America in the 1950s

Post-War Prosperity I.  The USA experienced an economic

boom following World War II II.  Americans wanted to enjoy the

good life

III.  The 1950s led to the Birth of the American Dream

A.  Owning a House, having a lawn with a white picket fence

B.  Married with kids C.  Women were supposed to be perfect

housewives D.  Return to the “good ole days”

A Time of Conformity I.  The 1950’s were a period of

strong conformity (everyone should act the same)

II.  Americans sought to be like the main stream cultural ideal.

III.  Lead to an emphasis on materialism “Keeping up with the Joneses” = If your neighbors own something, you need to have it too.

GI Bill I.  Servicemen’s Readjustment Act.

A.  Provided money for veterans to get training, go to college or buy homes

B.  Sent more Americans to college than ever before C.  GI Bill of Rights allowed the American Dream to

become a reality in the 1950s

Moving to the Suburbs I.  Increased wealth meant that more Americans

could afford to buy their own homes.

II.  The majority of Americans worked in cities but began moving out of cities to the suburbs in the 1950s

A.  Communities located outside of cities B.  New highways connected suburbs with industrial cities

III.  Levittowns (suburban communities of pre-made homes) became the normal in this new suburban life

The Interstate Highway System I.  In the 1950s the USA began the

large-scale building of highways

II.  Eisenhower authorized the Interstate Highway Act of 1956

A.  Created a highway network of over 41,000 miles

III.  Interstate highways led to increased car sales in the U.S.A.

A.  By 1960: USA had over 60,000,000 cars

IV.  Impact of the Interstate Highway Act A.  More trucking, less RR, more suburbs