1. The 1950s: Affluence, Consumerism, & Domesticity

2. G.I. Bill Prioritized jobs for veterans
4 million veterans used low-interest loans & mortgages
4 years of college or job training paid by government
1947 = WW2 vets are over 50% of college students

3. I. The Affluent Society
By 1960 = 60% of US families owned homes, 75% owned cars, 87% owned 1 TV
Jobs created through government funded defense industry
1950 = Diner’s Club issued first credit card

5. Suburbanization: Prosperity in the Suburbs
58 million cars purchased in 1950s
1946 = $79 million spent building freeways vs = $2.6 billion
85% of the 13 million new homes built in 1950s located in suburbs

6. Red Lining & Loan denials block African Americans from buying homes in white suburbs

7. Ticky Tacky Houses
“A multitude of uniform, unidentifiable houses, lined up inflexibly, at uniform distances, on uniform roads, in a treeless communal waste, inhabited by people of the same class, the same income, the same age group, witnessing the same television performances, eating the same tasteless prefabricated foods, from the same freezers, conforming to in every outward and inward respect to a common mold.” -Lewis Mumford, The City in History, 1961

8. Levittown, New York

9. II. Consumerism & Conformity
1/7 of income spent on entertainment
1946 = 1 out of 18,000 homes owned 1 TV vs.
1960 = 9 out of 10 homes own 1 TV
Advertising creates
brand consciousness
TV celebrates conformity, family shows, teen idols, perfect mothers

12. Politics & TV President Eisenhower’s “We Like Ike” ads
JFK vs. Nixon Presidential debates, 1960

14. II. Domesticity
The Baby Boom Generation = 76 million born between 1946 – 1964
1 in 3 women married by 19
By 1960, children under 14 are 1/3 of US population
Dr. Spock, Common Sense Book of Baby & Child, 1946

15. Marriage in Pop Culture
“Catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction; don’t complain if he’s home late for dinner or stays out all night; don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment; a good wife always knows her place.” -Housekeeping Monthly, “The Good Wife’s Guide,” 1955