1950s

Dramatic increase in birth rate, especially in the years following WWII. This was due to so many people working and making a better living.

• Baby Boom ­

• Baby Gap

• GI Bill

• Transistor

Beatnik

• an elderly person in the 1920s who suffered financial loss.

• the fact or process of converting someone or something back to a former state.

• ­ a young person in the 1950s and early 1960s belonging to a subculture associated with the beat generation.

• This was a type of music which challenged earlier music and was popular to teenagers.

Why was there a baby boom after World War II?

• Many babies were born after soldiers returned home

• Less babies were born after soldiers returned home

• Many babies were adopted from overseas

• Children were forced to work in factories

Where did middle-class people move to after World War II?

• suburbs

• cities

• farms

• mountains

Who did the GI bill help?

• women

• African Americans

• veterans

• farmers

What did the GI Bill do?

• provide resources to veterans to go to college and buy a house

• allow soldiers to leave the military early

• provide families of veterans new clothes

• allow veterans to get a free car

What are suburbs?

• cities near the coast

• areas outside of the center of cities

• underground bomb shelters

Lots of wealth and low unemployment; the economy is in a good state.

• Prosperity
• Recession
• Boom
• G.I. Bill

What is a major effect of the G.I. Bill?

• It decreased college attendance rates for ordinary citizens

• It forced women into military service roles

• It lead to an increase in draft rates for future wars

• It increased college attendance and home ownership for veterans

According to many social observers, American culture in the 1950s seemed dominated by a(n)

• restless search by individuals for identity and purpose

• quest for economic political justice within the United States.

• an increase in purchase of consumer goods by a growing middle class.

• collective desire to rid the world of communism.