American Business & Consumerism

• Growth of Big Business–Conglomerates: major corporation that

includes small unrelated businesses• Example: General Electric

– Franchises: company that offers similar products or services at many locations • Example: McDonald’s – was nation’s first

& still is the largest today

Advertising• Buy now, pay later plans• Encourage spending!• Ads – radio, TV, movies, magazines, papers,

billboards, etc.• Use psychological strategies to sell products• Hit on people's desire to “belong” – “keeping up

with Jones’ ”• Television major source of influence• 1950 Americans spent $6 Billion• By 1955, Americans spending $9 Billion

The American Dream• 60% of Americans make up middle class during

the 1950s• Jobs change–Blue Collar Decrease ( ) (manufacturing

jobs)–White Collar Increase ( ) (clerical,

managerial, sales, advertising, etc)• Americans begin to socially conform–Businesses reward employees for teamwork,

cooperation, & loyalty

• Consumerism (buying material goods) becomes associated with success!

• People buy products & invest in leisure activities

• To encourage consumerism, manufacturers used planned obsolesce: products designed to become obsolete, so consumers replace with new!

Blue Collar White Collar

• Suburbia: areas outside of cities where new homes and communities were developing

Medical Breakthroughs • Jonas Salk: develops vaccine for polio– In 1952: 58,000 children had polio,

which either killed or crippled its victims • With the vaccine, the number of people

infected dropped to 5,700 by 1958• Child rearing – Dr. Spock–Raise children based on guidelines–Sold 10 million copies

Baby Boomers

• Why???–Reunion of families post-WWII–Decreasing marriage age–Desirability of a large family–Confidence of continued

economic stability–Advances in medicine

Role of Women

• Glorified role of housewife• Boredom• Felt unfulfilled • Many lost jobs• Women who did work

were paid less and jobs they could perform were restricted

• Glass-ceiling affect

Despite both of these, the amount of women working increased!

40% of women with children worked

Movies and television portray the “perfect” wife and mother

More than 1/5 of suburban wives & mothers were not satisfied with their life

More women attend college

Business & Highways

• Travel Easier

• Interstate Highway system leads to the development of the trucking Industry– Long Haul is feasible now!

• Evacuation in case of nuclear attack!

• Developed under President Eisenhower

• Business expands!

Social Effects• Drive-in movies

• Drive-thru services

• Cruising teens

• Advertising Industry for cars

• Growth of suburbia: people can now use the car to commute into the city (80% build homes)

• Cars are cheap

• Gas is affordable

Radio & Movies• Radio:– Continue to prosper– Radio shows turn into TV shows– Begin local program– Diversity of stations

• Movies: – Struggle to compete with television– 3 technologies give movies an advantage• Stereo sound• Color• 3-D effects

• Golden Age of TV– Rapid expansion of TV– The Big Shows:

• Leave it to Beaver• I Love Lucy (Lucille Ball, Desi Arnez)

– Milton Berle: comedian– Edward Murrow: on the spot news

• TV Spurs Industry– Refrigerators– Frozen food– Advertising– Trends and fads– TV Guide

Rock – n – Roll • Famous Artists:– Buddy Holly– Little Richard– Chuck Berry– Bill Haley– Elvis Pressley – the King of Rock – n –

Roll!

• Shows like Ed Sullivan’s Variety Show & Dick Clark’s American Bandstand develop to showcase musicians through the TV

Rock-n-Roll comes from a mixture of white & black music

Teens loved it, parents hated it!

Television becomes widely available by 1948! The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulates the industry.

• Quiz Shows– Trivia Game shows– Scandals

~ Women appear as perfect homemakers~ More males than females~ Few minorities~ Portrayed the ideal America = ignored the country’s problems

• ¼ of Americans lived below the poverty line

• The Other America: book that exposed how many are living in poverty

• Urban Renewal– Truman advocated for low income housing– Develop Housing & Urban Development

(HUD) – to improve the inner cities

• White FlightMillions of whites move to the suburbs

Loss of tax $$ means loss of city services

Lots of rural poor to move the city

Adds up to breakdown of inner cities

• Beatniks – a.k.a. the Beat Movement– Social & literary nonconformists

• Set precedent for hippy generation• Non-material lifestyle• Shunned regular work• Little structure• Clashed with regular America• Defied mainstream society & conformity• Zen Buddhism, drugs, music• NOT being anything mainstream

• During WWII immigration from MEXICO increases– USA needs help harvesting crops– After WWII, many stay illegally

• Discrimination– Still widely faced by all minorities– Civil Rights Movement is slowly getting

underway

• Native Americans remain 2nd Class Citizens– Indian Reorganization Act• Aimed to move away from assimilation• Mandated change socially, economically,

and politically

– Termination Policy• Federal government would give up rights to

tribes• Voluntary relocation program