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American Life and Culture of the 1950s: American Life and Culture of the 1950s:

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Presentation on theme: "American Life and Culture of the 1950s: American Life and Culture of the 1950s:"— Presentation transcript:

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2 American Life and Culture of the 1950s: American Life and Culture of the 1950s:

3 Politics Election of 1948: Harry Truman (Democrat) Thomas Dewey (Republican) Strom Thurmond (States Rights Party  Dixiecrats) Outcome: Truman Wins! Fair Deal: Truman’s economic policy An extension of FDR’s New Deal

4 Politics Election of 1952: Adlai Stevenson (Democrat) Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) Outcome: Eisenhower wins! Modern Republicanism “Government needs to be conservative when it comes to money and liberal when it comes to people”

5 Changes to the Family Cause: Gender Roles Cause Conflict Tradition  Men Work & Women Stay at Home Effect: High Divorce Rate Women Challenge Traditional Gender Roles

6 The Baby Boom Cause: By 1946, 10 million men and women have returned home from active duty and released from the armed forces. Effect: Baby Boom: increase in American births resulting in a U.S. population explosion

7 “It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant”. -- British visitor to America, 1958 Ex: 1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds

8 Dr. Benjamin Spock: author of Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Careauthor of Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care parents used as guide toparents used as guide to raise their children raise their children Dr. Jonas Salk: developed a vaccine for polio

9 Effects on Schools: Increase in school enrollment Overcrowding in Schools Teacher Shortages

10 Suburban Living $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Issue: Returning veterans face housing shortage Solution: Mass Produced Housing Built in the Suburbs Ex: Levitttown on Long Island

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12 SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1940-1970 1940 1950 1960 1970 1940 1950 1960 1970 Central Cities 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% Suburbs 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 41.6% Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% Small Towns - Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census

13 Americans Hit the Road In the 1950’s Americans buy cars in record numbers Suburban living required cars for mobility Outcomes: Interstate Highway Act (1956): authorized the creation of a nationwide highway network Rise in family vacations (national parks, amusement parks, historic sites, etc.)

14 The Drive-In Movie Family Vacations The Drive Thru Freedom for Teens Led to the establishment of:

15 Consumerism Consumerism: the buying of material goods Cause: By mid 1960’s  60% of Americans were part of the “middle class” Buying consumer goods = success

16 Effect: New products hit the market placeAll babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life Magazine (May, 1958)

17 Examples: cars televisions washing machines kitchen appliances Planned Obsolescence: Marketing strategy in which manufacturers design products to become outdated in a short amount of time to encourage consumers to purchase the newest design

18 Advertising Age: Billboards, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Television, and Catalogs Appeal to people’s desire for status to buy things they didn’t really need

19 A Changing Workplace Cause  Automation 1947-1957  factory workers decrease blue-collar jobs eliminated By 1956  more white-collar than blue-collar jobs in the U. S. Ex: Computers  1 st IBM mainframe computer (1951) New Corporate Culture: - The Company Man:

20 The 1950’s: Mass Culture The 1950’s is the beginning of modern day “pop culture” Mass Culture: culture that is widely spread via mass media (radio, magazines, newspaper, and starting in the 1950’s………

21 Television 1946  7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 1950  50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S. The 1950’s is called the “Golden Age of Television” “Golden Age of Television” Truth, Justice, and the American way! TV celebrated traditional American values.

22 The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna Reed Show 1958-1966 Leave It to Beaver 1957-1963 Father Knows Best 1954-1958 The Ozzie & Harriet Show 1952-1966 TV portrayed stereotypes of the family, women, and minorities

23 Television - Family Shows I Love Lucy The Honeymooners Glossy view of mostly middle-class white suburban life

24 Television – The Western Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier The Lone Ranger (and his faithful sidekick, Tonto): Sheriff Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke

25 1954: Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock 1951: The Day the Earth Stood Still (Golden Age of Sci-Fi) 1956: Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston 1950’s Movies 1959: Ben Hur wins 11 Academy Awards 1951: A Streetcar Named Desire starring Marlon Brando

26 1950’s Music Rock ‘n’ Roll: Form of American music that began in the 1950’s & is a mixture of rhythm & blues, country, jazz, gospel, and pop Term coined by Alan Freed a Cleveland, OH radio disc jockey in 1951

27 Rock n Roll Musicians Elvis Presley Chuck Berry Bill Haley & the CometsLittle Richard Buddy Holly

28 Teen Culture In the 1950s  the word “teenager” entered the American language. Causes: Booming economy allowed students to stay in school vs. work to support family Business's target this new consumer group

29 Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) J. D. Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye (1951) Juvenile Rebellion 1950’s Advertisement

30 Obey Authority. Obey Authority. Control Your Emotions. Control Your Emotions. Don’t Make Waves  Fit in with the Group. Don’t Make Waves  Fit in with the Group. Don’t Even Think About Sex!!! Don’t Even Think About Sex!!! 1950’s Cultural Norms

31 “Beatnik” “Clean” Teen 1950’s Counterculture Beat Movement: Social & artistic movement stressing unrestrained literary expression and non-conformity with 1950’s mainstream culture Centered in San Francisco, L.A., and NYC Artists, Poets, & Writers Nicknamed  “Beatniks”

32 Religious Revival Today in the U. S., the Christian faith is back in the center of things. -- Time magazine, 1954 Today in the U. S., the Christian faith is back in the center of things. -- Time magazine, 1954 Church membership: 1940  64,000,000 1960  114,000,000 Bishop Fulton Sheen Minister Norman Vincent Peale Reverend Billy Graham


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