Ch 22 Notes

1950s Culture

American History

Peacetime economy-

- GI Bill- law providing benefits for vets

o paid for schooling, job training, get loans for businesses, homes

- spending- during the war, people couldn’t buy much b/c of rationing

o now, they looked to spend the money they had saved during the war

Truman as Domestic President-

- not much, tried to get Civil Rights laws passed but Congress shot them down

- more focused on foreign policy

- Dems split into 3 parties in 1948 election (regular, Dixiecrat (Segregationists), and Progressive (very liberal)

o Truman still wins, but Republican landslide was predicted

Eisenhower- conservative

- rolled back some of FDR’s New Deal programs, cut $ to them

- however- Federal Highway Act- started the interstate highways (billions of $)

o b/c he was impressed w/ German highways during WWII

Wealth-

- average income from 1940-1955 up 300%

- home ownership up big time

- fewer people did physical labor, more “white collar” jobs

Consumerism-

- people bought a lot of stuff, especially luxury items

o coffeemakers, washers, dryers, lawn trimmers, BBQ’s, air conditioners, 2^nd cars

Suburbs- cheap, fast homes (subdivisions)

- away from the city, people could drive there

- families could live together in family friendly neighborhoods (lawns!, backyards!)

Baby Boom- 1945-1961, lots of babies born

- their culture is really the culture of America ‘50s-‘70s

Women- many worked during WWII, most return to the home after the war

- #1 role was housewife (see also- Leave it to Beaver)

- # of women working outside the home does go up, mostly to supplement family’s income

Technology-

- start of computer tech (spurred by WWII)

- polio vaccine, cuts down childhood illnesses (’52- 58,000 new cases, 5700 in ’58 and 3200 in ’60)

- air travel safer and better, more people begin to use it

sec 3

Television-

- few TVs in 1950, 80% in ‘57

- many radio stars cross over

- action- The Lone Ranger

- comedy- I Love Lucy, Ozzie and Harriet, The Honeymooners

- variety shows- music, skits, comedians, etc

o Milton Berle, Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen

- Game shows- What’s My Line, Twenty-One, The $64,000 Question

- Hurt movies big time

- TV dinners- easy to prepare (Swanson)

Rock and Roll-

- starts out of “black music” in the south

- faster beat, a little more risqué

- Elvis- first rock star

o Voice wasn’t all of it, it was the packaging (dress, dancing, etc)

o Ed Sullivan- 1^st time many got to see him, filmed only from waist up the 1^st time

- Gets banned from many radio stations, jukeboxes

- Provides a chance for Af-Ams to make their mark

o Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, before only appealed to black audiences