World War II had just ended. Women that were working because their husbands were out fighting in the war came back home when the war ended. The 1940’s ended and it was time for a new decade. The 1950’s were looked as a state of mind or a way of living instead of another time in American history. The 1950’s were the most influential decade in American history because the civil rights act began, fashion was completely new and trendy there were more much advancement in entertainment and medicine, and suburban life was much more functional than any other decade in America. The 1950’s were a great time and one main reason was because most people were happy with their lives because everything was going well. In the 1950’s most men had …show more content…
The television gave much of the country something to do. It reflected the homogenization of the United States. People began to envision a futuristic nuclear world after the start of the Space Race between the United States and Russia to land on the moon. The United States launched Alan Shepard into space after the Soviets launched “Sputnik” in 1957 as we launched our first man in 1961. Meanwhile, computers were developed into large room size machines to do simple computations and made things portable. One of the characteristics of the mass media during the 1950’s, as the T.V., was that the sitcoms was directed to make viewers think about the idea of the perfect family living the American dream. The only problem with those T.V sitcoms was that not every American family fitted into that mold. For example, Jews, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, and other minorities were not portrayed as part of that image that most people wanted to imitate because these T.V. families were white-collar, middle class, and Caucasian. Medicine played an important role in happier living. One of the major advancements in medicine happened in 1952 when polio came out. This disease was killing many young men and women all over the United States. John Stalk, as a medical student at The University of Michigan, studied viruses and soon came to the conclusion that there was no cure for polio but there was a way to prevent it. Stalk discovered a way to vaccinate people so
The United States has changed immensely since 1950. Americans were worried and anxious about a post-WWII depression that never occurred. 1946 was the year that saw the most marriages. Families started to grow, the economy boomed, people began to own cars and televisions, and much more.
Post World War II America was a society full of anxiety. In the late 1950s Americans were deeply troubled by so many social shifts. Major changes were occurring both internally and externally. They were in the midst of the Cold War, and were vastly approaching the atomic age. There was a communist scare and fear of Russian expansion. Joseph McCarthy was hunting down major celebrities for their communist involvement and the 'Red Influence' seemed to be everywhere. The move toward suburbia and the growth of multinational corporations were flourishing. People seemed to be pulled in every direction. Another change that would have a major impact on society for years to come was the
4 major things : 1)The music (jazz & this new form of music called "rock & roll"). 2)The clothing styles ; the cool dresses for the girls & the Levi's jeans & greased back hair for the men. 3)The economy in america. Manufacturing & also white collar jobs were spreading like wildfire. When you compare the u.s economy in 1950's to the unspeakable great depression that america has been in, really since 1970, the '50's economy was fantastic. In the 1950's you could walk right into a steel mill in pennsylvania & get a good paying job for life. You'd be able to support your wife, your house, buy food & still have money leftover to save or buy yourself another new car or, whatever. You could walk into a grocery store with, i think like $10 & walk
In the 1950’s it was a dull time after world war 2. Rosa Parks who was present at that time got arrested for standing up for her rights. This gave a widespread of protests for black people rights. America had disposable income and had more greater material comfort than their forebears. This allowed them to devote more time to leisure activities and the consumption of popular culture.
If you think our decade is interesting, therefore you will think the 1950's are very interesting! The 1950's was the decade after WWII, Afterwards Americans had a thriving economy and access to new technology, therefore television was just now happening in the 50's, and was an enormous success. History was being made and it altered everything. Sports was just one of those paramount things happening. In the 1950's, sports were affected by the end of WWII, as the veterans were furious and sports were their outlet.
While the US was facing changes during the 1950’s there were other countries that were advancing such as India had gained independence against British in the early 1950’s, there were segregation laws passed in South Africa, those laws were called the Immorality Act, the Population Registration Act, the Group Areas Act, and the Bantu Education Act, Queen Elizabeth II becomes the queen of United Kingdom, and the Cuban dictatorship was overthrown and led by Fidel Castro,and women got equal voting rights in
While Korean War was taking place, on the other side of the world America had its own history in creation. With World War Two and Great Depression over, it was time to build ‘Modern America ‘. During the 50’s it was the era of suburbanization, growth of area on the fringe of the cities number of houses doubled and construction jobs were multiplied. Also industry and economy expansion rose rapidly. Entertainment and new rising at the peak too ; the first Disneyland was built, Televisions became much more common in families , and the birth of Rock and Roll music. Teenagers also grew as 50’s rose, their new ‘youth culture’ brought new freedom and independence. New hobbies, music , allowances, and fashion trend started to rise among them and to parents ‘new’ seemed rebellious, however due to the ‘new’ teenagers were found to be loyal customers that supported economy. Basically the 50’s was all about the effluence , mass production , easy consuming products and the prosperity.
The 1950’s American, for the most part, lived in a small suburban town where the houses were designed the same and everyone had a car. This luxurious lifestyle derived from an economic flourishing after World War Two from production boosts and former soldiers re-entering the work force. The other aspects of 1950s America were not so bland and conformist in nature. Art, literature, and music exploded in a new way in the fifties, and influenced society in unseen ways. The Civil Rights movement began to ignite in this decade and started to rework all of American society, creating an anything but bland societal movement. In 1950s America, society had more money than it had ever had before and this created a consumer culture which bread conformist
The 1950’s saw a boom in the development of suburbs to counter the post-World War 2 housing shortage problem as living in the suburbs offered an alternative to the overcrowded cities. This phenomenon coincided with the significant growth of the American economy, which granted the people stronger purchasing power to own a big house in the suburbs and the confidence to improve their socioeconomic status. Consequently, the suburban lifestyle came to be associated with strong familial ties and upward social mobility, which can be defined as the American ideals of the 1950’s. It is important to note that the media had a very significant role in shaping these ideals, mainly through situational comedies (sitcoms) on television and advertisement, both
. During the 1950’s the economy boomed. With the return of the veterans of World War II, there was a larger number in births thus increasing the population. Housing and urbanization dramatically increased. The reason for this being possible is that during the war, money was being saved and wages increased. The government was able to build factories and sell them to private businesses, which made revenue and increased defense spending. U.S businesses shifted from manufacturing to providing services, information, finances, and entertainment. With this came necessities and luxuries such as automobiles (contributed to increase in suburbs), refrigerators, T.Vs, and washing machines. During this time there was a high standard of living and a large
The 1950s has been a great time for most people. It has been full of new trends, fads, and stars. Overall this is a very happy time in the 1900s. It is full of new beginnings and a lot of fun!
When most people think of the 1950’s or 1960’s, they think of Elvis, Greasers, jukeboxes, Woodstock, and rainbow peace signs and hippie love. Although these symbols are somewhat accurate (and very popular), not many people think about the changes society and culture went through. The 1950’s and 60’s were a time of great change and freedom for many Americans. Everything from World War II, to the gay liberation movement, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped to change society. Many of the views American’s had on topics such as war, gender roles and sexual preference were changed greatly after these events and have led to our culture being what it is today. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time where great changes took place that helped to
Living through 1920-1960s was challenging as well as an exciting time as the world was changing rapidly. I am going to give you a window into my life. I will discuss the 1920s, the roaring twenties, 1930 great depression, 1940 World War II, and sum up with the 1950-1960 the great changes in my life as well as Americas.
With the overwhelming amount of Levittown houses, the obsession to obtain the perfect American “ideal family” as seen on TV and the unspoken agreement to fear any and all foreign ideas and values, the 1950s were revealed to be a decade of prosperity, conformity and consensus. Just ten years later the atmosphere in America was shockingly different; the 1960s were a decade of turbulence, protest and disillusionment due to the ongoing struggle for civil rights, arising feminism, and the Vietnam War.
The 1950’s followed the end of World War II and brought about many changes in the culture due to Americans returning to their normal roles after the war. Many