Consumerism In The 1950's

Music was a part of everyday life for teenagers as well as their parents. As teenagers were given more opportunities in the decisions they were making for their own futures, they also thought they should have the opportunity to listen to whatever music they wanted to. Elvis Presley became very popular during this time period and many of the teens began to imitate him in their daily lives, (Mathieson). With these actions happening, it

Segregation was a big issue in America during the 1950s and the 1960s. Passed in the Southern states, the Jim Crow laws were in full effect by 1914, creating a society separated by race. Segregation played a part in the everyday lives of everyone in society, extending even to public transport. Source B is a quote from Martin Luther King’s book “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story”, which he wrote after the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. It shows the effects of segregated society and attempt to try and prevent the negative outcomes of a segregated society. In Montgomery, Alabama during the 1950s, African-Americans had to enter and sit in the back of buses whilst white people entered and sat at the front. In the event of a

In order to achieve this, civil rights activists “used nonviolent tactics” such as “boycotts, marches and sit-ins” (Thomas). From this united black movement rose many prominent figures such as Rosa Parks who “refused to yield her seat” on bus to a white man to rebel against segregation on transportation as well as Martin Luther King Jr. who gave his famous speech and led countless marches (Kronenwetter). These individuals inspired many to come forward and join the movement. Organizations such as Congress of Racial Equality were formed and groups such as Freedom Riders and Freedom Summer took action in different states in the south to fight for equality and justice. Black power finally started to take a major step forward in the late 1950s and 1960s as the “Brown v. Board of Education ruling desegregated schools” (Thomas). The final bill proposed by Kennedy and finally signed by Johnson was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which “ended segregation in public places and employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Thomas) and ultimately propelled black power forward. However, the civil rights movement ended abruptly when king was assassinated in 1968 (Kronenwetter). All in all, during the 1950-1960, America went through great change. The civil rights movement changed American society forever; all the blood, sweat, and sacrifice paid off as the black society gained more opportunities and improved

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, one of the leaders of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] refused to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, despite being reprimanded by the driver (Schulke 166). Montgomery, Alabama was known for its terrible treatment of blacks. The buses in particular had been a source of tension between the city and black citizens for many years (Schulke, 167). As a result of refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks' popularity among the black community, proved to be the spark that ignited the non-violent Civil Rights Movement (Norrell 2).

As a few white passengers boarded the bus and the white sections were already full so the driver shouted back at four black people including Rosa Parks “Move y'all, I want those two seats”. As this demand was made by the driver 3 of the bus riders obeyed to what was shouted back, however Rosa Parks remained in her seat and was determined not to move. She was arrested following the bus drivers order and fined ten dollars. This, however small incited a great wave of bus boycotts which in Montgomery black people chose not to ride the bus for a period of 381 days. This still to date is known as the moment in which the civil rights movement started to gain headway. It was the will of one woman who decided it was time for black people to take a stand and from this point on Martin Luther King was assigned to take this boycott on. Although he was assigned to take this on people also felt as he was young, fresh and people had not formulated enough of an opinion of him, there was little room for him to be hated yet so he posed as the right figure to lead this. After the many days of boycotting the case of this transport issue in Alabama went to the Supreme Court. Here it was decided that segregation was declared as unconstitutional so segregation by law was no

However, tensions arose in many different schools, including Little Rock’s Central High School. In 1957, “nine black students” (Source 8) were enrolled into Central High School. Previously an all-white school, the blacks faced persecution from whites and the police. After six more years of continuous revolts, and gaining support from millions more, the Civil Rights Movement had its climax, the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 (Source 9). With a crowd of over 200,000 people, many speakers, including Martin Luther King Jr. (Source 10) called an end to racism via speeches and posters.

Blacks were treated like they weren't human they would have to use, ‘’Colored’’, drinking fountains and restrooms;Blacks schools and white schools were also segregated allowing

Mass production during the 1920s fed the mass consumerism that had emerged among the American

For instance, nuclear families with the father having a well paid job and the mother and children relax in the house. These sitcoms were factors in turning the dream into a reality. Families living in a rent house were now able to afford to move to the suburbs. New York’s Levittown which consisted of identical houses exemplified the new home of a middle class family. At this time, Levittown and other similar areas were still segregated.

Ford Motor company not only revolutionized production with the assembly line, but also paid its workers well enough that they could afford to buy its cars too. This boom in car ownership encouraged other industries to grow as well, sectors such as road and bridge construction, glass and leather manufacturing, and naturally, oil production expanded also. Advertising built brand identification and created a consumer culture that equated patriotism, and piety with consumerism. For the first time, companies like Coca Cola, and General Electric sold hope and lifestyle, encouraging the creation of a consumer culture. Unfortunately this "roaring twenties" boom economy lead many to lean too heavily on credit, leading to an inevitable down cycle called the Great Depression.

1. The 1920’s were a time of great economic prosperity in the United States. Due to industrialization, standardization and the subsequent abundance of consumer goods of all types, this --as well as all future periods of american prosperity-- would be time of marked increase in consumerism. Perhaps due to this being the first indication of this proclivity, or perhaps due to the drastic amount of income inequality at the time, this was seen as one of the most dramatic periods of change in the realm of American ideals. Though there are many examples of this change, the two to be focused on here are goods and advertisements.

In 1960 black students at a North Carolina university staged a sit-in at a lunch counter who refused to serve black customers. Their example was followed by 70 000 other students who held similar protests in other segregated facilities. Soon thousands more black and white students joined in a massive campaign of non-violence protest to demand for desegregated facilities. At the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, 250 000 people from all religious & ethnic backgrounds came together to demand full racial equality. This crowd remained peaceful the entire time and listened to one of the most memorable speeches in history, the ‘I have a dream’ speech by MLK. A year later was known as ‘Freedom Summer’ where black and white civil campaigners from the more liberal states went to Mississippi to open ‘Freedom Schools’. These schools taught basic literacy, black history and stressed black pride. But there was a violent reaction to all of this; Freedom workers beaten and arrested.

Consumerism is a phenomenon that has been dominant in all societies for an extremely long time. It causes people to excessively purchase goods and consume things excessive to their actual needs. “A consumer is a person or thing that consumes” (Dictionary.com). Consumerism can be defined as a belief that an expanding consumption of goods is an advantage to the county’s economy. Today people are practically brainwashed to buy more than what they need in order to keep the economy afloat. No one thinks twice about why they are buying things or maybe even what they need. Consumerism has a big impact on our country, good or bad.

After World War II and getting through the Great Depression, America was finally ready to stabilize itself again. In the 1940’s, the television was created , but did not get popular until after the war in the 1950’s. This invention alone helped bring America back into stabilization with the help of advertising. Through the process of popularizing the television, the boom of the economy, and the growing change into a consuming nation , advertising affected the lifestyle of America.The emergence of the 1950’s advertising in the newly created medium of television represents Americas growing post war market for consumerism.

The 1960s marked a shift of consumer culture that became the process of ‘demassifying’, … as social relations rooted in class, family and work were challenged by the fashioning of individual lifestyles in the expanded domain of consumer culture (Leiss et al. 295) Demassification during that particular time was increasing ad costs, but it also made advertisers look at what they get for their media expenditures. As Caffery suggested, “demassification was building, so was the bill. When you combine smaller audiences with higher costs, alarm systems start to ring” (13). These transformations