1. This kid
was cooler
than you!

2. 1950s America Key Terms Prosperity Consumerism Baby Boom Eisenhower
Interstate Highway System
Suburbanization
Dating
GI Bill of Rights

3. Prosperity… America’s economy was booming After World War 2.
We were the only country
That escaped with no major
Physical damage.
American’s had an average income
Of 2x what it was in the 1920s.

4. ….Leads to “Consumerism”
Americans had money to
Buy “stuff” again.
Cars, appliances, houses,
Clothes…
Money to go out for
Entertainment
Like the Roaring 20s.

6. TV! TV had been invented Earlier, including broadcast
By the Nazis of the 1936
Olympics…
But it became available to
American consumers in the 1950s.
I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners,
The Lone Ranger, and The
Twilight Zone all were popular
In the 1950s.
TV!

7. Baby Boom Americans had money and Felt secure in the world…
So they wanted to get back
To “normal” and start
Families.
There was a huge baby boom
In the 1950s and early 60s.

9. Dwight D. Eisenhower Elected president in 1952. The first Republican
Since Herbert Hoover.
He was a popular war general (commander
Of D-Day) and not very political.
People were not even sure
Which party he was a member of!

10. Interstate Highway System
Eisenhower had seen and
Admired the German
“autobahn” system built
By Hitler.
He wanted to make
Transportation easier in
America.
Started an infrastructure project
Connecting the country, spending
Over 425 BILLION dollars.

12. Suburbanization The growth of housing In the areas around
Major cities.
Possible because more
People had cars.
Sped up because of
“production line”
Building techniques.

13. DATING! I think I Not in a can score! Million years.
The 1950s brought social
Changes also.
The concept of “dating”
Or going out one-on-one
With someone of the
Opposite sex became
The main way of finding
Someone to marry.
CARS!!!

14. GI BILL OF RIGHTS America needed to pay Back the veterans for
Their service during WW2.
Congress created the “GI
Bill,” which gave veterans
Loans for houses, businesses,
And most importantly….
….COLLEGE. There was a huge
Increase in the number of
People in college, especially
In the middle-class.