1. Lesson 6 Mass Culture in the 1950s
Postwar America ( )
Lesson 6 Mass Culture in the 1950s

2. Lesson 6 Mass Culture in the 1950s
Postwar America ( )
Lesson 6 Mass Culture in the 1950s
Learning Objectives
Examine the rise of the suburbs and the growth of the interstate highway system.
Explain the causes and effects of prosperity in the 1950s on consumers.
Discuss postwar changes in family life.
Describe changes in education in the postwar period.
Describe the rise of new forms of mass culture.
Interstate Highway Act
consumerism
median family income
nuclear family
Benjamin Spock’s
Billy Graham
California Master Plan

3. Suburbia Suburban Migration Americans want a place to call their own
Levittown - affordable houses, all built the same way.
William Levitt – created first Levittown – Long Island, New York
Affordable houses for young families - $58/month
Federal and State Assistance
Interstate Highway Act- 41,000 miles of highways
GI Bill
Federal Housing Administration – low-interest loans
Suburbs – conformity

4. Suburban Migration Suburbia Car Culture Highways Shopping Centers
Travel + Vacation
Las Vegas, National Parks, Amusement Parks (Disneyland)
Shopping Centers
Malls, Grocery Stores
Car Culture
Suburbs cause increase in car consumption
Shopping centers
Fast food restaurants
Drive in theaters

5. Increased Consumption and Consumerism
Culture of Consumerism
Family Income
Father and Mother Worked
Increased wages
Innovations
New inventions
Washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, microwaves
Color TV
Advertisement
Buy items on credit – Diner’s Club – First Credit Card

6. Increased Consumption and Consumerism
Analyze Data How did the percentage change in the top two income brackets shown affect U.S. consumer culture?

7. Families and Communities in the Fifties
Ideal American Family – “Nuclear Family”
Women
“homemakers”
Raise family, Clean house
Dissatisfied life
Betty Freidan writes the book “Feminist Mystique”
Creates a Feminist movement against role of women during the 1950’s and 1960’s
Women face social pressures if they pursue a career.
Men
“Breadwinners”

8. Families and Communities in the Fifties
Society Changes
Children
Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
Benjamin Spock
Spoil Children – Permissive Culture
Religion
“In God We Trust” – US Dollar
“under God” – Pledge of Allegiance
USA – Religious beliefs
USSR – Atheist beliefs
Medicine
Polio – Dr. Jonas Salk
Penicillin – Andrew Flemming
+ other antibiotics

9. Families and Communities in the Fifties
Analyze Graphs By what percentage did total women workers change from 1955 to 1970? Is this a significant change?

10. Educational Opportunities and Priorities
Growth of Higher Education
American Dream was alive and well
Increased economic productivity
40% attended college in 1960’s
National Defense Education Act
Increased funding for education + teacher training
Space Race
Science and Math
Brown V. Board of Education (1954)
Segregated schools were unconstitutional

11. Television Shapes American Culture
TV reflected the ideal American Family
Same shows and same advertisements around the nation
1952 Election – people watched campaigns
TV did not show the diversity of America
Race, Religion, Poor, mental illness