1. 17.3

2.  Consumerism: buying as much as possible  Most used credit  First universal credit cards: Diners’ Club, Inc., in 1950 American Express Company in 1958

3.  During 1950s: median family income rose from $3,319 to $5,417  Twice as much income (relatively) as ppl did during 1920s consumerism  Companies would advertise “Buy Now, Pay Later!”

4.  Home appliances!  Electric washers, dryers, refrigerators etc! Keeping up with The Joneses!  Made housework easier Vacuums  Shopping became a pastime! Supermarkets emerged  everything you need for your home

5.  Television!  6,000 produced in 1946  7 million produced in 1953  90% ppl owned a TV by 1959  The 1950s – Stereotypical to a fault:  Homemakers Women were pressured to leave work, get married and have families  “Breadwinners” Men in household

7.  In pop culture:  “A women isn’t a women unless she’s been married and had children” - Hollywood actress Debbie Reynolds  In reality  Women across the country challenged this  Did not like monotony of the home for long By 1960 women held 1/3 of nation’s jobs ½ were married

8.  Social scientists popularized the “nuclear family” in magazines  Household of a mother, father, and their children as the backbone of America Usually a dog and a white picket fence

9.  Family life revolved around children more so than ever before  Best selling book: Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock Expert advice on how to raise children Nurture children as much as possible, don’t worry about spoiling them… no such thing  Drew significant criticism: “a permissive culture”

10.  Parents spent a LOT of $$ on their baby boomer children  Justified by saying it would help the country avoid another depression  Baby boomers as teens:  Huge impact on the economy Received expensive TVs, radios, cars, cameras, etc as gifts

11.  Revival of religion in response to communism and war  1940: 50 million ppl went to church  1958: 80 million ppl going to church  Built new churches in neighborhoods to strengthen community ties  Billy Graham: evangelist, held religious revivals across the country  Fulton Sheen: Catholic bishop, used TV to broadcast mass, 10 million ppl watching

12.  1950s: To make a clear differentiation b/w American society + communist society  In God We Trust added to currency  “under God” added to the Pledge of Allegiance

13.  1950s advances in medicine:  1954: polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk In 1952: FDR polio, 1,4000 children died from it, tens of thousand crippled from it  1960: it was nearly wiped out Albert Sabin created an oral vaccine as well  Penicillin (antibiotic) came to widespread use  Helped w/ whooping couch and tuberculosis  1946 and forward = better life expectancy  Medicine + diet

14.  Became widely popular in the post WWII era  Helped to quickly spread pop culture making it mass culture  Threatened the movie theater industry  Helped political campaigns

15.  Baby boom children + TV = <3  Lots of cartoons (Mickey Mouse Club), Lone Ranger  Sitcoms (for the family to watch)  I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NPzLBSBzPI  Leave It to Beaver  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULK_PNaS6d 0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULK_PNaS6d 0

16.  TV shows reinforced family ideals  None had divorced parents  None dealt w/ real life problems like personal sickness, depression, financial issues etc  “No family problem was so great that it couldn’t be cleared up within the allotted 20 minutes”  No African Americans in important roles

17.  DJ Alan Freed began broadcasting “race” music in 1951 across the Midwest  Rock music has roots in African American rhythm and blues

18.  Most R&B kept separate from white culture b/c of Jim Crow  Independent producing companies picked up on it ∴ now going thru radio = attracting more ppl  Elvis Presley in Memphis started integrating African American gospel music into his own  Sam Phillips (also in Memphis) had a recording studio  Played B.B. King, etc, and one day heard Elvis…

19.  Presley set off a new “rock” craze!  Ed Sullivan invited him to be on his show and Elvis gained instant fame!  Fame only from the waist up! Subversive nature of rock music…apparently!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJslCsekjIg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJslCsekjIg  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=- XLYBkPTUM0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=- XLYBkPTUM0