Transcript The 1950s Life in Post War America

Chapter 20
The 1950s
Life in Post War
America
Postwar Economy
• WWII transformed the
American economy and
made the U.S. the
largest manufacturing
country in the world.
• Between 1945 & 1960
the GNP (Gross National
Product) more than
doubled.
Money
Money
– It rose from $212 billion
in 1945 to $504 billion in
1960.
Money
Postwar Economy for the Average Person
• In 1945, the annual
income per person
in the U.S. was
$1,223 and in 1960
the income was
$2,219.
• Per Capita
Income – the
average income a
person makes in a
year.
• People would
So starts the
American trait
of over
consumption.
American Business Restructures
• Traditional U.S.
business reshape
themselves in the
1950s.
– Conglomerate
– Franchise
This rock is called a conglomerate. But that is
for Geo Science
Conglomerate
• a corporation made
up of three or more
unrelated businesses.
• Example:
International
Telephone and
Telegraph
– Purchased:
•
•
•
•
Avis Rent-a-Car,
Sheraton Hotels
Hartford Fire Insurance
Continental Baking.
Why do you think American
businesses and corporations
would want to turn into
conglomerates?
Today, investor
Warren Buffet of
Omaha, Nebraska is
the head of a massive
conglomerate that
includes insurance,
banking, jewelry,
under ware, soft
drinks, railroads,
furniture, personal
hygiene products and
other investments.
Franchise
• A business that contracts
with a large parent
company to offer certain
goods and services.
• Basically a way for small
businesses to take less risk
because they are running
an already known
business.
• Most Famous Example:
McDonalds
• Nebraska Examples: Runza,
Amigos, Valentinos
Ray Kroc did not
start
McDonalds. He
saw a system
that worked. He
bought the
rights. Then
sold the name
and products to
anyone who
wanted to try a
small business.
Ode to Ronald McDonald
Christmas with Ronald
Consumer Items
• Many new technologies
became available to the
average American consumer
during the 1950’s.
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–
–
Gas lawn mowers
Dishwashers
Television
Tupperware
Tupperware parties
became hugely
popular during the
1950s. These
parties led to 50
years of leftover
food rotting in the
back of the
refrigerator.
Who needs a remote when you have
three perfectly good children to change
the channel.
Television
• Television technology
was actually developed
in the 1920s and 1930s
but The Great
Depression and WW2
stalled production.
• In 1955, the average
American family
watched 4 to 5 hours of
television a day.
• Television networks
made billions by
advertising through
television.
Other Advances
• Medicine
– 1954: Jonas Salk develops
polio vaccine.
– Antibiotics become more
advances.
– Surgical techniques are refined
to fix specific defects.
• Transistors
– A tiny circuit device that
amplifies, controls, and
generates electrical signals.
• Because of transistors giant
machines that used to fill up
whole rooms could now fit on a
desk.
The Baby Boom
• A dramatic increase in
the American birthrate
in the years following
World War Two.
• Brought on by…
– Rise in the standard of
living.
– New medical tech that
reduced infant
mortality.
– Million of returning
WW2 Vets coming
home.
Suburbia
• Families seeking more
room for their families
to grow retreated to the
suburbs.
• Suburbs – New housing
developments that ring
around urban areas.
• Developer William J.
Levitt was able to mass
produce houses by
assembling a house out
of precut materials.
How would you
interpret this political
cartoon from the
1950s?
Critics of Suburbia
• People rich enough to
move into the suburbs
were usually white.
• Minorities were left to
occupy the decaying
urban centers of cities.
• This migration of white
people was called
“White Flight.”
• Others complained that
suburbs all looked alike
and was devoid of
originality.
Even though this is
London, England the
pattern of this map
can be seen in many
of America’s major
cities.
The Car Culture & Interstate System
• The automobile
became a status symbol
during the 1950s.
– Car companies started
to make new models
every year.
– Cars started to become
more dependable and
were able to reach
higher speeds.
• Because cars were becoming
so popular and people in the
suburbs needed a way to get
to work roads had to be
improved.
• In 1956 the Federal AidHighway Act was passed.
– It gave $25 billion dollars for a
national road system that was
40,000 miles long.
– Developed from the German
Autobahn.
• Can you think of any physical
features that are directly
related to the interstate in
Nebraska?
Nebraska Interstate Lakes
Mr. Geiken says, “Thank you Interstate System. I
would not have caught this crappie if it wasn’t for
your need for sand.”
Youth in the 1950s
• The youth of the
1950s are often
called the “silent
generation” because
they seemed to have
little interest in the
world around them.
• Rock-and-Roll –
Music popular in the
1950s that came out
of rhythm and blues.
Elvis in the 1950s.
Fat Elvis in the 1970s
• Contrary to the “Silent
Generation” label many
youths from the 1950s
started the “Beat
Generation” also called
Beatniks.
• Beatnik – In the 1950s, a
person who criticized
American society as
apathetic and conformist.
• Beatniks stressed
individuality and
spontaneity while
preaching against
conforming. Many were
artists, writers, and
musicians.
The Gathering Storm
• The Civil Rights movement starts to build
momentum during the 1950s and the Vietnam War
and the turbulent 1960s is on the horizon.