The Sociological Impact of the Baby Boom. Suburbia

The Sociolog

ical Impact of the Baby

Boom

Suburbia

This is a picture of the potato fields in Long Island, NY that would become the prototypical American subdivision called Levittown. This was one of the first examples of suburban housing built as a result of the Baby Boom in post-war America.

This is the ‘after’ view of Levittown after the subdivision was completed.

In addition to houses, Levittown's master plan called for swimming pools, baseball fields, churches, schools, and shopping centers. Levitt believed new homeowners preferred a full-service community with "built-in" features—just like its houses.

Elementary schools were to be nestled inside each master block so that, in Levitt's words, "no child will have to walk more than one half mile to school or cross any major road."

The subdivision contained five separate public swimming pools and a number of little league baseball diamonds. Perhaps most influential to the social fabric of post-war America though was Levitt’s idea for a centralized shopping centre inside the suburban boundary of the community. This idea created the first model for what is now known as the ‘shopping mall’. Ease of access to these shopping centres fuelled American consumerism. But at the same time, the shopping mall led to the extinction of ‘downtown’.

An aerial view of Levitt’s shopping centre-the largest single shopping centre East of the Mississippi in its time.

Some examples of the homes that were mass produced in Levittown

Interior view of the new suburban household.

The typical kitchen in a suburban home. Notice the electric appliances and who is featured in the picture. Exploring a typical Levittown kitchen.

The backyard view emphasized outdoor living as well. Notice the covered porch and patio furniture.

"We are not builders. We are manufacturers." Bill Levitt

On the assembly line made famous by Henry Ford, products moved down a conveyor belt to stationary workers. Levitt inverted Ford's system by having the workers move "down the line" to a stationary product—the individual house site.Work crews performed the same specialized task at each house site. Some laid slabs, some framed. One man's job consisted of bolting washing machines into the floor. Whatever its drawbacks, Levitt's system was enormously productive. His Levittowns were the fastest built developments in the history of American residential construction.

Levittown Timeline:July 1951 -- Land purchase completed December 1951 -- Sample houses open for inspection March 1952 -- Construction begins June 1952 -- First residents take possession December 1952 -- First section completed December 1957 -- Slab laid for last Levittown house--#17,311

During the 1950s, Levittown embodied

the suburban lifestyle, with its

emphasis on youth, leisure, consumer goods, and "easy

living."

"We busted at the seams with kids."

Levittown school official

"Levittown will have more recreation areas per square inch than

any other community."

William J. Levitt

Backyard LifeWith dozens of children on every block, friendships formed quickly. These photos were taken in the Indian Creek and Crabtree Hollow sections in 1956 and 1957.

Early TV documentary on Levittown, NY

Leave it to Beaver Video Clip

The 1950s Sock Hop. Student’s would gather to dance to Rock n’ Roll

music usually in the school cafeteria.

Jerry Lee Lewis performs on American Bandstand, 1957

Typical fashion in the 1950s

1960s Countercult

ural Developme

nt

This movement was a reaction against the conservative social mores of the 1950s, the political conservativism (and perceived social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam. Opposition to the war was exacerbated in the US by the compulsory military draft.

The 1960s youth rebellion largely originated on college campuses, emerging directly out of the American Civil Rights Movement. As the sixties progressed, the Vietnam war became an increasingly high-profile object of criticism, and the sense of the younger generation as a class who wished to create a different society gained momentum.

As criticism of the established social order became more widespread among the newly emergent youth class, new theories about culture and personal identity began to spread, and old, non-western ideas--particularly with regard to religion, social organization and spirtual enlightenment--were also embraced.

New cultural forms that were perceived as opposed to the old emerged, including the pop music of the Beatles, which rapidly evolved to shape and reflect the youth culture's emphasis on change and experimentation. Underground newspapers sprang up in most cities and college towns, serving to define and communicate the range of phenomena that defined the counterculture: radical political opposition to "the establishment," colorful experimental (and often explicity drug-influenced) approaches to art, music and cinema, and uninhibited indulgence in sex and drugs as a symbol of freedom.

The most visible radical element of this counterculture were the hippies, some of whom formed communes to live as far outside of the established system as possible. This aspect of the movement rejected active political engagement with the mainstream and, following the dictate of Timothy Leary to "tune in, turn on and drop out", attempted to change society by dropping out of it.

Hippies

The Civil Rights Movement

The Vietnam War

Kent State Massacre

Kent State Shooting

Neil Young: Ohio

Women’s Rights Movement

JFK’s Assassination

Woodstock, 1969

Country Joe: Vietnam

Song