What Are The Changes In American Society During The 1950's

As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the

In the 1920’s this gap became more of a chasm as the nation’s youth entered the Jazz age, adopting the new styles of music and dress that accompanied it. Women wore shorter skirts, smoked, drove cars, and sported new haircuts, and men went to new jazz clubs that played edgy music that was good for dancing. Overall the new lifestyle was a complete departure from the Victorian mode of living that preceded it, and it was rejected by the older generation as energetically it was embraced by youth. In the 1950’s a similar change took place as parents allowed their children to have more freedom, and religion was not as strictly enforced. The widespread availability of automobiles allowed teenagers to travel around more than they ever had, and the automobile provided teenagers a new place to be free from the observation of their parents, which enabled many new activities, like petting. Just as the youth of the 1920’s had Jazz music, teenagers in the 50’s began to bother their parents by listening to Rock ‘n’ Roll music, whose stars included the scandalous Elvis Presley and even African-American stars like Little Richard, showing that the music allowed youth to transcend race. Just as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literature alarmed more conservative Americans with its description of the popular culture of the time, literature during the 50’s was similarly troubling, dealing with themes of

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.

The 1920’s were a very important era in America for better or worse. There were many issues in relation to race and how people of different ethnic groups were treated. African American had a cultural rejuvenation that being the Harlem Renaissance. The advent of the Ford Model T change the way how people traveled. Many may say an era like the 1950’s were highly comparable. Race related issues were on a decline as America as whole sought to be more accepting and the oppressed started to speak out on it. While some may argue that the 1920’s and the 1950’s were similar time periods, you can say they were different due to how the way minority ethnic groups were treated and the new consumerist lifestyles of people in the 1950’s. I believe that

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.

Three ways society changed in the 1920’s are through culture, economy, and social norms like fashion and women's rights. The 1920’s was a time of change. The United States had just won the war and after the war the United States just wanted to “return to normalcy”. But nothing was normal after the war; the 1920s was a time where the United States was at a peak prosperity. But this can be countered with organized gang violence, increased rate of murder, and countless robberies. Even though prosperity in the 1920s can be counter argued. Overall the 1920s was a time of change; a time for a change in culture, for a change in the economy, and for a change in social norms.

As mentioned earlier, during the 1950s people were more likely to compare themselves to their neighbors and community. There was limited forms of media that everyone saw on a mass scale so most class groups would read or watch the same movies, books, etc. People would look out their

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

For Americans, the 1960’s were a time of both unnerving turmoil and exciting change. Following on the heels of the 1950’s themes of tradition and conformity, the contrasting events and attitudes in the sixties constituted a perfect storm leading to a reconstruction of American social, cultural, and political ideals. Although each decade has experienced identifying features, events occurring during the sixties provided for a definitive coming of age era for the United States. While much of this revolution can be attributed to the events themselves, the medium used for disseminating these ideas bears some of the responsibility. Throughout the decade television replaced radio and newspaper as the primary source of news and entertainment.

The Social, political, and economic changes of the American Dream changed our society during the 1950s. The Social changes in the 1950s Women being in charge of the household while Men went at work, Men were better educated, Television which revolutionized how people know about our world, and the G1 bill of rights. The political changes of the American dream was the Distrust of communism, Space Race, and the interstate highway system. There were many economic changes throughout the 50s such as Automobile, Franchises, Conglomerates, and the standard of living. The American Dream starts mainly with the social life changes.

Society in the 1950s vs. 2017 Can you imagine living in the 1950s? Currently, in 2017 we have witnessed many changes in society in comparison to a 1950s society. 1950s and 2017 societies have extremely different aspects when it comes to technology, social norms, and fashion, although different they share similarities as well. It is apparent that when compared these years in society have differences, as there is a difference of 67 years and throughout those decades, society has evolved significantly. Technology, is one of the major aspects in society that has changed dramatically, 2017 has such evolved technology in comparison to the 1950s.

Part of 1960’s major cultural shifts includes the counterculture; what is known to many as the resistance and or rejection of traditional society of the 1950’s. The fifties social norms consisted of the idea of a “mass society”. Mass society can be described as uniformity in wanting the same lifestyle, as seen with the mass produced suburban houses, otherwise known as Levittown’s, that emerged post war. It can also be seen as conformity and empty materialism shown through the idiom of “keeping up with the Joneses”; comparing oneself with that of their neighbours in terms of accumulated wealth, social prestige and class. Tony Bennet (Theories of the media, theories of society’) formally outlines the popular idea of mass society tradition as

The 1950s brought a structured way of life to families - the ideal. We saw a mother who would stay at home to cook and clean for the family and a father who worked all day to come home to a perfectly cooked meal. The children would attend school, promptly do their homework and go to sleep early. The children were taught middle class values and they all lived in immaculate houses with white picket fences. This idealistic lifestyle was corrupted towards the start of the 1960s, as through time it was questioned as to why these beliefs were a necessity. People

The 1950’s began a change in the life of Americans. This era change and evolved the American culture from what people were use to . During this era Americans are trying to coup with the changes brought by the end of WWII, the effects of communism, and the new cultural and social changes of America. The, “G.I. Bill”, by history.com Staff gives a short summary of what help was provided to veterans after World War II. In the article, “McCarthysim”, ushistory.org demonstrates how far fear can push people to harm others. While Jermie D. Cullip in the article, “1950’s Economics”, explains how, “The teenagers of the fifties had gone through the war not really knowing much about it, yet they had to deal with the result of World War II .” . All these articles demonstrate the changes and evolution of American culture.

The 1950s are characterized as a decade marked by the Cold War and social conformity. It is hard to generalize the lives of millions of Americans, but the values of Americans in the fifties were shaped by two major events: the Great Depression and World War II. After a period of war and poverty conforming to a suburban way of life was a dream come true for Americans.