1. Overview of the 1950s

2. Dwight Eisenhower (“Ike”)
: Democrat Truman clashed with Republican Congress
High inflation, low wages led to strikes
Congress weakened unions, outlawing “closed shops” and “sympathetic strikes” despite Truman’s veto
1952: War hero Eisenhower elected
Conservative financially
“Liberal when it comes to human beings”
Favored a huge military arms build-up, which he warned against when in his final presidential speech

3. Economic Growth
Wartime factory technology efficiently made new consumer goods
McDonald’s symbolized efficiency in “fast food”
“Real” income = income adjusted for inflation
1950s real family income was twice that of 1920s (and products were more efficiently made)
Companies encouraged purchasing:
Shopping centers
Ads
Planned Obsolescence (always coming out with a newer, better model)
(Remind you of cell phones?)

4. Blue Collar to White Collar
Americans increasingly provided services instead of making products
Major product companies: cars, like Ford, Chrysler, General Motors (GM)
Services: restaurants and hotels, like McDonald’s and Holiday Inn
“Franchises” spread new chain companies around the country
Local owners bought rights to open a store
Company provided services, branding, menus, etc.
White-collared workers (desk jobs) out-numbered blue-collared workers (skilled physical work) by end of 1950s

5. Suburbs and the Baby Boom
Baby Boom: children born between
Huge growth in child population due to return from WW2 and prosperity
Middle-class families moved to new “tract” homes outside of cities: suburbs
Levittown: example new NYC: 17,447 homes in just 4 years
Men commuted to city to work; women stayed home to watch children
Americans moved to Sunbelt (especially south west and California)

6. Cars and Technology Cars defined American life
1956 Interstate Highway System began
Commuting
Personal Image associated with car
Shopping centers with parking
Polio vaccine ended threat of polio in US
Manhattan project created atomic bomb in s saw
Nuclear power plants
Computers began to store data and do complex calculations
Transistors replaced tubes, shrinking electronics dramatically