Lesson 06 - Postwar Life

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Postwar Life

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Golly guys, all this stuff we’ve been learning about the 50s sure is depressing! I thought the 50s was a great time to live!

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Gee whiz Beaver…you’re actually right, it wasn’t all bad!

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The GI Bill

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You see Beaver… after the war, a lot of boys came back from the war and started to wonder what to do… Gee Ward, you’re so smart, tell the boys more about it while I go make dinner!

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The GI Bill of Rights The GI Bill provided assistance to World War II veterans

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The GI Bill of Rights Designed to ease the transition between military and civilian life

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The GI Bill of Rights The GI Bill provided money for education, housing, and starting small businesses

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Do you think the government had a responsibility to support returning GIs?

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So you see boys, after the war there were a lot of soldiers coming back to look for jobs!

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But Dad… weren’t there already a bunch of people working? What happened to them?

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Sure Wally, but those workers were women and minorities… they aren’t as good as us!

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Gee Dad, it sure is swell being a middle class white man in America!

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The Post War Economy

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In the 50s, white-collar jobs replaced blue-collar jobs

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Automation: - 1944: Mark I computer developed - 1951: first IBM mainframe computer - 1956: there were more white-collar jobs than blue-collar jobs in the U.S. - 1947-1957: factory employment decreased by 4.3%; 1.5 million blue-collar jobs were eliminated

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New Corporate Culture: - “The Company Man” - 1956: Sloan Wilson’s The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit Boy June, I just love going to the office every day and doing my job… Yay WORK! I’m so proud of you for going to work Ward! Yay WORK!

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1952 -- Hydrogen Bomb Test 1953 -- DNA Structure Discovered 1954 -- Salk Vaccine Tested 1957 -- First Commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant 1958 -- NASA Created 1959 -- Press Conference of the First 7 American Astronauts Science flourished in the climate of fear created by the Cold War No More Polio! Yankee Rowe in Massachusetts

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America achieved the highest standard of living the world had ever known

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Gee willikers Whitey, I sure am bored…I think we should get mom to buy us neato stuff to play with!

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That’s a swell idea Beaver!

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People began to accumulate discretionary income

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All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life Magazine (May, 1958) People began to accumulate discretionary income

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Mom, all these new things are just keen!

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I’m glad you like them Beaver… YAY Discretionary Income!

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Hey guys, I’m home! I sure do enjoy my cookie cutter suburban home! YAY everything looks the same!

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Now, most Americans could live the “American Dream” and own a home Levittowns (starting 1949) William Levitt produced 150 houses per week which sold for $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment

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1 story high 12’x19’ living room 2 bedrooms tiled bathroom garage small backyard front lawn Now, most Americans could live the “American Dream” and own a home By 1960, 1/3 of the U.S. population was in the suburbs

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Social Change

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Television presented images of “good Americans” Truth, Justice, and the American way!

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Television presented images of “good Americans” Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier

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Television presented images of “good Americans” The Lone Ranger and his faithful sidekick Tonto: Who is that masked man?

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Television presented images of “good Americans” U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon Gunsmoke

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Family shows presented a glossy view of middle class, suburban life The Ozzie & Harriet Show 1952-1966

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Family shows presented a glossy view of middle class, suburban life Leave It to Beaver 1957-1963

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Family shows presented a glossy view of middle class, suburban life The Donna Reed Show 1958-1966

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Family shows presented a glossy view of middle class, suburban life Father Knows Best 1954-1958

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Of course, some shows broke the mold, but not very man The Honeymooners 1955-1956

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Of course, some shows broke the mold, but not very many I Love Lucy 1951-1957

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Mass Audience - 1946: 7,000 TV sets in the U.S. - 1950: 50,000,000 TV sets in the U.S.

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Gee Dad…our soap box derby car doesn’t seem to go as well as your car!

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Well boys…our family car has a real engine…

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A car culture developed in the 50s which still exists today 1959 Chevy Corvette 1958 Pink Cadillac 2 car families doubled from 1951 to 1958 - 1945: 25,000,000 cars registered - 1960: 60,000,000 cars registered

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1956: Interstate Highway Act - $32 billion dollars - 41,000 miles of new highway built

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People On The Move Migration to “better” climates: people moved from the Rustbelt (Northeast and Midwest) to the Sunbelt (South and Southwest)

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People On The Move 1955: Disneyland opens in Anaheim; 40% of guests came from out of state First McDonald’s (1955) Howard Johnson’s

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Increased income also led to the baby boom It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant. British visitor to America, 1958.

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1946 Dr. Benjamin Spock writes The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care By 1957 1 baby was being born every 7 seconds

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A distinct teen culture also developed 1950s: The term “teenager” entered the American vocabulary

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A distinct teen culture also developed 1951: “Race Music” becomes “Rock ‘N Roll”

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A distinct teen culture also developed 1954: Elvis “The Pelvis” Presley becomes the “King” of rock

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A distinct teen culture also developed The “Troubled Teen”: Holden Caulfield in The Catcher In The Rye Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) James Dean in R ebel Without a Cause (1955)

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A distinct teen culture also developed The “Alienated Teen”: The Beatniks Stream of conscious work about the search for oneself

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A distinct teen culture also developed The “Alienated Teen”: The Beatniks Allen Ginsburg – “Howl” Epic poem describing the destruction of culture and society by consumerism

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A distinct teen culture also developed The “Alienated Teen”: The Beatniks Beatnik Clean Teen

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Clearly defined gender roles developed Willam H. Whyte’s The Organization Man stressed that the white, middle class suburban man is the ideal The ideal 1950s man was the provider, protector, and the boss of the house. - Life magazine, 1955

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The ideal modern woman married, cooked and cared for her family, and kept herself busy by joining the local PTA and leading a troop of Campfire Girls. She entertained guests in her family’s suburban house and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12 figure. -- Life magazine, 1956 Clearly defined gender roles developed

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Changing Sexual Behavior : Alfred Kinsey --> 1948 --> Sexual Behavior in the Human Male 1953 --> Sexual Behavior in the Human Female - premarital sex was common. - extramarital affairs were frequent among married couples. Clearly defined gender roles developed

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A religious revival swept the nation in response to communism - Church membership - 1940: 64,000,000 - 1960: 114,000,000

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A religious revival swept the nation in response to communism - Television Preachers - Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen: “Life is Worth Living” - Methodist Minister Norman Vincent Peale: “The Power of Positive Thinking” - Reverend Billy Graham: ecumenical message which warned against the evils of Communism and was designed to target everyone

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Hollywood : the apex of the biblical epics. It’s un-American to be unreligious! - The Christian Century , 1954 The Robe 1953 Ben Hur 1959 The Ten Commandments 1956

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The End... now answer the question!