2. Affluent Society
The 1950s are often seen as a counterpoint to the decades that followed
it — a period of conformity, prosperity, and peace (after the Korean War
ended), as compared to the rebellion, unrest, and war that began in the
1960s. However, the decade was not without its problems. Many
domestic and foreign policy issues surfaced in the '50s that the United
States would grapple with in the years ahead. Throughout the
country, while many Americans enjoyed the fruits of an affluent
society, poverty was more widespread than most believed, and the
struggle for civil rights by minorities, particularly African-
Americans, became a national concern. Internationally, the Cold War
continued. Although Eisenhower initiated the first steps toward
improving relations with the Soviet Union, the United States became
involved in Southeast Asia and offered pro-Western governments in the
Middle East and Latin America financial and military support.
3. Men wore gray flannel suits and women wore dresses with
pinched in waists and high heels. French fashion designers
such as Dior, Chanel and Givenchy were popular and
copied in America. Families worked together, played
together and vacationed together at family themed
entertainment areas like national parks and the new
Fad-Fashion Disneyland. Gender roles were strongly held, girls played
with Barbie dolls and Dale Evans gear, boys with Roy
Rogers and Davy Crockett paraphernalia. Drive-in movies
became popular for families and teens. Cars were seen as
an indicator of prosperity and cool-ness. Highways were
built to take people quickly from one place to another, by-
passing small towns and helping to create central
marketing areas or shopping malls such as Sharps town
Mall, Gulf gate Mall and Meyer land Plaza in Houston.
Fashion successes were Bill Blass and his blue
jeans, poodle skirts made of felt and decorated with
sequins and poodle appliqués, pony tails for girls, and flat
tops and crew cuts for guys. Saddle shoes and blue suede
loafers were popular. Teenagers were defined as a separate
generation and were represented by James Dean who
wore blue jeans in Rebel Without a Cause and created a
fashion and attitude sensation. Activities we liked were
flying saucer watching, and watching and dancing to Dick
Clark's American Bandstand . Fad hits with kids were toys
like hula hoops and Hop along Cassidy guns and western
gear, Davy Crockett coon skin hats and silly putty .
14. Containment (FP)
Containment began as a new answer to a radically different international
dilemma. Communism posed a grave threat to democracy everywhere. If the U.S.
failed to stop it, then capitalism would inevitably crash. Truman opted to
diplomatically and economically freeze the Russian economy rather than to begin
WWIII. Recognized as containment, this theory postulates that by keeping ‘the
bad’ out, the good would thrive. By indirectly dealing with the problem, Truman
hoped to skirt nuclear attacks and keep the American ideal strong. McCarthy held
this same notion when dealing with communist infiltration in the U.S.
government. Incidentally the new nuclear family hoped to escape an economic
slump and fear of the present by flocking to the suburbs. With their foundations in
international policies regarding communism, both McCarthyism and the nuclear
family provided means of containment in order to achieve security on the political
and social levels
15. United Nations
The United States was not yet in the war. After Germany
invaded the Soviet Union and after the U.S. entered World
War II, the above powers were joined by the U.S. and the
Soviet Union in what was called the "Declaration by United
Nations," signed in Washington on January 1, 1942. Each
government pledged "to employ its full resources, military or
economic" to defeat Germany, Japan and Italy. They agreed
not to make a separate peace with the enemy. A number of
Latin American nations joined the group, as did Saudi
Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and some smaller African states.
16. Nuclear Fears- H-bomb
In the summer of 1945, the world was forever changed. The annihilation of two cities
and the surrender of Japan showed the potency of atomic weapons in war. The atomic age was
ushered in as one of great technological development and much fear. With the end of WWII, a
new conflict arose between the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. Most Americans saw the Soviet
Union as aggressors leaving its massive army in Eastern Europe. This conflict between two
super powers developed into the Cold War. The Soviet threat became real to Americans in the
September of 1949 when the Soviet Union detonated its own nuclear weapon. A technological
race between the Soviet Union and U.S.A. began. To exert dominance, the U.S. developed the
thermonuclear bomb. The thermonuclear bomb, also known as the Hydrogen bomb, works by
setting off a fission based nuclear reaction which heats up deuterium and tritium (hydrogen
isotopes) to point in which the isotopes began to fuse
17. Barbie- Twiggy
Believe it or not, Barbie originally was a real person. Her
name was Barbara (Barbie) Handler and her mother and
father were Ruth and Elliot. In the early 1950's, Barbie's
mother watched her and her girlfriends play with adult
female dolls more than they did the baby dolls. Her mother
knew it was just as important for young girls to imagine
what it would be like to be grown up. Since most of the
adult dolls available at that time were paper or
cardboard, Barbie's mother decided to make a three-
dimensional female adult doll. One that was lifelike enough
to serve as an inspiration for little girl's dreams of the
18. McDonalds
In the 1950s and 60s, fast food chains – epitomized by McDonald's –
revolutionized the restaurant industry and changed farming and food
distribution businesses. The first McDonald's restaurant was actually a
barbecue joint that opened in 1940 by brothers Dick and Maurice
(Mac) McDonald along Route 66 in San Bernardino, California. With
success, the brothers franchised their enterprise and had eight
restaurants open by the early 50s. It's significant that McDonald's
concentrated on milkshakes because that brought Ray Kroc to
McDonalds in 1954. By 1958, the company sold its 100 millionth
hamburger.
19. Rebellious Teens
They hung out with their friends at malt shops, “necked” at drive-in
movies, and gathered around the television with their families – only one set
per household in those days – to watch respectable programs such as “I Love
Lucy” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Teenage boys – from slick-haired “greasers”
to cardigan-wearing preppies – spent ample time salivating over the
increasingly sleek and sporty cars that were being churned out each year. Girls
swooned over pin-ups of teen idols like Troy Donahue and Fabian, and
consulted newly inaugurated teen magazines for advice on dating or fashion.
Perhaps if the teens of the ‘50s had gone no further with their exploration of
fun, perhaps the world would be a different place. But America’s first
teenagers clearly wanted more than wholesome fun. And when rock ‘n rollers
such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley burst onto the scene, teens
were ready. They latched onto rock ‘n roll’s reckless, thrilling beat and refused
to let go. With the advent of rock ‘n roll, and a spate of movies featuring
disaffected teens (most notably being James Dean in “Rebel Without A
Cause”), America got its first taste of teenage rebellion.
20. McCarthyism- HUAC
Joseph McCarthy was born on a farm in Appleton , Wisconsin , on 14th
November, 1908. McCarthy's first years in the Senate were
unimpressive. People also started coming forward claiming that he had
lied about his war record. Another problem for McCarthy was that he
was being investigated for tax offences and for taking bribes from the
Pepsi-Cola Company. In May, 1950, afraid that he would be defeated in
the next election, McCarthy held a meeting with some of his closest
advisers and asked for suggestions on how he could retain his seat.
Edmund Walsh, a Roman Catholics priest, came up with the idea that
he should begin a campaign against communist subversives working in
the Democratic administration. Anderson provided McCarthy with
information about politicians and state officials he suspected of being
"communists". Anderson later recalled that his decision to work with
McCarthy "was almost automatic.. for one thing, I owed him; for
another, he might be able to flesh out some of our inconclusive
material, and if so, I would no doubt get the scoop."
