Transcript The Affluent Society - mcneff

The Affluent
Society
The Affluent Society
 Truman and Eisenhower’s domestic
policies allowed for an “economy of
abundance”
 More goods and services were being
produced than ever before
 Income increased
 Home ownership increased
 White collar jobs increased
The Affluent Society
 With increased money came increased
spending
 People now had a desire to buy the “luxury”
items
 Advertising became an extremely
important and influential position
 Suburban Life became more popular
 Levittown
The 1950’s family
 All these changes also caused a change
in the “typical 50s family”
 Baby Boom
 1945-1961- 65 million babies were born
 Women
 The role of “homemaker” was more
emphasized
 Despite this, more women were working in
the 50s
 Had to support luxurious lifestyles
Technological
Breakthroughs
 Transistors made small radios and
calculators possible.
 The earliest computers built.
 ENIAC and UNIVAC
 Medical advances
 Polio vaccine
 Salk, Sabin
 U.S. launched a satellite
 commercial jets available for travel.
Other Side
 Not everyone was benefiting from the
affluent society
 African Americans
 Discrimination
 Urban Renewal Programs
 Hispanic Americans
 Bracero program
 Poverty
Other Side
 Native Americans
 Termination Policy
 Appalachian region
 Poverty
Assignment
 Create a travel Brochure for the 1950s
 Highlight all the areas that would make
people want to live in the 50s
 Technology, higher wages, better family life, etc.
 Brochure must include
 5 pieces of information about the 50s
 5 pictures with color