Those Fabulous FiftiesProsperity & Progress in the United States of America.1950-1959

Returning US SoldiersAfter WWII, come back to America and want to live the Dream!People wanted families, homes, furniture and cars.Industry was more than happy to provide those things!Many people who had saved, rationed and scraped during the War were ready to spend!

The American Dream!

America Booms!Gross National Product of Country goes up from $212 billion in 1945 to $504 billion by 1960!Per Capita Income increases from $1526 to $2788!Real Purchasing Power (amount of goods or services people can actually buy with their money) increases by 22%The United States is now the Richest Nation in the World!Americans go on a spending spree like never before!

New Companies formed!1954 - Ray Kroc buys idea for McDonalds from 2 brothers in California.Assembly line fast food is cheap, efficient and new!People could go anywhere in the country and get the same tasting food from a McDonalds!Burger King, KFC and many others soon follow!First McDonalds Restaurant sells burgers, fries and milkshakes!

Franchise SystemBorn in the 1950s.Muffler shops, furniture stores, clothing chains dominate new business!Individuals could invest for a small amount in company that they run, control and profit from!Plus, they enjoy national ads from the parent company!

Technology of the TimesBy 1953 - 2/3 of American Homes own at least one TV!1955 - Average family watches 4-5 hours of TV per day!Mickey Mouse Club, Howdy Doody and American Bandstand are popular in the daytime.I Love Lucy & Father Knows Best popular at night!

Computer IndustryComputers created in the 1940s that took up entire rooms and could do basic math calculations!Bell Labs creates the transistor and efficiency of computer is improved!It now fits on top of a desk!First Multi-function Computer called ENIAC.Could perform basic math calculations in about 4-6 hours time.

Suburbs of America Grow!

Suburban AmericaBaby Boom Generation - People born after WWII.Large families wanted to escape the city and build a better life for themselves!WWII Vets bought houses with low interest loans from the Govt. as part of the GI Bill (1944).New Communities built in the suburbs by people like William J. Levitt.Levitt mass produced pre cut houses that came with walls, floors, etc., already assembled, took about 3 weeks to put house together!

If you build it...Houses all looked alike.Streets, roads, bridges all built to deal with growth!Automobiles improve!8 million new cars produced in the 1950s!Federal Government stepped in to connect the towns of America.USA needed an Interstate road system!

1956 Interstate Highway Act$26 billion provided for Road Construction.Length - 40,000 Miles!The Interstate Highway System would provide for a network of roads in the USA.Odd # Roads run North & South.Even # Roads run East & West! The Higher the Number, the further east it is if it runs North & South.Example I 95 The Higher the Number, the further North it is.Example I 80

The Corruption of Americas Youth!

Alan FreedGiven credit for coining the phrase!White disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio.Went on the air at WXEL as Moon dog.He gained acceptance of Black music Rhythm & Blues as Rock n Roll.Music was a huge hit!

Moondogs Coronation Ball In March of 1952, Freed hosted a New Years Party in Cleveland where he invited Black R & B groups! 6,000 People crashed the gates to join the 10,000 ticket holders already in attendance! Freed moved on to host a radio show in New York City and a TV Show! He put a black teenager, named Frankie Lymon, on stage dancing with a white teenager and the show was canceled in 1957! Freed was brought down by the Payola scandal of the 1950s!

PAYOLA SCANDALTerm refers to Senate Investigation into activities of Rock n Roll DJs in the USA in 1950s.Congress actually investigated it as part of the HUAC hearings in the 50s.DJs received money from record promoters to play their records!Money was under the table!

Buddy HollyBuddy Holly played rock and roll for only two short years.Impact of his music felt for years!Holly's songs include such standards as "Rave On," "Peggy Sue," "That'll Be the Day," Oh Boy!" and "Maybe Baby."

Holly and two others were killed in a plane crash in 1959!

Chuck BerryThe first artist to put all the pieces together in the 50s.He had the strut, the music and the voice to be a 50s rock star!Songs like Maybelline, Johnny B. Goode and Rock and Roll Music made him a star!Most notable for his duck walk across the stage during shows!

Bill Haley & The CometsIn 1955, bandleader Bill Haley and His Comets recorded a landmark rock and roll song, "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock," Number One record for 8 weeks and went on to sell 22 million copies worldwide. In Britain, "Rock Around the Clock" has re-entered the charts seven times, most recently in 1974.

ELVIS PRESLEY18 year old who visited SUN records to record a record for his mothers birthday!Ends up being the number one recording artist of all time!He holds records for the most Top Forty hits (107), the most Top Ten hits (38), the most consecutive #1 hits (10) and the most weeks at #1 (80).

"Presleys career as a singer and entertainer redefined popular music."

Sam PhillipsFirst true superstar record producer.Responsible for discovery of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Howlin Wolf.In 1952, Phillips launched Sun Records on its 16-year, 226-single run. SUN Records becomes the hit factory of early rock n roll.

Jerry Lee LewisReflected the wild and outrageous behavior of rock stars of the 1950s!Known as The Killer for his habit of destroying pianos on stage with his relentless pounding of the keys!He was bigger than Elvis in 1957 and was poised for super-stardom!Then press discovered he had married his 13 year old cousin!

Political & Social Change in the 50s

Election of 1948Truman decided to seek re-election.Runs against Thomas Dewey for President.Truman had introduced the Fair Deal during his first term.It was an extension of FDRs New Deal, but not as successful.Trumans Fair Deal covered unemployment compensation, national health insurance and atomic energy regulation.Most people thought that Truman was a bungler, a bureaucrat, and generally a failure as President.He barnstormed across the country in the fall of 1948 and launched attacks against the Republican controlled Congress.He called Congress the Do Nothing Congress and was able to use it to his advantage!He wins the election in a landslide.

Election of 1952Truman announces that he will not run.Democrats choose Adlai Stevenson.Republicans choose Dwight Eisenhower.Eisenhowers running mate will be Richard M. Nixon.Eisenhower focused on a K1C2 platform.It stood for Korea, Communism and Corruption.He promised to end the Korean War.The Republicans promised to root out Communism.Nixon was put in charge of ending corruption.StevensonEisenhower

The Checkers SpeechDemocrats accuse Nixon of taking improper campaign funds.They say that he lives off of Campaign slush fund!Public immediately calls for him to quit!!Nixon asks for and gets TV air time.Sept - 1952 - Nixon goes on TV and gives a detailed account of his finances, personal life and even his mortgage and employment history.He ends the speech by saying that he had taken one gift from a supporter.It was a little cocker spaniel dogBlack and white spotted. And our little girl, the six year old - Tricia - named it Checkers. And you know the kids love that dog and I just want to say right now, that regardless of what they say about it, were going to keep it!Within hours, Eisenhower has received overwhelming support for Nixon on the ticket!

Life under EisenhowerEisenhower favored big business and put successful business leaders in his cabinet.He was not a brilliant leader in terms of economic growth but per capita disposable income for the average American family tripled.Three recessions: 1953-54, 1957-58, 1960-61.Accomplishments:Social Security extended to 10 million more workers.1955- minimum wage raised to 75 cents per hour.He helped to maintain a mood of stability.Americans felt like he was their father figure and would always ensure their safety!

Nuclear TestingAmerican Military conducted nuclear testing in the 50s.Two places:NevadaSouth Pacific1946 First Test of Hydrogen Bomb.Subsequent tests throughout the 50s.Exposed American Servicemen to radioactive material on purpose.1951-1992Radiation Exposure Compensation Act passed 199015,222 claims approved.6,700 denied.

Sputnik1957 - USSR launches a satellite into space and beats the USA into outer space.Americans are horrified!It sped around the world at the speed of 18,000 miles per hour.It launches the space race between USA and USSR. The USA immediately is gripped by a nuclear fear.Response:National Defense Education Act of 1958 (NDEA)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Life in the Fallout ShelterPeople built fallout shelters in their back yard!Brought on by fear of Nuclear fallout!People thought that they could survive a nuclear disaster.Nuclear half life is 182 years!

Most public buildings had signs posted that detailed what to do in case of a nuclear attack.Schools, Colleges and other public gathering places were required to practice for possible nuclear attacks.

Early Civil Rights EventsAfrican Americans had lived under laws of Jim Crow since the end of the Civil War.South was far more repressive than the North.But, segregation existed everywhere in the USA.During World War II, African Americans segregated by Unit!Example: Tuskegee Airmen

Jackie RobinsonFirst recognized African American baseball player in the Major Leagues.Had been others before him.Robinson joined the Dodgers and was named Rookie of the Year in 1947.Received Death Threats and Harassment all around the Country.First Black Professional Baseball Player was actually Larry Doby

Brown vs Board of Education (1954)Board of Education in Topeka, KS had bused black children to a different school from whites.Most black children went right past the white school on their way to the black school.Oliver Brown sued the school board and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

May 17, 1954Thurgood Marshall argued the case for Brown.The Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal was unconstitutional.Overturns Plessy v Ferguson 1896 Eisenhower did not privately agree with the decision but publicly vowed to uphold the laws of the Constitution.One year later, School systems are ordered to desegregate with All deliberate speed

Little RockCentral High School.Violent confrontation between whites and blacks over integration of high school.Governor Orval Faubus refused to allow integration to occur and ordered the National Guard to block the entrance to the school.The 9 African American students become known as the Little Rock Nine

Soldiers to Protect Students ?

Fate of the Little Rock NineEisenhower ordered the Army to assume control of the National Guard in Arkansas.Army soldiers escorted the students to class and allowed them to cross the lines.For the next three months, those students had an armed escort to take them to class each and every day!The Civil Rights Movement had begun!