Society of the 1950s Consumerism

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

The Rise of the Suburbs $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Levittown: “The American Dream” 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week.

Suburban Living: The New “American Dream” 1 story high 1 story high 12’x19’ living room 12’x19’ living room 2 bedrooms 2 bedrooms tiled bathroom tiled bathroom garage garage small backyard small backyard front lawn front lawn

SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, Central Cities 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% Small Towns Suburbs 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 41.6%

Television 1946  7,000 TV sets in the U. S. Mass Audience  TV celebrated traditional American values. Truth, Justice, and the American way! 1950  50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. TV caused U.S. to become a more homogeneous, conformist nation.

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

Well-Defined Gender Roles 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 The ideal 1950s man was the provider, protector, and the boss of the house. -- Life magazine, 1955

TV--Family Shows I Love Lucy Glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life.

The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna Reed Show Leave It to Beaver Father Knows Best The Ozzie & Harriet Show

1950’s TV & Popular Culture Popular entertainment, like a TV situation comedy, reflects the social trends and values of the era when they were produced. What do these 1950’s “sit coms” tell us about social attitudes common in American culture during the 1950’s?

Look at these advertisements from the 1950s and beyond…

1951

1953

1955

1961

1963

Though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn’t have to fire a shot to floor her. After one look at Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her. 1970

#1: Rural Areas Urban Areas Suburban Areas Which grew fastest during the 1950s? Suburbs Review Question

#2: From , the U.S. population surged dramatically? What do we call people born during this time? Baby Boomers Review Question

#3: The communities of affordable cookie-cutter houses that sprang up during the 1950s were called what? Levittowns Review Question

#4: TRUE or FALSE? Television of the 1950s accurately reflected the diversity in American society at that time? FALSE. Review Question

Consumerism 1950  Introduction of the Credit Card

Consumerism

Car Culture Car registrations: 1945  25,000,000 Car registrations: 1945  25,000, Chevy Corvette 1958 Pink Cadillac 1960  60,000,000 2-car families double from

Interstate Highway Act 1956 Largest public works project in American history!  Cost $32 billion.  41,000 miles of new highways built.

Car Culture First McDonald’s (1955) Drive-In Movies Howard Johnson’s

Car Culture The U. S. population was on the move in the 1950s  Disneyland opened in Southern California. (40% of the guests came from outside California, most by car.) Frontier Land Main Street Tomorrow Land New Engl. & Mid-West  South & SW (“Sunbelt” states)

In the midst of the increasing affluence, social critics expressed a growing sense of unease with American culture in the 1950s. RR ejection of materialism Rejection of conformity Allen Ginsberg's Howl (1956), and Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957) are among the best known examples of Beat literature. The “Beat” Generation