The American Dream in the 1950s Mr. White’s US History 2

Big Question What were some of the positive and negative effects of the cultural changes taking place in the United States? What factors shaped the American Dream? Assess the American Dream

The Organization and the Organization Man By 1956, United States was shifting from an industrial production economy to a service economy More and more men (and some women) were working for large corporations

Businesses Expand Conglomerates – Major businesses would buy up smaller businesses with other services. Example? Franchises – When large businesses offer services or products in multiple locations. Example?

Standardization and Conformity Franchises, like McDonalds, were beginning to standardize what people ate – it was becoming the same in many places Companies would give personality tests to people applying for jobs to make sure they fit into the corporate world Some Americans were very comfortable with this conformity, or “belongingness” Others felt it stifled creativity and individuality

Baby Boom Baby-boom – After World War II, there was a rapid rise in the birth rate – Husbands and wives reuniting after the war – Lower marriage age for many – Desirability of large families – Economic prosperity – Advances in medicine

Medicine and Childcare Dr. Jonas Salk develops the polio vaccine – crippling childhood disease Dr. Benjamin Spock – wrote a book on child-raising; advised parents not to spank or scold children, thought families should meet so that children could express themselves Sharp increase caused overcrowding and teacher shortages in schools

Women’s Roles Role of home-maker and mother was glorified as the ultimate role of a woman Do you think all women were happy with this? Many women still held jobs with wages Opportunities were not the same for women; limited to certain fields, made less money

Leisure Activities 40-hour work week and vacations gave people a lot of leisure time Fishing, bowling, hunting, etc. Spectator sports – baseball, football, basketball Reading, cooking, do-it-yourself projects, comic books

Automobile Culture During World War II, gasoline had been rationed; after the war, it was abundant Car sales and ownership increased dramatically More car use meant that people could live further from work; suburbs grew As more and more people moved to the suburbs, more people needed cars

Interstate Highway System As more roads needed, local and state governments constructed highways linking cities and suburbs President Eisenhower authorized a nation-wide highway network – over 41,000 miles of highway

Effects of the Highway System More long-haul trucking possible – businesses used trains less Homogenized the nation – things became more and more similar across the country (country got “smaller”) More and more Americans would travel for vacations, enjoyment, sight-seeing, etc.

Negative Effects of the Highway System Noise and exhaust drastically increased – eventually smog Automobile accidents become more common Traffic jams raised stress levels – road rage Many middle- and upper-class people left the cities, taking their money with them

Consumerism As the material wealth of the country increased, buying material goods came to be equated with success “Keeping up with the Jones” Consumerism – buying material goods People would buy things simply to buy them and show that they were successful Do we see this today?

Andy Warhol on Consumerism “What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.”

New Products Labor-saving devices – washing machines, dryers, blenders, freezers, dishwashers With more and more leisure time, people started buying more leisure items – televisions, tape recorders, record players More people buying and wearing casual clothing during leisure time Lawn mowers, barbecue grills, swimming pools, lawn decorations What other leisure items or activities do we have today?

Tactics of the Producers Planned obsolescence – manufacturers designed products to go out of date or wear out so people would buy more Can we think of some examples? Buy now, pay later – Many people would purchase on credit Advertising – Ads started appearing everywhere More advertisers were turning to psychology to get people to buy their products