Upload
oakes
View
45
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Society in the 1950s. Eisenhower at Home. Businesslike cabinet Modern Republicanism Balance budget Extend social security Cut federal health care and education Consolidate government welfare agencies. Eisenhower at Home. Interstate - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Society in the 1950s
Eisenhower at Home
Businesslike cabinetModern
Republicanism Balance budget Extend social security Cut federal health care
and education Consolidate government
welfare agencies
Eisenhower at Home
Interstate 1956 Highway Act
authorizes construction of 42,000 miles linking major cities (now 47,000)
Largest highway system
Largest public works project until 2011
Took attention from public transportation in cities
Eisenhower at Home
Steady growth in economyLittle inflationSmall surpluses/deficitsPer-capita income triples from 1945-1960Mid 1950s average income was 2x that of
1920sHighest standard of living in the world
Culture
ConformityConsumerismTelevision
By 1961 55 million TV sets
3 networks Comedies, westerns,
quiz shows, sports Common (white,
middle class) culture
Culture
Advertising Name brands Shopping Credit Cards Fast Food Franchising
Culture
Books/Records More reading than ever despite TV Paperback phenomenon (1 million/day) LP’s and 45’s Rock ‘n’ roll stolen by Elvis Presley
Culture
Corporatocracy Conglomerates dominate More white-collar than blue-collar jobs Teamwork/conformity The Organization Man (1956) Unions
AFL and CIO merge more power more middle-class more conservative
Conformity = Suburbs, new car, good schools, Disneyland
Women’s Roles
Baby Boom Larger families and younger marriages 50 million babies between 1945 and 1960 (1940 pop. -
132,164,569)‘Burbs
LevittownDr. Spock
Baby and Child Care
Social Critics
David Riesman - Sociologist “inner directed” individuals vs. “other-directed”
conformistsJohn Kenneth Galbraith - Economist
Wealthy Americans fail to address need for social spending for the common good
J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye
Joseph Heller Catch-22
Beatniks