1. Say hello to the suburbs
Automobile Boom
Say hello to the suburbs

2. Suburbs
William Levitt and Henry Kaiser used assembly line methods to produce houses after the war
“cookie-cutter” houses
Small residential areas around cities
Most jobs were in the city, which led to the car becoming a necessity rather than a commodity

3. Automania New car sales rose from 6.7 million to 7.9 million in 1955
Total # of private cars in 1950 was 40 million
1960= 60 million
Interstate Highway System
Act signed by Eisenhower in 1956
Authorized building of 41,000 miles of expressways
Veiled purpose:
Possible invasion or other threat would allow tanks and military vehicles ease of transport

8. The space race and the U-2 incident
Commies in Space!
The space race and the U-2 incident

9. Sputnik October 4, 1957 Sputnik launched into space
US doesn’t launch one until January 31, 1958

10. U-2 Incident Spy planes had been going over to soviet union since 1955
May 15, 1960 one crashes on soviet territory
Pilot: Francis Gary Powers
Eisenhower and Krushchev were on the verge of a summit and nearly reconciled, until this happened
Khruschev demanded apology
Eisenhower denied
Led to increased tension in the 60s

12. Rise of Consumerism Appliances and leisure product purchases increased
Planned Obsolescence
In order to encourage consumers to purchase more goods, manufacturers purposely designed products to become obsolete (become outdated or wear out) in a short period of time.
The Diner’s Club issued the first credit card in 1950

13. Beat movement & rock and roll
New Cultures
Beat movement & rock and roll

14. Rise of TV 1950 in 9 percent of homes 1954 in 55 percent of homes

15. Beatniks – the first hipsters
Beat movement
Centered in San Francisco, LA, and New York City’s Greenwich Village
Followers called “beats” or “beatniks”
Lived non-conformist lives.
Tended to shun regular work
Sought higher consciousness through Zen Buddhism, music and drugs
Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg

17. Rock ‘N’ Roll inspires teen culture
Chuck Berry
“duck-walk” and fast fretting fingers
Most famous song: “Johnny B. Goode”

18. Elvis Blended gospel, country, and blues music
Rebellious style captivated young audiences.
Boys imitated him
Girls screamed and fainted when he performed
Only shown from above the waist when performing on TV
Often ambushed by fans after concerts

19. Rock creates social harmony
Condemned by adults, loved by teens
Helped “break” the racial divide
Started not standing/sitting in separate sections at concerts
Many songs written by African-Americans made popular