300 likes | 477 Views
SOCIAL. CULTURAL. POLITICAL: THE U.S. IN THE 1950S. Allan M. Winkler NCHE – TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY Dekalb, Georgia January 30, 2013. Tootle’s Story. Questions to Consider. How Can We Describe the Post-World War II Mood? Why Was There Such Conformity?
E N D
SOCIAL. CULTURAL. POLITICAL:THE U.S. IN THE 1950S Allan M. Winkler NCHE – TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY Dekalb, Georgia January 30, 2013
Questions to Consider • How Can We Describe the Post-World War II Mood? • Why Was There Such Conformity? • How Did the Political World Reflect the Cultural World? • Who Shared in the Prosperity?
Postwar Mood • Optimism • Victory in the War & Atomic Supremacy • Full Employment & Material Wealth • The Baby Boom • Impact of the G.I. Bill • White Collar & Blue Collar Gains • Pressures & Problems • Returning Servicemen • Prices & Wages • Fear of Another Depression
Economic Growth & Prosperity • Population • Economic Indicators • Suburbanization • The Car Culture • Malls • New Toys • Television • Disneyland
Population Increase • The Baby Boom • 1950: U.S. Pop. = 152 Million • 1960: U.S. Pop. = 181 Million • Medical Advances • “Miracle” Drugs
Population Increase • The Baby Boom • 1950: U.S. Pop. = 152 Million • 1960: U.S. Pop. = 181 Million • Medical Advances • “Miracle” Drugs
Economic Growth & Prosperity • Population • Economic Indicators • Suburbanization • The Car Culture • Malls • New Toys • Television • Disneyland
Economic Growth & Prosperity • Population • Economic Indicators • Suburbanization • The Car Culture • Malls • New Toys • Television • Disneyland
The Car Culture • The Car Culture • Zero to 6 million in annual sales. • 4 out of 5 households were mobile. • Interstate Highway Act of 1956
Economic Growth & Prosperity • Population • Economic Indicators • Suburbanization • The Car Culture • Malls • New Toys • Television • Disneyland
Economic Growth & Prosperity • Population • Economic Indicators • Suburbanization • The Car Culture • Malls • New Toys • Television • Disneyland
Economic Growth & Prosperity • Population • Economic Indicators • Suburbanization • The Car Culture • Malls • New Toys • Television • Disneyland
The Culture of Conformity • The Corporate Impact • The Silent Generation • Religion in America
Challenges to Conformity • Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye • Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest • Allen Ginsberg & the Beats
Harry S Truman & the Fair Deal • Truman’s Background & Early Career • Truman’s Qualities • Scandals • The Fair Deal Defined • Problems in Congress • Reelection in 1948 • The Fair Deal in Perspective
Dwight D. Eisenhower & Republican Resurgence • Ike’s Background • Ike’s Qualities • Modern Republicanism • The Budget & its Problems • Ike’s Presidency Assessed
The Fifties in Perspective • A Sense of Well-Being • Shadow of the Cold War • Outsiders Left Out of the American Dream • Issues Waiting to Explode