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B2 1950s Convery

Page history last edited by Victoria Cantarella 13 years, 9 months ago

Kaitlyn Hudspeth

Jennifer Saksa

Vicki Canterella

Gabby Overberg 

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

The 1950s

"The Way We Lived"

 

     A typical day in the 1950s was largely affected by Communism, innovation, and the need for a perfect image.

 

 

     After World War 2, many people became skeptical with the capitalist system. A few ended up joining the “American Communist Party” as an “economic [alternative]” (Edelman1). However, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began to look into all possible influences by communists in the motion picture industry. This became known as the Hollywood Blacklist. HUAC accused many “motion picture directors, producers, actors, and screenwriters” of being associated with the Communist Party, and were blacklisted if they could not also provide names for more suspects (2). Those who were blacklisted were “removed from the payrolls of the Hollywood studios and unable to find employment in the American motion picture industry” (2). Needless to say, friendships were ruined because of betrayal and careers were shattered. Several blacklisted fled to Europe in hopes of continuing their career. Others less fortunate were forced to work for “a fraction of their prior salaries” or face unemployment (5).

 

     However, that’s not to say that America had sunk into a well of depression. One example of a popular place for fun was the amusement park. Though the idea had originated in the 1920s, it had resurfaced again in the 1950s with the opening of Disneyland. Contrary to the stereotypical theme park of the day (the quality of parks had decreased throughout the 30s and40s) Disneyland was an ideal place to bring the whole family for a day of fun and excitement (Gianoulis).

 

     America had decided that it was not only going to extend coast-to-coast, but be able to travel from one to other in “less than a week” (Edelman4). The majority of the country consisted of small low-speed roads, with a few expressways in major cities. However, these old-age roads could not keep up with the increasing traffic. The idea of an expressway was also practical from a military standpoint. In the event that there was a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, “a national highway system would speed military movement or evacuation in the event of a nuclear attack.” (1) These highways were an indirect cause of urban neighborhood decline and increase in modern suburbs.

 

     Cities had become overcrowded, dirty, an full impoverished minority groups; all things that the common American family had grown to fear. This was a large cause for the increase in suburban housing. Many believed that a suburb was the “ideal place to raise a family” and “a safe haven for all that was wrong with cities and the world” (Berg 3). However, while suburban homes were large and glamorous, they were also seen as somewhat eerie in their uniformity. Also, many believed that a family living inside a suburban home was as picture-perfect as its front lawn. This contributed to the growing problem of “rigid social roles that kept women, in particular, in a state of isolation” (3). Racism was another issue, banning all African Americans and other minorities from the suburban sanctuary.

 

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  In the 1950's the country had just fought and won World War II and because of the American peoples dedication to helping the country, America was no longer in the Great Depression. America's economy boomed and the returned soldiers worked steady jobs with a nice income and settled down and had families. With the soldiers coming home and getting married a baby boom occurred and that made family life more valuable. Parents wanted their children to be safe so many families moved outside the city into suburbs. The suburbs were a quiet, safe subdivision away from the city where parents could raise their children without worry. The demands of suburb housing was extremely high which made construction and home building a profitable business to go into. By the end of the 1950's over half of America's families lived in the suburbs. 

      The American standard of living began to increase with the new technologies coming out. A refrigerator was now able to preserve food and was advertised through radios, magazines and television.  Cars were now being made, bought, and sold for luxury instead of necessity. General Motors came out with their Chevrolet Corvette and Ford with their Ford Thunderbird. These cars were very popular and sold well. American consumers also bought expensive watches as a luxury item.  In 1950 a piece of plastic came out that changed the monetary flow in America and the world, the credit card. The credit card was not used frequently and many families did not have one until after the 1950's. The credit card made shopping easier when it came to the latest and greatest way of shopping, going to the mall. The mall was a new way to shop with a wide variety of stores being within the same area.  One of the greatest products of the 1950's was a piece of plastic that changed the lives of young girls across America and the world, the Barbie doll.  Barbie was born in 1959 and fueled the American consumers market until the end of the 1950's. The 1950's was a time of economic growth, expansion of businesses, and a increasing standard of American living.

     

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     ►One of the most lasting tends in the food industry made its mark in the 1950's: Standardization and franchising.

     ►The most noted restaurant chain of the century was of course...McDonalds!


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             ►McDonalds spread out across the nation in the 1950's by way of franchising, a system that offered individual owners to own a McDonald's restaurant so long as they followed the McDonald's business formula of: hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes as a the constant across all McDonald's.

 

     ►The success of McDonald sled to a number of imitators, including Burger King

     ►Food was also becoming standardized through frozen meals and pre-prepared foods, more commonly known as TV dinners.

     ►Hamburgers and fries were the staple foods of the decade. 

     ►Popular American Foods that came out in the 50's include the Dunkin Donuts chain, Eggo frozen waffles, Kraft Cheese Whiz, Cocoa Puffs, and Marshmallow Peeps! 

 

♦Drinks♦

     ►In 1952 the first sugar free, calorie free drinks were made!

     ►Beverages such as Tang (1958)  (1959) came into being in the 50's

 

Education

 

     During the 1950s, education was seen less as a pointless requirement; and became a topic of many serious debates. An increase in higher education was believed as a necessity for global competition, as well as a drastic change in curricula. Federal and state funding increased the percentage of their annual budget towards education. Also, the government became more active in controversial issues.

 

     At the beginning of the decade,  schools had placed more emphasis on "life improvement" skills and "home economics" classes. This is because the prosperous economy of the 1950s provided jobs for almost anyone, creating a sense of security and decreased fears of job competition. This dumbing-down could be seen in higher education schools as well. For example, in many colleges and universities, "science-based graduates decreased and home-economics graduates increased" (Curricula 2). However, after the launch of Sputnik ("a small satellite that orbited the globe") by the Soviet Union in 1957, America realized in fear that other countries were beginning to surpass them in math and science (3). The reaction was the national education system returning to ";traditional";academic classes (3). Reformers demanded higher academic requirements for all schools, rewards for accomplished students, and emphasis on the math, science, and foreign language courses.

 

     In order to achieve these reforms, educators called for more school funding from the government. However, the federal government claimed that use of their funds required schools to follow their "federal 'guidelines'", even though they only contributed 4.5% (Federal Funding 2). In the end, federal funding for education did increase moderately, though it was  "state and local taxes" that paid for the majority of public education (3).

 

     The Midcentury White House Conference indicated the nation's current issues in education, such as "federal aid to states for education, government support for college tuition, abolition of racial segregation in schools, reserving of educational-television channels by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and government efforts to provide school lunches for poor children"(Government and Education 2). In 1954, the Supreme Court eradicated the "separate but equal" doctrine. There was some retaliation to this decision after the Brown v. Board of Education case. Orval Faubus, an Arkansas governor, "called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent any black students from enrolling; in public schools for white children. The federal court had to overrule the chancery court in order to restore the integration order (5)

  

Government and Politics 

     In 1950-1953, the Korean War took place. This was the first major Cold-War flare up. On June 25, 1950 the communist North Korea, with Chinese andthe Soviet Union’s support, invaded South Korea. The UN, led by the U.S., rushed to the aid of South Korea as the fighting quickly erupted and threatened to become another world war. An armistice halted the fighting in Korea on July 27, 1953.

 

      After that, the 1950’s were relatively calm and quiet. The economy was doing quite well, and politics were stable and comforting after such times of unrest. The president at this time was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who happened to be a WWII hero. He was a popular president.

The people were preoccupied though. The Cold War and the wars before had made them paranoid and nervous.  And now the fear of communism and communists led the people’s lives.  The US had emerged from WWII as a leader in world politics though. As a nation, the US was largely left untouched because the war was fought on foreign soil. Europe suffered greatly in contrast. The major issue the United States had to deal with was the concern over whether or not the Soviet Union, the only other world superpower at the time, would pose a threat. Slowing the spread of communism became the leading principle behind every foreign policy decision. Every major decision revolved around ending and avoiding communism or containment. Money and aid was sent to Europe and also to many third world countries to help keep them from turning to communism.

 

     By the middle of the 1950s the civil rights movement emerged as a powerful force for social change in the United States. Legislation was passed in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which made it unconstitutional to segregate schools which ended the “separate but equal” doctrine that had been established in the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896. This was a major change for the United States. But sadly, though the laws had changed, the people’s attitudes did not. School districts all over, not just in the South, initially refused to abide by these new rulings. Even a decade after the decision was made, fewer than 1 percent of public schools in the South had been desegregated. 1957 in Little Rock Arkansas, the President was forced to call in military support to overcome Arkansas governor Orval Faubus’s blockade into the Central High School.

 

     Laws were also enacted to help protect the environment and to provide consumer safety. In addition, Supreme Court rulings extended personal privacy rights, freedom of the press, and freedom of expression.

 

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~Television was becoming increasingly popular in the 1950s, posing quite the problem for the theater industry!

 ~Wide-screen techniques such as cinemascope and vistavision were being used to add a panoramic effect to big budget movies,  most of which were science fiction or horror. 

          ~Some of the movies were even filmed in the short-lived 3-D process 

~Horror had a huge outbreak in the 1950's, commonly blending science fiction into the mix to create a host of atomic-age movies filled with larger than life insects and arachnids affected by nuclear radiation, making a nod to the outbreak of atomic bomb information and use

 

  ~In the late 1940s the movie industry was challenged by the government and an antitrust investigation and lawsuit of the industry was carried out. All movie production studios had to sell off all their theater holdings in 1951, causing movies to become more expensive to produce. This increase in movie production costs led to fewer movies being made, and the profits from said movies becoming tighter at the movie studios. 

~Since the 1920'a a voluntary censorship program had been in effect, and feel apart due to the antitrust investigation, which caused the studios to loose ability to control distribution. 

~At the beginning of the decade however, censorship was still in full effect, a comedy named 'The Moon is Blue' (1953) was even banned in many cities for the use of the word 'virgin'. 

     ~Near the end of the decade though censorship of the movies began to lighten. In 'A Summer Place'(1959) the concept of Sandra Dee being dragged to a doctor by her mother to make sure that her virginity is still intact after a night on the beach with Troy Donahue is perfectly acceptable to moviegoers.

~Films also posed as outlets for social commentary, persisting mostly in film dramas and post-WWII movies such as 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955), 'The Blackboard Jungle (1955) and 'The Wild One' (1954). These movies most commonly dealt with themes such as alcoholism, delinquency, and troubled high-school youths. 

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~Around the end of the decade movies were becoming increasingly controversial, leaning towards subjects such as violence and sex (and even nudity!) in order to attract the population to their theaters. 

~Around this time Broadway musicals were making their way onto the big screen, including musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun (1950), The King and I (1956) and Singing in the Rain (1952)

 

  

 

Religion

 

     In the 1950s America witnessed a rising interest in religion. In fact, many people believed that this new enlightenment would be called America's 2   “awakening” (Religion in the 1950s 1). It could be seen in the increase of "church membership, contributions, media attention, films, and best-selling books” (5). An example of religion in the media was the movie The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas's, which started as a best-selling novel and was the first movie to be presented on “CinemaScope”, or big screen (5). Religion was also added to the political aspect of America. The most famous changes were the addition of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and the addition of "In God We Trust" on the nation's currency (6).

 

     In addition to the boost of religious awareness in general, there was also an increase in coexistence. For example, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church combined to form the American Lutheran Church. More churches merged together as well, such as the Northern Presbyterians and the United Presbyterians (United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.), and the Christian Congregationalist Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church (United Church of Christ). However, it wasn't just Christian denominations that felt changes. By the 1950s, many Americans were proud to "identified themselves as Protestant, Catholic, or Jew," andmany thought that "some sort of religious identification was necessary for national identification." (Religion in the 1950s 7)

 

     Nevertheless, some religious tensions still remained. The Roman Catholic church was criticized by the Traditional Protestant church over their ;public aid to parochial schools and attempts [...] to impose their standards on certain movies" (Religion in the 1950s 4). There were also acts of violence due to anti-Semitism. One instance was the bombing of the Jewish temple in Atlanta during the civil rights effort (4).

 

A Wave of Crime

     →Access to news about crime was becoming increasingly easy to acquire as technology in the 1950's progressed. Crime was found in all types of media; the television, radio broadcasting, andthe daily newspaper. 

Statistics

     →1957- The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported an all time high level of major crimes for the previous year, up more than 13% from 1956 and40% from ten years before. 

     →In 1960 a U.S. news an dWorld Report article reported that between 1940 and1960 the rate of serious crime had more than doubled.

→The increase in crime was challenged by experts who believed that the crime rate was not increasingly so drastically, but rather that the police were just taking better records andreports of the crime. 

     →Either way, brutal crimes were increasing, and there was a sharp increase in juvenile crime. Arrests of persons under the age of 18 had doubled from the year 1948 to 1959, and the population in the age group had increased by less than one-half.

Blind Justice

     →From the beginning of America's formation a basic principle of the government was that anyone who was accused of a crime would have their day in court and expect that administration of 'blind  justice'. However, in the 1950's this application of 'blind justice' was hardly performed and it was often apparent that the judiciary gave special treatment to the rich and whites over the poor and minority groups. 

     →Sentencing and court procedures differed from state to state, and judges tended to base their ruling on the quality of the opposing legal counsels or the popular opinions of the day, rather than dealing withthe case based off of proper legal views. 

Lawyers

     →The 1950s were a hard time for defendants to findgood lawyers. Many lawyers were trying to avoid trial work in hopes of going after more lucrative opportunities. 

Equal Protection

     →Proper legal representation court was a hard thing to come by in the 50's

     →Only 8 states in 1957 had public defenders- full time employees whose jobs were to defend the poor in criminal courts- and those states did not provide them in all courts.

     →A Supreme Court Decision of 1956, Griffin v. Illinois, was the first of several Warren court decisions that stressed equal protection for the haves and have-nots under the law. 

10 Most Wanted program

     →The FBI's "Most Wanted" program began in march 1950, after a news story was distributed in 1940 by the International News Service about the 'toughest' criminals that were currently at large. The story caused great success in catching said criminals, convincing the bureau that perhaps publicity was a valuable tool in order to capture wanted fugitives.

 

Fist People to be listed on the Top Ten list

1. Thomas Holden

2. Morley Vernon King

3. William nesbit

4. Henry Randolph Mitchell

5. Omar August Pinson

6. Lee Emory Downs

7. Orba Elmer Jackson

8. Glen Roy Wright

9. Henry Harland Shelton

10. Morris Guralnick

 

Results

     →Of the original ten 'Most Wanted' nine of them were captured, and most of them were identified by alert citizens within a years after they were named to the list. Within the 1950's of the 122 fugitives placed on the list only six of them were never captured.  

 

 

Print Culture

     Literature in the 1950s often rebelled against “consumer culture” after the Second World War (Berg 1). Many of the writes of that time were sick of the “American Dream” lifestyle that was ruled by spending. For example, J. D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” is about a teenage boy who “battles against what he sees as the ‘phoniness’ of adult American life” (Routledge 1). This shows how many viewed the American mentality at that time as corrupt and based solely on material items. Also, the Beats and Beatniks movement was about a group of writers that “sought out experiences that were more intensely ‘real’.” (Berg 1). While some of these “real experiences” were somewhat questionable, such as drugs, others were more constructive. An example would be connecting with spirituality; Buddhism was the favored religion. Ginsberg was an important figure in the Beat Movement. His poem “Howl” expressed with grief how he "saw the best minds of [his] generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked. . . . (2). This poem became an icon in the genre of postwar poetry and literature. Kerouac was also a well known beatnik in the 50s, whose novel “On the Road” explained the values of the Beat Movement to many outsiders. This book helped to spread the values and beliefs of the Beatniks across America.

 

 

     Other, less serious stories were Dr. Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, and “The Cat in the Hat” Jack Rollins’s “Frosty the Snowman” and William M. Gaines’s “Mad Magazine” (Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms). Once again, these forms of literature were aimed at lifting the spirits of their readers. Whether it was a charming story featuring grumpy Grinch that found his heart or a satirical magazine, the lighter stories of the 1950s helped to relieve those who felt bogged down by the consumer craze.

 

 

Sports & Games

 

     Sports increasingly became a topic of discussion from it being televised every week and from the magazine, Sports Illustrated.

  

      In the 1950's barriers dividing races were being broken down in the sports of baseball, professional basket-ball, and tennis. America's favorite past time, baseball, was having records being broken by African Americans Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron. Their superior baseball skills showed that African Americans were as equally athletic as the whites and could play the sports as them.

  

      This same idea was carried over into the NBA (National Basket-ball Association) and in woman's tennis. The NBA came together again and was popular. Profession football also became popular because the games were televised every week. 

     Women were being accepted into the professional sports world and the Ladies Professional Golf Association was founded. At the beginning of the decade, Althea Gibson was the first female African American to win Wimbledon. Althea winning the Wimbledon showed that African Americans could play sports as well as everyone else and that woman could too.

 

The children of America enjoyed playing sports but also enjoyed skateboarding and playing with the latest new toy, LEGOs.  LEGOs were played with by younger kids while skateboarding was reserved for the older kids. 

 

 

Leadership 

 

     Harry S. Truman served as president from (1945-1953) the two terms before Dwight. D Eisenhower. In his second term, allegations were made, led by the Republican Party, that his administration had failed to uncover and prevent communist influence on American policies. Truman created loyalty boards to root out communists in the federal government, especially at the state level.

The Truman administration’s reputation was also tarnished by media investigations of corruption. These issues were overshadowed, however, by the communist takeover of mainland China in 1949, the Soviet detonation of an atomic bomb, and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.

Truman secured a decision from the United Nations (UN) allowing the United States to support South Korea. He appointed General Douglas MacArthur commander of the American and other UN forces in Korea. The war quickly turned into a stale mate and Truman became more and more unpopular. He spent the remainder of his presidency defending his policies in Korea and supporting the Democratic presidential campaign of Adlai Stevenson in 1952.

 

     Even with the President’s support, Adlai lost to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

 

     Dwight D. Eisenhower served as president from 1953-1961. Before being elected president, he commanded the armies in WWII that led D-Day in 1944. After the Korean War, he became the first Supreme Commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in 1951. After this, he campaigned for the presidency and won. He pledged to work to eliminate the scandals over corrupt officials and Communist subversives. He also promised to go to Korea and find a way to end the unpopular war. The people trusted him and he was a popular president. His campaign slogan was “I like Ike.”

 

      One of the first things Eisenhower did was to revise America's Cold War strategy. His New Look provided sufficient strength to meet Communist challenges without hurting the economy too much. A plan no one would complain about. A central part of the New Look strategy was emphasizing our atomic strength to deter and, if necessary, wage war.  Only once did Eisenhower order U.S. combat troops into action, during a government crisis in Lebanon in 1958. The marines he sent ashore stayed just three months and suffered only a single death from hostile fire.

 

     Through this, Eisenhower still hoped for improved relations with the Soviet Union.

      A heart attack in 1955 slowed him down somewhat, but the popular president was reelected in 1956.

 

     In his second term, Eisenhower hoped to make a legacy with the first major U.S.-Soviet arms control agreement. This is a treaty that banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the air and seas. But when the Soviet downed a U.S. reconnaissance flight in May 1960the U-2 incident— it doomed any chances for an agreement during the final months of Eisenhower's presidency. He also worked to enforce the desegregation of schools as well as the army.  Eisenhower left the White House in 1961 as a popular president who had avoided a war that no one wanted but who was still unable to achieve the resolution he’d worked so hard for.

 

     Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908–1957) stirred up a lot of controversy in the 1950’s. 

For the most part, McCarthy was a typical Republican. In an address in West Virginia, he mentioned having inside information on government officials who were also communists. His allegations against prominent members of society became more and more rash and uncalled for.

In June 1951, in the wake of President Harry S. Truman's dismissal of General MacArthur, McCarthy claimed that the chief executive was a drunkard. ";;The son of a bitch should be impeached,";; he said; the decision (to remove the General) came from a night of ";;bourbon and benedictine.";;

 

    In 1953, McCarthy claimed that a Communist spy ring operated at an Army Signal Corps Center.

The fight escalated to become Army-McCarthy hearings held by the Senate. At Eisenhower’s request, it was televised and the entire nation saw how despicable McCarthy truly was. He was removed from his post as senator andlived out the next few years in disgrace.

 

 

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Fashion

   The fashion of the 1950's was a time for the women to come out and make a statement. The war was over and all of the men came home so the woman's place was back in the home. Since woman stepped out of the work place their new job was to look perfect for their husband. They did this by wearing the latest fashionable dresses and skirts.  A dress notorious with this age was the rock and roll dress. This dress came in at the woman's waist and flowed out. The rock and roll dress was a staple in the teenage girls closet because it showed that she loved good music and a good time. Teenage girls also had a poodle skirt, a tight sweater, ankle high socks and saddle shoes. To complete a typical teenage girls wardrobe would be make-up, and a lot of it. Many older women of the 1950's wore less figure flattering dresses like Chrisitan Diors trapeze dress.      

     A fashion icon of the 1950's was actress Audrey Hepburn. Audrey made it essential that every older woman have a little black dress, a pair of capri pants, ballet flats, and a men's button down shirt. These things became the must haves for housewives in the 1950's and for many women after.

     The men of the 1950's also became fashion forward. The start of casual Fridays began at the work place and with that khaki pants and leather shoes became increasingly popular.  The chemise Lacoste tennis shirt (crocodile shirt), came over to the United States and soon became the shirt that every man wore on casual Friday's. For young men a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt would be their outfit.  This look was associated with rock and roll because the King of Rock, Elvis Presley, helped make the look famous.

     During the 1950's both the men and women of America were fashion statements to people all around the world. Through international influences of designer Christian Dior and actress Audrey Hepburn, Americans made their own style.

 

 

 

Music 

 

     Music in the 1950s is noted for the birth of rock and roll. Rock and roll was a powerful new form of music that combined elements of R&;;B, pop, blues, and country music to create a sound that truly shook America. It is not the same definition of rock and roll that we have today. Rock then and rock now have changed a lot.

 

The king of rock and roll in the 1950s was Elvis Presley (1935–1977).

 

 

 

 Other rock stars of the day included Fats Domino (1928–),

 

Chuck Berry (1926–),

 

Buddy Holly (1936–1959),

and Johnny Ray (1927–1990).

 

 

Most popular song of 1955 -

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Most popular Rock and Roll song of the ‘50’s

 

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Elvis Presley

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     The feel-good innocence of the Fifties music reflects on the post World War II optimism in America. The young people of the time, an emerging force, hadn't struggled through the war years. They were looking for something more exciting in life. They discovered that vitality in Rock and Roll.

Rock and roll had a social impact too. Rock and roll was integrated, blacks and whites, when much of the rest of society was not. Blacks and whites played in bands together, recorded each other's songs, and were played on the same radio stations.

 

A new kind of radio programmer came out during this time, the disc jockey. Disc jockeys chose the music that played and helped introduce new rock bands to thousands of devoted listeners.

 

Jazz festivals also became popular in this time period. Before, jazz was not public.

 

1956, the Top 40 came out.

 

 

  

  

Positive Political Cartoon

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     The political cartoon above shows President Truman putting an end to segregation. The black bear on a leash being strangled in the cartoon represents the African American people in America during the 1950's and how they were being oppressed. By the president putting his hand up it indicates that he is saying stop to the man hurting the animal, and that implies  that President Truman supports the growing African American equality movement.

 

 

Negative Political Cartoon

Describes the people during the red scare and their reactions to Senator McCarthy's radical speeches. They began to see danger where none existed and communists on every corner. The media didn't help and and only served to stir the people into a panic. 

 

 

MYPUnit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

     The optimism of the times was directly seen in the music of the 1950's. There was a new era of teenagers growing up and reaching the ages of the people who had died in the war. People appreciated the liberty of being young again and not being forced to grow up so fast and go to war. The sports of the time were being integrated. So were school and even the army. African-Americans in sports were breaking records and proving their equality. In films, there was a more sinister theme. This is most likely due to the older generations making movies for the younger generations (those people of the older generations had gone through the war). And it was the optimism of the younger generation that made the 1950's such a prosperous time for the country because it gave hope to everyone that the worst was over and that we could move on.

 

     A prominent theme of the time was equality and equal rights. Schools, churches, the army, and sports were desegregated in the '50's. Whether or not these new laws were accepted socially was a different story. The country was still recovering and we had to band together to accomplish that. The ";;baby boom";; occurred in this time. This is when all the World War II soldiers returned home, got married, and had kids. Suburbs cropped up at this time. This created a sense of community and safety away from the city. the cities were becoming more dangerous because that was a place where all cultures and races were and at a time where the minorties were speaking out against the majority for equal rights. This lead to disagreements and many of those disagreements turned violent and that made the cities a dangerous place to live. 

 

     The leadership throughout the 50's varied. First, there was Truman. He started out popular but his decision about the Korean War turned the public against him. Next, there was Eisenhower. He was in WWII himself. The country chose a war hero as their president. They knew he was capable of taking care of us. Eisenhower was interested in foreign affairs but he also paid attention to our economy. He considered our well-being in his decisions and how those decisions would impact our economy. We still were a recovering country and Eisenhower was quick to see that and adjust accordingly. The country needed a president who could make good decisions for them. We, as the people, had to focus on regrowth and repairing. It was the president's job to focus elsewhere. The opinion of the American people had changed because now they did not want to fight a war, they did not want to become involved with other countries, they wanted to leave everyone else alone, and focus on the good times.  

 

     Throughout the optimism of the young generation, the danger lurking in the cities, and becoming involved in unwanted wars, the mindset of America was changed. America now wanted to stay home and focus on the great things that were happening. And it was this carefree mindset that led the America into the 1960's.

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Works Cited

 

 

";;1950s: Commerce.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 643-644. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 June 2010.

 

";;1950s: Fashion.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 657. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 May 2010.

 

";;1950s: Sports and Games.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 717-718. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 June 2010.

 

Berg, Timothy. ";;Beatniks and the Beat Movement.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 698-700. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Berg, Timothy. ";;Suburbs.";; Bowling, Beatniks, andBell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara PendergastandTom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 780-783. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Berg, Timothy. ";;Top 40.";; Bowling, Beatniks, andBell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast andTom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 694-695. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Berg, Timothy. ";;Beatniks and the Beat Movement.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 698-700. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Coletta, Charles. ";;Frosty the Snowman.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 702-704. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Edelman, Rob. ";;Blacklisting.";; Bowling, Beatniks, andBell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara PendergastandTom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 771-774. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Edelman, Rob. ";;Highway System.";; Bowling, Beatniks, andBell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast andTom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 775-777. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Gianoulis, Tina. ";;Amusement Parks.";; Bowling, Beatniks, andBell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara PendergastandTom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 768-769. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Pach, Chester J., Jr. ";;Eisenhower, Dwight D.";; Americans at War. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 4: 1946-Present. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 55-57. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 May 2010.

 

";;The Postwar Era (1945–1970).";; Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: Government andPolitics. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 May 2010.

 

Schnakenberg, Robert E. ";;Dr. Seuss.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 701-702. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Schnakenberg, Robert E. ";;MAD Magazine.";; Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 704-707. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: U*X*L, 2002. Print.

 

";;Eisenhower, Dwight D.";; U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., andRebeccaValentine. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker andSarah Hermsen. Vol. 3. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 487-490. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2010.

 

";;Introduction to the Postwar Era (1945–1970).";; Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: Government andPolitics. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 May 2010.

 

";;Joseph McCarthy.";; American Decades. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010.

<;;http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>;;

 

";;The Postwar Era (1945–1970).";; Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: Government andPolitics. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 May 2010.

 

";;Religion in the 1950s: Overview.";; DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.

<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/>;;

 

";;Truman, Harry S.";; International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nded. Vol. 8. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 459-460. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2010.

 

American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, Victor Bondi, Richard Layman, Tandy McConnell, and Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 6: 1950-1959. Detroit: Gale, 2001. p230-231.

 

Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 1: 1900s-1910s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. p33-34

 

 

 

Images

";;1953 Chevrolet Corvette";;

http://i1-18sca.ipower.com/Chevrolet/Chevrolet_Corvette_1953_front_quarter.jpg

 

";;3-D Moviegoers";;

http://jennyleewilliams.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/1950s-3d-movies.jpg

 

“Adlai Stevenson Button.”

http://www.hudsonlibrary.org/hudson%20website/Images/Web%20Collection/Pins/AdlaiStevenson.jpg

 

“America Betrayed.”

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Loyalty%20boards/StarScape11/Betrayed.jpg

 

";;Annie Get Your Gun";;

http://www.movietrimmer.com/content/default/english/images/movies/254291_3.jpg

 

“Anti-Communism Poster.”

http://www.designer-daily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/stop-communism.jpg

 

“Anti-Communism Symbol.”

http://www.sorenwinslow.com/PhotoGallery/Misc/Anti-Communism.jpg

 

";;Audry Hepburn";;

http://thelifeinpink.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/audrey_hepburn2.jpg

 

";;Ballet Flats";;

 http://www.shoes.com/productimages/shoes_iaec1003538.jpg

 

";;Barbie Doll";;

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/barbie/image/2.jpg

 

"Blackboard Jungle Poster"

http://www.streetswing.com/films/video/gif/f2_blackboard_jungle.jpg

 

";;Button Down Shirt";;

http://www.shopgreenapple.com/images/medium/arnold_zimberg_002_white_button_down_shirt_med.jpg

 

";;Capri Pant Sketch";;

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GPm7x50Hj40/SYzjCKMCSLI/AAAAAAAAAMg/Doittwr_iis/s400/1950_s_capri_pants.jpg

 

";;Cat in the Hat";;

http://assets.kaboose.com/media/00/00/04/db/67911201dec68fef98925fd5de4188de43b46759/476x357/frosty1_476x357.jpg

 

";;Catcher in the Rye";;

http://wa.westfordk12.us/pages/FOV1-0006DB0B/Macdonald/02DBAA44-007EA7AB.6/catcher.jpg

 

“Central High School.”

http://www.personal.psu.edu/t3b/Tom%27smediafolder/media%20SpCom%20597c%20spring%202002/Little%20Rock%20Sept%201957.jpg

 

";;Christian Dior Trapeze Dress";;

http://www.girlsguidetoparis.com/Library/Images/whatsHot/March/3_16_CopyrightAlexandreGuirkinger1958-DiorTrapeze_a.jpg

               

“Chuck Berry.”

http://www.bill-parkinson.co.uk/graphics/chuck-berry.jpg

 

";;Comic about Sexism";;

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0nl9hzIdn1qzdi59o1_500.jpg 

 

";;Credit Card";;

http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/images/credit.JPG

 

“Crossing 38thParallel.”

http://www.digital.butlercenter.org/cdm-p1532coll1/images/korean%20war.jpg

 

“Dewey Defeats Truman.”

http://d3nchsmj89snox.cloudfront.net/images/media/doc/838/1238679152-large.jpg

 

";;Downtown Washington";;

http://www.restonpaths.com/BeforeBeltway/Images/DowntownWashington1950Pt1.jpg

 

“Drinking Fountains.”

 http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Politics/images-2/segregation-drinking-fountain.JPG

 

“Dwight D. Commander.”

 http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&;;;;;;sort=RELEVANCE&;;;;;;inPS=true&;;;;;;prodId=GVRL&;;;;;;userGroupName=lom_inac&;;;;;;tabID=T003&;;;;;;searchId=R2&;;;;;;resultListType=RESULT_LIST&;;;;;;contentSegment=&;;;;;;searchType=BasicSearchForm&;;;;;;currentPosition=3&;;;;;;contentSet=GALE%7CCX3048900193&;;;;;;&;;;;;;docId=GALE|CX3048900193&;;;;;docType=GALE&;;;;;role=

 

“Eisenhower.” 

 http://orrinwoodward.blogharbor.com/Eisenhower-President.jpg

 

“Elvis Presley.”

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/Images/elvis-presley.jpg

 

“Elvis Presley Concert.”

http://dixielandrock.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/elvis_presley_concert.jpg

 

“Fats Domino.”

http://www.viduse.com/artres/27062625.jpg

 

";;The First McDonalds";;

http://michaelwitzel.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/mcdonalds-vintage.jpg

 

";;Frosty the Snowman";;

http://assets.kaboose.com/media/00/00/04/db/67911201dec68fef98925fd5de4188de43b46759/476x357/frosty1_476x357.jpg

 

“General Douglas MacArthur.”

http://formaementis.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/macarthur.jpg

 

";;Guilty of Treason";;

http://www.autographsmovieposters.com/6%20sheets%202/Guilty_Treason_6sht.jpg

 

 “Harry S. Truman.”

http://www.presidentialtimeline.org/html/images/objects/0279_lg.jpg

 

";;Horton Hear a Who";;

http://crazymonkey909.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/horton_hears_a_who_.jpg

 

“I Like Ike.”

http://www.ushistory.org/us/images/00012268.jpg

 

“I Like Ike Poster.” 

http://img.allposters.com/6/LRG/22/2236/HA3ZD00Z.jpg

 

";;Is This Tomorrow?”

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://reallygoodmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/picture21_1.jpg&;;;;;;imgrefurl=http://reallygoodmagazine.com/%3Fp%3D3038&;;;;;;usg=___fHlGD-8JfoSv1B9nAa1zs1h5T0=&;;;;;;h=791&;;;;;;w=540&;;;;;;sz=61&;;;;;;hl=en&;;;;;;start=9&;;;;;;um=1&;;;;;;itbs=1&;;;;;;tbnid=92cG1rf3fnA5NM:&;;;;;;tbnh=143&;;;;;;tbnw=98&;;;;;;prev=/images%3Fq%3Danti%2Bcommunist%2Bpropaganda%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26tbs%3Disch:1

 

";;The King and I  poster";;

http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/17/Original_movie_poster_for_the_film_The_King_and_I.jpg/200px-Original_movie_poster_for_the_film_The_King_and_I.jpg

 

";;Khaki Pants";;

http://images.buzzillions.com/images_products/08/58/men_dockers_original_khaki_pants_classic_468107_175.jpg

 “Korean War.”

http://a2zcds.com/SiteImages/Remembering_Korean_War_CD_6.jpg

 

“Korean War Flag.”

 http://www.homeofheroes.com/quickquiz/images/flag.jpg

 

“Korean War Map.”

http://www.battlestory.org/web_images/map_korean_war.jpg

 

";;Lacoste Tennis T-Shirt";;

http://www.tennis-histoire.com/images/champions/lacoste/chemise-lacoste.jpg

 

";;Leather Shoes";;

http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/al.jpg

 

";;Little Black Dress";;

http://cache1.bigcartel.com/product_images/16822001/1950s-vintage-black-dress-02.jpg

 

";;On the Road";;

http://contagiousloveexperiment.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/on-the-road.jpg

 

";;Poodle Skirt";;

http://lilmissglamourpuss.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/adult-light-blue-poodle-skirt-with-blue-sequin-belt.jpg%3E

 

“Protesting School Segregation.”

http://www.canderson.in/coolstuff/tnhistoryday/state/school%20segregation.jpg 

 

";;Rebel Without A Cause Poster";;

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/files/2009/05/6601_rebel_without_a_cause_jigsaw_puzzle_lg.jpg

 

";;The Red Iceberg";;

 http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://reallygoodmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/picture21_1.jpg&;;;;;;imgrefurl=http://reallygoodmagazine.com/%3Fp%3D3038&;;;;;;usg=___fHlGD-8JfoSv1B9nAa1zs1h5T0=&;;;;;;h=791&;;;;;;w=540&;;;;;;sz=61&;;;;;;hl=en&;;;;;;start=9&;;;;;;um=1&;;;;;;itbs=1&;;;;;;tbnid=92cG1rf3fnA5NM:&;;;;;;tbnh=143&;;;;;;tbnw=98&;;;;;;prev=/images%3Fq%3Danti%2Bcommunist%2Bpropaganda%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26tbs%3Disch:1

 

";;Red Refigerator";;

http://www.dailyolive.com/images/red_big_chill_fridge.jpg

 

";;Rock and Roll Dress";;

 http://d200fahol9mbkt.cloudfront.net/item/583994/4layerblackredpetticoat26.gif

 

";;Saddle Shoes";;

http://anniepoodleskirts.com/shoes.shtml

 

“School Segregation Newspaper”

http://brownvboard.org/trvlexbt/pnl10/pnl10-1.jpg

 

“Senator McCarthy.”

http://larchmontgazette.com/guide/history/1954/JosephMcCarthy.jpg

 

";;Singin in the Rain poster";;

http://moviebanter.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/singin_in_the_rain.jpghout_ai s_hE?zzle_lg.jpg

 

“Soldier at Central High School.”

<;;;;;http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080522/Race_timeline/080521-civil-rights-hmed.hmedium.jpg>;;;

 

“Soviet Atomic Bomb.”

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/Joe1big.jpg

 

";;Suburbs";;

http://www.laapush.org/environmentalspectrum_files/images/000001ad.jpg

 

";;Tarantula Poster";;

http://www.danetregifts.co.uk/images/Classic%20Movies/dfmp_0589_tarantula_1955.jpg

 

";;Televsion";;

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/object_images/535x535/10405933.jpg

 

";;Them! Poster";;

http://newfoundsander.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/them02.jpg

 

“The U-2 Incident.”
http://media.photobucket.com/image/the%20u2%20incident/delta102/Junk/fgpowers-gravesite-photo-01.jpg

 

 

"The WIld One Poster"

 http://www.posters.ws/images/936232/wild_one.jpg 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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