“And they’re all made out of ticky-tack, and they all look just

the same…”: Prosperity, Conformity and Security in the

1950s

Chapter 20, Section 2 & 3

Life for Americans in the 1950s In the 1950s, the nation has seen a

decade of economic depression and a decade of war. After this, society is characterized by THREE THINGS: PROSPERITY – economic well-being CONFORMITY – Being like everyone else

David Riesman’s book The Lonely Crowd discusses how Americans want to be just like their neighbors in the 1950s

SECURITY – Feeling safe (from econ. Depression, war, and Communism)

Reasons for Prosperity There are a couple of major reasons

for prosperity after the war: Machines meant less people had to work

on farms and factories. More people had WHITE-COLLAR jobs (sales and management) than BLUE COLLAR jobs (labor in factories).

The GI Bill allows people to buy houses, and start businesses – this allows people to have stuff that they couldn’t have imagined before the war

BABY BOOM After the war, couples reunite and want to

start families. This leads to the BABY BOOM – a period of time from 1945 to 1961 when birth rates were at an all time high. Reasons included: Couples “missed each other” during the war The GI bill allowed people to have jobs and

homes where they could raise kids Popular culture glorified the idea of “happy

families”

LEVITTOWNS

Because of the GI Bill, many soldiers could afford MORTGAGES.

This leads to LEVITTOWNS – huge neighborhoods in the SUBURBS with houses made out of pre-cut and easily assembled materials.

All the houses looked alike, but they could be build and sold cheaply.

Levittowns

FRANCHISING Businesses began FRANCHISES – where a

person owns several businesses in different places that are just alike. In 1951, Kemmons Wilson started the HOLIDAY

INN motel chain – all of the hotels were the same.

In the 1950s, Ray A. Kroc buys a burger restaurant and builds a nationwide chain. At McDONALD’S, you can get the same burger in California as you could in Virginia.

The Power of TV… In 1946, the U.S. has 7,000 TV sets – by

1957, there were over 40,000,000. TV shows promote CONFORMITY – Leave it

to Beaver, I Love Lucy, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet show happy families playing out traditional gender roles.

TV also allows for more ADVERTISING – which encourages people to buy new stuff.

SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS

In the world of medicine, Dr. Jonas Salk creates a vaccine for POLIO (FDR’s disease). This helps end nationwide polio epidemics.

In space, the U.S. has launched its own satellite by January 1958 to keep up with the Soviets.

PROS and CONS of 1950s life PROS: On one hand, people were able to

live BETTER than ever before. People had nicer stuff and more of it. The standard of living had increased for many Americans.

CONS: On the other hand, many Americans put less emphasis on individualism and independence. People are encouraged to look, act and think just like everyone else. Also, times become harder for those left out of this prosperity.

Who Gets Left Out? Some people did not share the prosperity of

the 1950s… People in the inner cities – When people

move to the suburbs, the life of those left in the cities begins to decline. High-rise housing projects lead to violence and crime.

African Americans – Despite moving to cities, many African Americans could not find higher paying jobs. They still faced a great deal of discrimination – even in the north.

Native Americans – With the TERMINATION POLICY, the government makes them subject to the same laws as white citizens. They also try to move NAs to big cities.

Non-conformists – People who did not fit the Beaver stereotype were often seen as outcasts or “juvenile delinquents.” “Beat” poets like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac

criticize the CONFORMIST culture in America. Movies like Rebel Without a Cause brings attention to

the “generation gap” between parents and their children.