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The Age of Anxiety America in the 1950s
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The Atomic Age Created Contradictions Prosperity and Pleasure Relief after Depression and War Cold War Insecurities Nuclear War was a reality Postwar America Reflected Middle Class Suburbia Consumer Culture Baby Boom Conservative Politics, Economics, and Culture
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Postwar Prosperity Economy surged after war Government Spending WWII and Korea War and beyond Infrastructure development Increase in productivity New Technology World market for American goods Consumerism Americans demanded new and better goods Increase in wages and surplus income and leisure time Suburban Lifestyle and Shopping Malls Relief from war rationing Promoting by Marketing Firms The Credit Card (1949) Consumer Culture was Born Buying a New Home with modern appliances Owning a television Buying a car
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The Baby Boom Between Million Americans Born Returning Soldiers started families Depression and War lowered Birth Rates BB Gen has shaped America society since 1940s The Suburban Frontier Mass migration from cities to suburbia Caused housing shortage Reflected white, middle class, Protestantism Suburbia grew six times as fast as cities in 1950s By 1970 most people lived in suburbs Government incentives encouraged Required massive infrastructure development Spawned the “car culture” and commuting to work
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A Conformist Culture Fear of Communist America 1950’s = Increasingly homogenized character Government and business promoted “American” way of life to counter “non-American” ideologies Consumer Culture and Suburban life encouraged uniformity and conformity Corporate Life Changing dynamics of work force Physical labor shifted to mental labor Blue collar (hourly wages) to white collar (Salary) Deregulation and conservative economics Most people worked for major corporations Corporate culture influenced social culture Women in 1950s Corporate Culture and Baby Boom reinforced idea that women’s place was in the home American Ideal: Single income family and suburban home Rosie The Riveter sent home Society discouraged liberalization of women's issues
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