Life in America

1950s Culture

Soldiers Return!

• $35 million cancelled war contracts

• 1 million factory workers laid off

• Inflation of consumer products

BUT…AMERICA WAS READY TO SPEND!!!!!!!

Americans were thrifty –The Great Depression and WWII

America would see 25 years of prosperity

CAR---America goes as GM goes!!

Little public transportation to suburbs!

Prosperity and mobility provided by the automobile during the 1950s led middle-class and wealthy Americans to move to suburbs around the nation’s great cities.

The Culture of the Car

The Culture of the Car Car registrations: 1945 Car registrations: 1945

25,000,00025,000,000 1960 1960 60,000,000 60,000,000

2-family cars doubles from 1951-2-family cars doubles from 1951-19581958

1956 1956 Interstate Highway Act Interstate Highway Act largestlargest public works project in American public works project in American history! history!

Å Cost $32 billion.Cost $32 billion.

Å 42,000 miles of new highways 42,000 miles of new highways built.built.

1959 Chevy 1959 Chevy CorvetteCorvette

1958 Pink 1958 Pink CadillacCadillac

“Automania”

Living in suburbia made having a car essential – distance between urban and rural areas continued to grow and the poor were left in the cities

Auto boom helped other industries like, restaurants, shopping malls, highway motels, and gas stations

The Culture of the Car

The Culture of the Car

The U. S. population was on the move in the The U. S. population was on the move in the 1950s.1950s.

NE & Midwest NE & Midwest S & SW S & SW (“Sunbelt” states)(“Sunbelt” states)1955 1955 Disneyland opened in Southern Disneyland opened in Southern California.California. (40% of the guests came from (40% of the guests came from outsideoutside California, most by car.) California, most by car.)

Frontier Frontier LandLand

Main StreetMain Street Tomorrow LandTomorrow Land

CAR- HIGHWAYS “HOMOGENIZE” AMERICA

• America began to look

the same!

• The nation had become

“homogenized”

Anytown, USA

Baby BoomBaby BoomIt seems to me that every other It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant.young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America, -- British visitor to America, 19581958

1957 1957 1 baby born every 7 1 baby born every 7 secondsseconds

The Baby Boom 1946-1964

3,548,000 babies born in 1950

1958 - $1.25 billion spent on toy sales aloneContributing factors:

Reunion of families after the warDecreasing marriage ageDesirability of large familiesConfidence in continued economic prosperityAdvances in medicine – drugs to help childhood diseases like, diphtheria, typhoid fever, polio

Symbols of the Baby Boom in Suburbia

1950 1960

Hot Dog Production (millions of lbs) 750 1050

Potato Chip Production (millions of lbs) 320 532

Sales of lawn and porch furniture (millions of dollars)

53.6 145.2

Sales of power mowers (millions of dollars)

1.0 3.8

Sales of floor polishers (millions of dollars)

0.24 1.0

Sales of Encyclopaedia (millions of dollars)

72 300

Number of Children age 5-14 24.3 35.5

Number of baseball Little Leagues 776 5,700

Fads of the Baby Boomers

Hula Hoops

Frozen Foods

Poodle Skirts and Saddle Shoes

Panty Raids

Barbie and GI Joe Dolls

Bikinis

Frisbees

Yo-yos

Ouija Boards

What celebrity deaths have most affected the Baby Boomers?

John F. Kennedy

Marilyn Monroe

Martin Luther King

John Lennon

The baby boom was a product of and a cause for conservative family values—especially about the place of women in American society.

Dr. Benjamin Spock author of the wildly successful Baby and Child Care suggested that mothers devote themselves to the full-time care of their children.

The American FamilyDuring World War II, 6 million women, 75% who were married WORKED

By 1956, majority of Americans held higher-

paying, white collar jobs – sales, advertising, insurance

Women gave up their new found freedom from working and returned to the home- “kitchen and cribs”

TelevisionTelevision 1946 1946 17,000 TV sets 17,000 TV sets

1950 1950 50,000,000 TV sets 50,000,000 TV sets

Mass Audience Mass Audience TV TV celebrated traditionalcelebrated traditionalAmerican values. American values.

Truth, Justice, and the American way!Truth, Justice, and the American way!

The Typical TV Suburban Families

The Typical TV Suburban Families

The The Donna Donna Reed Reed ShowShow1958-1958-19661966

Leave It Leave It to Beaverto Beaver1957-19631957-1963

FatherFather Knows Knows BestBest

1954-19581954-1958

The Ozzie & Harriet The Ozzie & Harriet ShowShow

1952-19661952-1966

Television – The Western

Television – The WesternDavy CrockettDavy Crockett

King of the Wild King of the Wild FrontierFrontier

The Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger(and his faithful(and his faithfulsidekick, Tonto): sidekick, Tonto): Who is that masked Who is that masked

man??man??

Sheriff Matt Sheriff Matt Dillon, Dillon,

GunsmokeGunsmoke

Television - ShowsTelevision - Shows

I Love I Love LucyLucy

The The HoneymoonersHoneymooners

Television sets the standards and values for homes

Television fueled mass consumption of goods

REMARKABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY

• Americans were ready to buy consumer goods!!

• In Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith detailed the “rise of America as consumer” and warned about a gap in wealth.

The first credit card !

ConsumerismConsumerism

All babies were potential consumers All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter. for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life -- Life Magazine (May, 1958) Magazine (May, 1958)

Washing machines, dryers, blenders, freezers, dishwashers, televisions, tape recorders, new hi-fi (high fidelity) record players

Buy now, pay later! Private debt grew from $73 billion to $179 billion in the 1950s

Plastics replaced wood, glass and metal

Teflon used for coating cookware

ConsumerismConsumerismAfter years of rationing and shortages….

first pocket-sized transistor radio 1952

1954 General Electric introduces colored kitchen appliances. Bye, bye white!

The first home microwave ovens are manufactured by Tappan. They cost $1300!

First McDonald’s First McDonald’s (1955)(1955)

Drive-In Drive-In MoviesMovies

Howard Howard Johnson’sJohnson’s

TV ADS, TV GUIDES AND TV DINNERS EXPAND

• TV advertising soared from $170 million in 1950 to nearly $2 billion in 1960

• TV Guide magazine quickly became the best selling magazine• Frozen TV dinners were introduced in 1954 – these complete

ready-to-heat meals on disposable aluminum trays made it easy for people to eat without missing their favorite shows

In 1953, $30 billion spent on leisure goods and activities – sports like fishing, boating, hunting, basketball, baseball, football (in person or on television)

Magazines like Sports Illustrated became popular

Brownies, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and

Little League all had an increase in membership

ScienceScience1951 -- 1951 -- First IBM Mainframe First IBM Mainframe ComputerComputer

1952 -- 1952 -- Hydrogen Bomb Hydrogen Bomb TestTest

1953 -- 1953 -- DNADNA Structure Discovered Structure Discovered

1954 -- 1954 -- Salk Vaccine Salk Vaccine Tested for Tested for PolioPolio

1957 -- First Commercial 1957 -- First Commercial U. S. U. S. NuclearNuclear Power PlantPower Plant

1958 -- 1958 -- NASANASA Created Created

•1950 copy machine Antihistamines electric guitar telephone answer machine

•1951 Chrysler Corporation introduces power steering super glue heart-lung machine video recorder built-in flash camera

•1952 Mr. Potato Head

•1953 Chevrolet Corvette becomes the first car to have a all-fiberglass body radial tires saran wrap

1954 Bell Telephone labs produce solar battery kidney transplant

1955 Tetracycline "Flashmatic," which represented the industry's first wireless TV remote

1956 "Mistake Out" later renamed, Liquid Paper

1957 Eveready produces "AA" size alkaline batteries Velcro

1958 The Modem Laser plastic Coke bottle appeared

Hula Hoop

1959 The Pacemaker

Religious Revival

Religious Revival Today in the U. S., the Christian faith is back in Today in the U. S., the Christian faith is back in

the center of things. the center of things. -- -- TimeTime magazine, 1954 magazine, 1954

Church membershipChurch membership: : 1940 1940 64,000,000 64,000,000 1960 1960 114,000,000 114,000,000

Television PreachersTelevision Preachers: :

1. Catholic 1. Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Bishop Fulton J. Sheen “Life is “Life is Worth Living” Worth Living”

2. Methodist Minister 2. Methodist Minister Norman Vincent Peale Norman Vincent Peale The Power of Positive ThinkingThe Power of Positive Thinking

3. 3. Reverend Billy Graham Reverend Billy Graham ecumenical ecumenical message;message; warned against the evils of Communism. warned against the evils of Communism.

Religious RevivalReligious RevivalHollywoodHollywood: apex of the biblical : apex of the biblical

epics.epics.

It’s un-American to be un-religious!It’s un-American to be un-religious!

-- -- The Christian CenturyThe Christian Century, 1954, 1954

The Robe The Ten Commandments Ben The Robe The Ten Commandments Ben HurHur 1953 1956 19591953 1956 1959

Religious Revival

1956- "In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States.

1957- "In God We Trust” was added to paper currency.

1954- “Under God" was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance.

By 1960 over 65% go to church!

Suburban LivingSuburban LivingSHIFTS IN POPULATION SHIFTS IN POPULATION

DISTRIBUTION, DISTRIBUTION, 1940-19701940-1970

19401940 19501950 19601960 19701970Central CitiesCentral Cities 31.6% 32.3% 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% 32.6% 32.0%SuburbsSuburbs 19.5% 23.8% 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 30.7% 41.6%41.6%Rural Areas/Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% 36.7% 26.4%Small TownsSmall Towns

U. S. Bureau of the Census.U. S. Bureau of the Census.

It’s time to leave the city! Come to Suburbia!

SUBURBS suburban sprawl• After WWII, returning vets

faced a severe housing shortage created by the decline of housing construction since the 1920s.

• In response to the crisis, William Levitt used assembly-line methods to mass-produce houses. The result was a range of cookie-cutter homes sold cheaply to young couples.

• His company could build a home in 16 minutes for $7,000!

With the help of the GI Bill, many veterans moved into

suburbs

•13 million homes built in the 1950s 85% were suburban

•A safe, healthy environment for children

Affordable single-family housing

Congenial neighbors

like themselves

Suburbia = the American Dream

$7,990 or $7,990 or $60/month $60/month

with no with no down down

payment.payment.uniform community

Edward DeBartolo- best remembered as the father of the

American shopping mall

Boardman Plaza

One of the first strip malls in the country !!

WHITE FLIGHT

• In the 1950s, millions of middle-class white Americans left the cities for the suburbs

• WWII saw millions of African American rural poor migrate to the cities

• “White Flight” drained cities of valuable resources, money and taxes.

Rosemary ClooneyPerry Como Pat Boone

Light melodies, sweet lyrics, wholesome singers. Innocent and inoffensive songs.

Most of the songs of the Early

Fifties were "feel-good" tunes,

which genuinely reflected the mood

of post World War II America.

Round and Round Perry ComoRockin' Robin Bobby DayPut Your Head On My Shoulder Paul AnkaCarol Chuck BerryRock Around The Clock Bill Haley and The CometsAll I Have To Do Is Dream The Everly BrothersAt The Hop Danny and the JuniorsBlue Suede Shoes Carl PerkinsBlueberry Hill Fats DominoDonna Richie ValensFever Peggy Lee(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window Patti PageJohnny B Goode Chuck BerryLaBamba Ritchie ValensLawdy Miss Clawdy Lloyd Price

My Prayer The PlattersOh Carol Neil SedakaNadine Chuck BerryOh Boy Buddy Holly and the CricketsLil' Darlin' The DiamondsVenus Frankie AvalonWake Up Little Susie The Everly BrothersEarth Angel The PenquinsSchool Days Chuck BerrySecret Love Doris Day

Dick Clark

American Bandstand

suburban teenagers

“Barbie as a role model”Through Barbie, aspects of suburban life and femininity were reflected for young girls.

Suburban lifestyles involved consumption of numerous goods and luxury items. Barbie emulated these ideals by always having the newest cars, clothes, and accessories.

Barbie's reflected American society's attitude toward women. Barbie was used as a "teaching tool for femininity"

Long legs and arms, a small waist, and high round chest, Barbie represented every little girl's dream of the perfect mature body

She wore undergarments that symbolized adulthood

She had a girdle which was a necessary garment to encourage good posture in women

She also owned clothing for safe recreational activities such as playing tennis and dancing ballet

She came with a popular fashion booklet that accompanied her

Popular outfits pertained to hygiene one important skills taught to girl teenagers

Barbie is seen in a Bar-B-Q outfit showing the homemaking skills required for being a good wife.

Outfits of Barbie reflected American tradition and attitudes toward females. A popular outfit of the first Barbie was the wedding dress. In the 50's, marriage was a sacred institution viewed as a necessary step in adulthood.

.Ken's development portrays one of the expectations of 1950's women. It was necessary to create Ken because "women were considered failures without male companionship"

•Because of Barbie's first relation was a male companion named Ken. The first advertisement for Ken said, "He's a doll!" Barbie's boyfriend was given an image of "innocence, cleanliness, extroverted playfulness, boyish masculinity, and a hint of shyness" •To create this image, Ken came with teenage male essentials, such as a letter sweater, tuxedo, and a gray flannel suit. •One of the biggest questions facing Mattel was how anatomically correct should Ken be. They finally determined that young girls did not need to be exposed to some realities of adulthood; therefore Ken was born with permanent underwear.

A Changing WorkplaceA Changing WorkplaceNew Corporate CultureNew Corporate Culture::

“The Company Man” “The Company Man”

1956 1956 Sloan Wilson’s Sloan Wilson’s The Man in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit the Gray Flannel Suit

American Novel: the search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle.

William H Whyte, Organizational Man

• American workers found themselves becoming standardized

• Called the “Organization Man,” the modern worker struggled with a loss of individualism

• Businesses did not want creative thinkers, rebels or anyone that would “rock the boat”

Male Conformity

Men in the 1950s became conformists by putting on a suit every day and going to work in large corporations

Life became devoted this mundane routine known as rat race

Men were limited in their ability and potential because they were victims of suburbanization.

By 1956 more white-collar than blue-collar jobs in the U. S !

Male ConformityDavid Reisman, The Lonely Crowd

• The increasing ability to consume goods and afford material abundance was accompanied by a

shift away from tradition or Inner-directedness

• Other-directed people were flexible and willing to accommodate others to gain approval. Corporations molded the middle class- what the consumed, what the did with their time, and influenced political views

MUSIC IN THE 1950s

• Musicians in the 1950s added electronic instruments to traditional blues music, creating rhythm and blues

• Cleveland DJ Alan Freed was the first to play this music in 1951– he called it

“Rock and Roll”FREED

MUSIC -Teen CultureMUSIC -Teen CultureBy 1956 By 1956 13 million teens with $7 billion to spend 13 million teens with $7 billion to spend

a year.a year.

Elvis Presley Elvis Presley “The “The King”King”

Elvis’s sexual innuendo and hip gyrations shocked many middle-class parents but captured the attention of their children.

Richard Penniman,Bill Haley and the Comets

Jerry Lee LewisBuddy HollyRoy OrbisonRay CharlesChuck Berry

Youth who rejected uniform middle-class culture and sought to overturn the sexual and social conservatism of the period. The Beats eventually won favor among college-age Americans, who joined together in protests against the death penalty, nuclear weaponry, racial segregation, and other facets of American life

Beats viewed traveling as a means of not being held down by oppressive social structures:

Tripping was a form of traveling. LSD liberated people by de-

constructing the socially constructed self.

California was the promised land – a place free from the stifling moralistic

norms of the East Coast.

Protested the new consumer America / Columbia U.

Celebrate nonconformist and creativity

BEATNIKS FOLLOW OWN PATH• Centered in San Francisco, L.A.

and New York’s Greenwich Village

• “beatniks” shun work and sought understanding through Zen Buddhism, music, drugs, and Bohemian culture

• America wasn't ready for his jazz, open sexuality, and fast, aimless driving on an open road.

• Kerouac died in 1969/ 47 yr after a hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking.

Beatniks often performed poetry or music in coffeehouses or bars

BeatniksAllen Ginsberg

“Howl” (1955)A bitter poem about American life

Jack KerouacOn The Road (1957)Described the lifestyle of the

“Beatnik”

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Allen Ginsberg• Founding father of the

Beat generation Allen Ginsberg.– His poem “Howl”

became a classic among the emerging underground.

– San Francisco was fast becoming the new Mecca.

• Ginsberg took acid and advocate of LSD.– He felt everyone should

use it as a de-contamination tool.

Allen Ginsberg was partly responsible for the morphing of the 1950s Beat subculture into the Hippie subculture of the 1960s. He was an advocate of human equality and freedom in all forms.

64

The BeatsWilliam Burroughs concerned with shedding his social skin to explore his asocial self.

The psychedelic movement was an attempt to restore spirituality and humanity to Western cultures that had become uprooted by the force of modernity. Rise of weapons of mass destruction suggest that the human headed toward apocalypse .

The elder Beat himself, William Burroughs, chats with Curt Cobain of the band Nirvana. Burroughs died in 1997.

Burroughs plunged into an alternative life-style that included drugs and odd jobs. Burroughs warned of the "Control Machine", forces of conformity that would destroy the unique qualities of the individual -- Naked Lunch

Novels that defined a generation of youths seeking experience, kicks, enlightenment, self-definition, and meaning in a dull, spiritless society.

MarAbstract Expressionism Jackson PollockMark Rothko

James Dean East of Eden (1955)

Rebel Without A Cause (1955)

James DeanThe Wild OneMarlon Brando

•Invasion of the Body Snatchers•Aliens takes the place of the human being but expresses no emotions, while the real human becomes nonexistent.

•The giant seed pods represent the paranoia that Americans have about communism that allowed McCarthyism to accuse and blacklist hundreds of innocent victims.

Science fiction movie that similarly develops the theme of communism is “The Blob”

•a blob from outer space swallowing anything in its path in a American town. With the fear of communism, movies illustrates the mass hysteria in America.

Blondes have more fun….

The image of a married woman showing her legs in this photo is controversial…and symbolic of the coming of the women’s challenge to traditional constraints on their freedom….

women - unhappy, bored and unfulfilled in their roles ?????

Women were typically limited to nursing, teaching and office support (with less pay).

graduate from Smith College (1942)- journalism. studied psychology as a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley her husband established his own advertising

agency, the family moved to the suburbs. Although she continued to write, she felt unfulfilled by her role as wife and mother.

In 1957 Friedan put together a list of questions to send to her Smith College classmates fifteen years after graduation. She received detailed replies from two hundred women, many of which revealed that these women were also unhappy with their lives. Friedan wrote an article based on her findings, but the editors of the women's magazines with whom she had previously worked refused to publish it.

THE OTHER AMERICA• In 1962, nearly one out of every four

Americans were living below the poverty level

The Other AmericaRural Poverty

FarmersInner Cities

“Ghettos”Blacks, HispanicsJuvenile delinquentsSingle moms

Urban RenewalAttempted to clean up citiesWanted to attract middle class whites