The 1950s: American Culture

​American Culture in
the 1950s

By Ryan Lemay

Vocabulary

baby boomers,
conformity,
covenants,
Fair Housing Act,
rock and roll music,
suburbs

Essential Question

How did cultural life in the United States change in the 1950s?

• In the 1950s, the new technology of television was becoming more affordable to more people

• It brought the news of the Cold War into people's homes, and also provided entertainment and distraction from the fears and tensions of that era

• By the end of the decade, over 80% of American households had a television

Rise of Television

• Television also added a new feature to American culture, the frozen TV dinner

• Frozen food companies advertised their product as a time saver for working women

• The portable, sectioned aluminum trays made it easy for people to take their meals out of the kitchen and into the TV room to watch a program

Rise of Television

• Today, television continues to be a big part of American culture

• About 80% of Americans in all age groups watch television every day and about 72% of teens spend three hours a day watching television

• However, television habits for American teens are changing in American culture

  • Why?

Rise of Television

Multiple Select

Select the statement that best describes how you spend your screen time.

• I spend more time watching television than using a computer or smartphone for entertainment.

• I spend more time using a computer or smartphone for entertainment than I do watching TV.

• I rarely watch television and rarely use a smartphone or computer for entertainment.

• By the end of the 1940s, the U.S. economy had made the transition from wartime to peacetime

• Most Americans now had more money than ever after saving their earnings during the war and cashing in war bonds that were worth $200 billion in total

• There were few consumer goods to purchase during the war years because of rationing and the need for those resources for the war

Prosperity

• After years of going without such items as new clothing, appliances, and automobiles, most Americans now had the money to buy more goods

• By the end of the 1950s, about two-thirds of Americans were considered to be in the middle class

• Unemployment rates remained low, about 5%, throughout the decade

Prosperity

• In 1955, the two largest labor organizations, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), merged

• With about one-third of the American workers in a union, organized labor membership and power were at their highest point in history

• Unions helped their members increase wages, bargain for pensions and benefits, and improve working conditions

Prosperity

• With the return of peaceful times and a strong economy, more people were confident to marry and start families

• The American birth and marriage rates were at an all-time record high

• Between 1946 and 1964, about 76 million people were born during the baby boom

The Baby Boom

• At its peak in 1957, a baby was born every seven seconds

• The baby boomers, as this population is termed, became the largest generation in the country’s history and represented about 40% of the U.S. population at that time

• The baby boom generation has impacted the American economy and society as they have grown

The Baby Boom

• In the 1960s and 1970s, the baby boomers became drivers of social change by participating in the modern Civil Rights movement, the women's movement, and the anti-war movement

• Most of these baby boomers are reaching retirement age in the 2000s which has resulted in greater demand for healthcare and senior citizen services

The Baby Boom

Multiple Select

What factors contributed to the baby boom that started in 1946?

Select all that apply

• a strong economy

• the building of new schools

• increase in marriage rates

• the availability of more consumer goods

• To meet the demand for housing, home builders built massive neighborhoods growing the suburbs

  • Areas outside of cities

• William J. Levitt built multiple suburban communities in many states that were named for him

  • "Levittowns"

• Levitt's company built over 17,000 homes outfitted with modern appliances in about six years at a relatively low cost of about $7,900 (about $80,000 in current dollars)

Suburban Life

• African Americans were legally barred from buying homes in any of the Levittowns making them segregated communities

• Communities across the United States instituted housing covenants

  • property deed restrictions, barring sales to African Americans and other people from minority groups

Suburban Life

• In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with African American plaintiffs in Shelley v. Kraemer and ruled that racially-restrictive covenants were legally unenforceable

• Discrimination and segregation continued, however, until they were outlawed in 1968 by the passage of the Fair Housing Act

• Civil rights activists would continue to push for fair housing practices, equal employment, and educational opportunity through the 1950s

Suburban Life

• The large numbers of people living in the suburbs helped grow the demand for automobiles

• After the war, automobile manufacturers offered easy credit terms, and the ample supply and low cost of gasoline made automobiles more affordable for millions of Americans

Cars and Highways

• The increased number of vehicles on American roadways prompted President Eisenhower to urge the federal government to improve the country's highway system

  • Many existing roads were narrow and had low bridges

  • Eisenhower believed an efficient highway system was a critical element for the mobilization of the U.S. military and the evacuation of millions of people in the case of an attack from the Soviet Union

Cars and Highways

• The National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 authorized $25 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System over a 10-year period

• It was the largest public works project in American history through that time

• President Eisenhower considered this initiative the greatest achievement of his two-term presidency

Cars and Highways

• The highway system promoted commerce by connecting regions across the country to deliver food and goods for sale

• Americans embraced a car culture taking advantage of more roadways and attractions along those roadways for leisure, as well as out of necessity

• It also encouraged the growth of the suburbs

Cars and Highways

• It reduced the resources used for mass transit projects, thus limiting the mobility and transportation options for people in cities

• It had a negative impact on the economies of small towns, which the highways bypassed

• One of the most famous examples is Route 66

  • Once a major roadway that supported thousands of businesses

Cars and Highways

Multiple Select

Why did President Eisenhower and Congress believe the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 was an important undertaking?

Select all that apply.

• to improve mass transit systems in crowded cities

• to create an efficient system for travel and commerce

• to funnel travelers to small towns to improve their economies

• to mobilize the military and evacuate civilians if the nation was attacked

• Access to television unified the mass culture of Americans by providing a common experience across regions

• After the social upheaval caused by the Great Depression and World War II, many Americans longed for comfort and conformity

  • adherence to strict social rules and roles

Pop Culture

• Most people worked a 40-hour work week, which was enacted by federal law in 1940

• Also, more people owned labor-saving devices that freed up their time, such as washing machines and lawn movers

• The prosperity many Americans enjoyed gave them more money to spend on leisure activities

Pop Culture

• Millions of people participated in amateur sports leagues such as baseball, bowling, and golf

• They continued to go to movie theaters and purchase magazines and comic books as was popular in earlier decades

• Many pop culture staples and American classics were produced during the era as well

Pop Culture

• Rock and roll music was a new musical genre that evolved from a mix of African American rhythm and blues

• Rock and roll music celebrated themes such as young love and freedom from social expectations and rules

• White performers Bill Haley and the Comets and teen idol Elvis Presley popularized the music among white audiences

• Over the decade and into the 1960s, white audiences sought out African American performers, such as Little Richard and Chuck Berry

​Rock and Roll

• In 1948, there were 1 million television sets in the United States.

  • By 1960, there were 60 million reaching almost every household

• Popular programming included comedies, professional sports, game shows, westerns, and children's shows produced by three major television networks

  • CBS

  • ABC

  • NBC

Popular TV

• Writers of some of the notable pieces of American literature in the 1950s brought attention to the social condition of the era

  • In 1951, J.D. Salinger wrote The Catcher in the Rye

  • Ralph Ellison wrote the Invisible Man in 1952

  • In 1953, Arthur Miller wrote the play, The Crucible

Literature

Open Ended

How did cultural life in the United States change in the 1950s?