy versus communism Fear of nuclear war Stability in the home to counteract the uncertainty in the larger world Fallout shelters
Kitchen Debate, 1959
Consumerism Credit! Growing dependence on credit… Youth as consumers Teenagers and the marketplace
Growing Up in the 1950s Bombing drills Patriotism and United States superiority “Strong families defended against Communism by teaching American values.” High school
Teenagers Consumers—movies, clothes, automobiles Youth culture Schooling Rock-and-Roll Radios
Girls! Pressure to marry Pursue husbands rather than careers Female share of college degrees and professional jobs fell Led to problems which would appear in the 1960s and 1970s
Religion Increase in church attendance Seen as way to combat communism Radio and television preachers
1960s Time of turmoil, great social change Children, teens, and college students affected
Youth Culture Youthful population bulge due to Baby Boom Hippies Summer of Love 1967 Protest against racism and the Vietnam War Music as expression: Beatlemania, Bob Dylan
“Sexual Revolution” The Pill in 1960 Sex education and college campuses Women’s control Sex without intention of marriage
Further Reading Sex in the Heartland by Beth Bailey Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War by Elaine Tyler May A Consumer’s Republic by Elizabeth Cohen The Way We Never Were by Stephanie Coontz