The Postwar Economy Booms

Chapter 15.1

Photo depicts happy white middle class family at home in front of TV

Using the pictures & the following clips, write five (5) words to describe the American Dream in the 1950s.

Suburban dad grilling by swimming pool in backyard with mother and son nearby

Capture from clip of Pleasantville

More of Peggy Sue and Toby Maguire in Pleasantville

How was the American society of the 1950s different from the 1930s?

Photo of the extreme baby boom: ten kids, all siblings

Capture from start of clip on post-Korea relief and optimism

What was the GI Bill of Rights and how did it help returning veterans?

• Law which allowed servicemen to attend college with government assistance ($)– Over 8 million did

• Whole families boarded in “Veteran Villages” off- campus

• Subsidized rents for GI’s too young for houses

• Gave vets and families a sense of community

• Dance halls, big band shows, bowling

• Provided America with a highly trained & educated workforce

What are some of the economic indicators of growth during the post WWII years?• Car owners

– 2 million sold in 1946– 8 million sold in 1955

• TVs– 1 million in 1948– 7.5 million in 1950

• GNP– $100,000,000,000 in 1940 – $300,000,000,000 in 1950

• US made up 6% of world population and produced half the world’s goods!

How were wages affected during the 1950s?

• Factory Workers– $3,300 in 1950 – $5,300 in 1960

• Real Income =– Income adjusted for

inflation (rise in prices)– rose 20%!

• Americans had more discretionary income– Money to buy creature

comforts (not just necessities)

Photos of 1950s era TV and washing machine

Consumer Society

Capture from clip on the consumer society

How did advertising change in the 1950s?

• Created new needs and desires through hidden messages– Facial cream= beauty– Freezer= plenty – car= status symbol– mouthwash= popularity

• Used the television to shape Americans minds and make them status conscious

Above: woman poses with ad for TVs; below: kid’s folks bought him a Superman t-shirt

Capture from clip on our ‘love affair with TV’

TVAnother capture from a clip on television

Describe Corporate America in the 1950s:• Encouraged conformity• White collar-workers

(office) were told:– How to dress– Which country club to

belong to– Points of view (political)

• Important positions filled with white males

• Women filled secretarial positions

• Minorities shut out

DVD cover: “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit”

clip

Capture from clip on the new white-collar careers for men

How did one’s occupation change in the 1950s?• America started to

become a Post-Industrial Service centered economy

• Started to go from factory to white collar (office) jobs

Chart shows decline in farm population as people did other things for a living

How did the automobile affect American society in the 1950s?

• National Highway Act 1956 – 40,000 miles of federal highways

• 58 million cars sold in the 1950s!• Drive-in economy, food,

entertainment• People commuted greater distances to

work. • Suburbs grew

– Farmland sold for development– Urban flight

• Gas consumption increased

Above: interstate clover leaf; middle: drive-in movie; below: suburbia

Cars

Capture from another clip on cars