1950’s Culture The 1950’s America was a time of abundance and is often time referred to is “The Affluent Society.” What does that mean?

1950’s Culture

The 1950’s America was a

time of abundance and is

often time referred to is “The Affluent Society.”What does that

mean?

The Affluent Society

• In 1958 economist John Kenneth Galbraith published The Affluent Society

Prosperity

• The average income of the American family triple in the decade between 1950 and 1960.

• This sudden surge in wealth was the result of many advancements and lead to many changes.

–Mechanization–Electronics–Telecommunications (TV and Radio)

The labor force• Due to advancement in

machinery in the factory and farm, less people were needed to do manual labor.– White collar workers were those

whose jobs were in sales and management

– Blue collar worker were the manual laborers who did the physical work

– Huge corporations and multinational firms became more widespread.

– Urbanization- Where jobs are more available in cities and surrounding areas of major cities grew

Franchise• The 1950s also had an increase in franchises, in

which a person owns and operates one or several stores of a chain operation.

Baby Boomers• The American birth rate also exploded during the

decade resulting in the era often times being referred to as the “Baby Boom.”

• The period between 1945 and 1961 is known as the baby boom, in which more than 65 million children were born in the United States.

The Burbs• The explosion in business and babies certainly

allowed for the countries major cities to explode amainly because that is where the work was. The creation of the suburbs was the result.

• Levittown New York, one of the country’s earliest suburbs, was a mass-produced residential community spearheaded by Bill Levitt.

ENIAC• The first computer “ENIAC” which stood for

“Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer” was developed.

Medical Breakthroughs

• Many medical breakthroughs were the result of the 1950’s era most notably the cure for the disease that plagued President Franklin Roosevelt.

• Polio- Vaccine created by Jonas Salk• Chemotherapy for cancer and insulin for diabetes

were other medical advancements.

Space “The Final Frontier”

• Sputnik- First space satellite in orbit by USSR in 1957

• We had one up ourselves within 3 months.

New Mass Media• TV was becoming so popular that in 1951 the first

color television was created and TV shows became very popular.– Howdy Doody-Kid Show– Gunsmoke-Western– Lone Ranger-Western– Dragnet-Police Show– “I Love Lucy”-Comedy– Ed Sullivan-Variety Show– $64,000 Question-Game show

The Teli• In 1946 there were 7,000 to 8,000 television sets in

the United States, by 1957 there were 40 million television sets.

Boob Tube was a term coined by the older generation as a result of the beatnik idea. A boob was a term used to describe a lazy unmotivated person which the older generation the technology created.

Movie Theatre• With the sudden emergence

of the television, movie theatre had to come up with an idea to get its customers back. People were staying home and watching their TV instead of the movies

• Two idea that resulted from this is Cinemascope or wide screen movies and the use of 3D glasses to give the appearance that images where coming out from the screen.

Radio and Rock and Roll• Due to the advancement of the TV, Radio had to change

it’s way of thinking to keep up with the TV.• Alan Freed of Ohio became one of the first DJ’s (Disk

Jockey) when he decided to play records over his radio program.

• Freed gained permission to play “Rock and Roll” and “Jazz” on his radio station and the youth went nuts over the music.

Rock and Roll

• Freed’s idea gave rise to such Rock and Roll legends as:– Elvis Presley (King of Rock and Roll)– Buddy Holly– Chuck Berry– Bill Haley

Black Artists• The entertainment boom was not just relegated to the

white society many black artist rose to fame during the 50’s.• African Americans like Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, and Little

Richard recorded hit songs. • African American women’s recording groups, including the

Crystals, the Chiffons, and the Shirelles, paved the way for future women’s groups.

Beat Movement• The popularity of Rock and Roll

created a movement by the youth called the beat movement.

• A creation of a generation gap was created between adults and youth, with the youth saying the adults were trying to beat them down, cause they do not like Rock and Roll.

• These youths grew to be known as “Beatniks.” Bob Denver and Dwayne Hickman

Maynard Krebs and Dobie Gillis

Generation Gap

• These varying opinions led to what became known as a generation gap, or cultural separation between children and parents.

Jack Kerouac

• In 1957 beat writer Jack Kerouac published On the Road, his book described freewheeling adventures with a car thief and a con artist.

Translation Please• This new culture also change the way our youth

talked. Match the Word with it’s 50’s meaning.

_______Cool A. dull person, outsider_______Hang Loose B. worthy of approval_______Hairy C. formidable_______Yo-Yo D. don’t worry

b,d,c,a

• Despite the feeling of peace time the Cold War was still active.• Many people dug their own bomb shelters and supplied them with

many items, just in case.– Air blower, radiation detector, face respirator, hand shovel, gas

generator, full gas cans, chemical toilet, bunks, non-electric clock, first aid kit, sterno stove, canned water, canned food, paper products

Bomb Shelter

By the Numbers - 1957

• Postage stamp .03• Loaf of bread .19• Sports Illustrated .25• Movie ticket .35• Gallon of milk .50• Hourly wage $2.05• New car $2,845• Average Income $5,235• Home $19,500

50’s Government

• Government became much more active in the daily lives of citizens in the 50’s by passed many legislative issues that were intended to better American lives. A few of the most prominent examples of this are.

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act

• Also known as the GI Bill. With WW 2 and Korea behind us but not far behind us, government passed the GI Bill by providing loans to veterans to attend college, set up businesses, and buy homes to better American economy.

Taft-Hartley Act• Congress was also committed to cutting the power

of organized labor (unions) by establishing the Taft-Hartley Act which limited the power of unions in American Industry.

The Taft-Hartley Act

• Helped American Business by making changes to benefit the average American citizen. A couple examples of this are:– States could pass right-to-work laws outlawing

union shops, or shops where new workers were required to join the union.

– The act also prohibited featherbedding, the limiting of work output in order to create more jobs.

Federal Highway Act• President Eisenhower passed

the Federal Highway act which allowed for the Interstate Highway infrastructure that we have today. This was establish not only for the purpose of better and easier transportation of people and goods but also to improve the output of industrial resources.

• The more you make and move. the more you sell.

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway• Following the Interstate system Eisenhower also

focused on improving our system of water transportation by creating a short cut from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and eastern seaboard also intended to boost American economy.

Other side of the 1950’s

• Not all was peachy in the 1950’s some of the flip side to prosperity was:– Inner city poverty and slums– Minority groups:• Women-not equal yet, working towards• Blacks and Hispanics (to many for # of jobs,

discriminated)• Native Americans- terminations policy, forced to follow

the laws of the rest• Juvenile delinquency - the rise of urban cities also gave

rise to criminal behavior within out youth

Poverty• By 1959, about 30 million Americans lived below

the poverty line, a figure the government set to reflect the minimum income required to support a family.

• In the 1950s, the government tried to improve conditions with urban renewal programs, in which they tore down slums and built high-rise projects.

Termination Policy

• Through the termination policy, the federal government withdrew all official recognition of the Native American groups as legal entities and made them follow the same laws as white citizens.

Education

• Because the Soviet Union had launched the first space satellites, the nation’s educational institutions were criticized for a lack of technical education.