Modern America Shen America in the 1950s Powerpoint. b. Made possible thanks to the, which did what?

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1 Modern America Shen America in the 1950s Powerpoint Name: I. Domestic Life a. Post-war dream: b. Made possible thanks to the, which did what? c. Define: Baby Boom d. By the 1950s, thanks to rising income and economic growth, 60% of Americans were in the middle class. II. 1950s Economy a. Economic improvements average income per person nearly doubled. b. Pent-up demand why? c. Americans willingly went into debt after years of economic depression d. Before the war, most Americans worked in jobs. After the war, new machines performed jobs that used to be done by people. By 1956, majority of all American workers held jobs. i. Up-side to white collar jobs: ii. Down-side to white collar jobs: impersonal (don t see the product being produced), employers put pressure on employees to dress, think, & act alike, sacrifice individuality for the sake of the corporation e. Wages and working conditions also improved in 1940s & 1950s for blue-collar workers. III. William J. Levitt and Levittown a. Applied skills he had used in building barracks for the Army in WWII

2 b. Levitt s contribution to the 1950s: Introduced techniques to postwar building industry HOW? (What was ONE way that Levitt made home construction cheaper and quicker?) c. Built affordable houses in weeks as opposed to months: i. Average builder built houses a year ii. Levitt built houses a year d. Restrictions: i. All houses were equal in style and size ii. Homeowners could add their personal touch, however, there were strict rules regarding changes to homes, design, decoration, etc. 1. For example? (pick 2 examples) e. Downsides to life in Suburbia i. (uniform) ii. Pressure to conform to the norm HOW SO? iii. No individualism people were discouraged from being different iv. Reinforced gender stereotypes MEANING? v. All white legal documents actually barred homeowners from selling to non-white families. IV. Growth of suburbia was made possible by a. The rapid production of cars: i. 70,000 cars made in 1945; 8 million in 1955 b. Development of a national highway system. i. The (1956) provided $26 billion to build a national highway system more than 40 thousand miles long! c. The boom in car ownership and growth of highways also led to the development of a new phenomenon fast food! V. The birth of mass-production in food service McDonalds! a. The first McDonalds drive-up restaurant was opened in San Bernadino, CA in Initially it was run like other drive-up restaurants attracted a younger crowd; it was a fun place to hang out.

3 b. Brothers realized restaurant could be run more efficiently and profitably. Brothers looked for weaknesses that caused delays. They closed the restaurant down for a month in 1948 and made some changes. What were 2 of these changes? c. New and improved restaurant was designed to attract families rather than singles and teens. It was successful! Families came for low prices and restaurant food. Ordered and ate in the car. d. The McDonald brothers had done for hamburgers what Henry Ford had done for cars. MEANING WHAT? e. In 1954, the 2 brothers partnered with, who made McDonalds what it is today. i. By 1954, the brothers already had nine franchises but the brothers were less ambitious than Kroc. (DEFINE: Franchise ) ii. Kroc had a vision saw the potential for franchising he was responsible for developing McDonalds into the first national chain. f. In 1961, Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers, whom he felt were keeping him back with their laziness and lack of ambition. g. By 1984, McDonalds was serving 17 million customers a day. If McDonald s lined up all the hamburgers sold since 1955, they would circle the equator times and reach to the moon and back 5 times. I. Inventions and Innovations in the 1950s a. Mr. Potato Head b. Other inventions (LIST 3): Popular Culture in the 1950s: Fashion, Fads, Inventions, etc. II. Fads of the 1950s examples? III. Television in the 1950s a. Developed in 1930s but not popular until after WWII. Prior to the 1950s, people relied on and for entertainment.

4 b. 1950s saw a boom in TV sales i. 1947, RCA mass-produced a TV and sold 170 thousand of them ii. 1949, 1 million sets had been sold iii. 1950, there were about 10 million TV sets in the U.S. iv. By 1953, of all American families owned TVs c. In 1955, the average American family watched TV for hours a day d. 1950s TV was black and white, mostly on in the afternoons and evenings, relied on an antenna for reception (no remote controls) e. Change to color TVs by the early to mid-1960s (too expensive to purchase in the 1950s and many had only just bought their TVs)

5 Modern America Shen Women in the 1950s Powerpoint Name: I. 1950s Women a. Before WWII: i. Most women did not wear on a regular basis. ii. Most women who worked were single and young. Society disapproved of married women working, even in Depression times. iii. Women's role had traditionally been in the, taking care of the children. iv. Most people, husbands included, didn't believe that women were smart enough or strong enough to hold down a real job. b. After WWII, women faced pressure to conform to pre-war gender norms. i. Most women wanted their pre-war family life back but were also didn t want to give up the independence that they had gained during the war. c. Many women felt torn between desire to work and societal expectations for women to stay home i. Baby Boom made decision to stay home easier need to raise children! ii. Suburbia feeds into housewife stereotype HOW? d. 1950s society reinforced the idea that women were inferior to men. i. Dr. Benjamin Spock told mothers that if they wanted to raise stable and secure children, they should stay at home working outside the home would jeopardize their children s mental and emotional health. ii. Esquire magazine called working women a menace. Life magazine did a special issue on women, highlighting the Busy Wife s Achievements as Home Manager, Mother, Hostess, and Useful Civic Worker. iii. Movies & tv shows also reinforced traditional images HOW??? II. Gender Roles a. Men: b. Women:

6 III. Betty Freidan s The Feminine Mystique a. DEFINE: Feminine Mystique b. After the book was published, Friedan received hundreds of letters from other women who also saw through the feminine mystique. i. They wanted to stop doing their children s homework and start doing their own. ii. They were tired of being told they weren t capable of doing anything else but housework. iii. They felt they were not being taken seriously as people and that society must change in order for women to survive.