Presentation Transcript

1. 1950’s

   Sam Adam Erin Brittany RJ Addie

2. Interviews of the 1950’s

3. 1950’s –The Greatest! – Dave Chabala Right after WWII, Korean War was still there but not as severe as prior war Loved the new cars- Chevy's, Cadillac's, and buicks Music was good- Kingston Trio, Hang Down Your Head (Tom Dulley) Big dance bands and chorus songs. Sports were popular- Steelers at Forbs Field Boxing Joe Louis- huge gambling sport- television and Wrestling Gas was only $ .25 a gallon, milk was $ .30 $2.40 an hour as a labor in steel mill. Later a white collar engineer. Designed attack bombers for the Navy.
4. Betty Chabala interview of the 50’s More people went to church then, everything was closed on Sunday. “A laid back, fun time” Movies were clean Drugs and drinking were not as popular Doctors made house calls when sick Salk polio vaccine
5. 1950’s Nancy and Herb Geissler Graduated from college in 1956 and got her first teaching job in 1957 with a salary of $3000 Her husband got his first job in 1956 as a mechanical engineer and his salary was $3,500 They had an apartment that only cost $92 a month for rent They bought their first house in 1959 for $17,500 Fashion: teachers never wore slacks or pants; college girls always wore skirts and blouses with high white socks and saddle shoes
6. Communism overshadowing the decade People were very worried about Russia- Cold War Government had countless hearings on possible threats of communist spy's for Russia in US. Rosenberg's were American couple who were spy’s for Russia. Got electric chair. Newspaper and radio to communicate and educate people of communism.
7. Mcarthyism Cold War turned anti - communism from a fringe political impulse to one of the strongest movements in American history. Speech of Joseph McCarthy in 1950 called out communist spy’s and informed America. “While I can not take the time to name all of the men in the state department who have been named as members of the Communist Party, I have in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the secretary of the state as being numbered of the communist party and never the less still working and shaping the policy of the state department.” Many were trialed and punished unjustly for being mere suspects yet innocent. Communism drove the citizens and government crazy.
8. Americans response to domestic communism The 1950’s were plagued by a fear of communism This fear led to many cases involving “alleged” communists and many innocents lost jobs or were arrested
9. Americans response to domestic communism Most well known anti-communist movement was McCarthyism Was led by Joseph McCarthy who called out several government officials as communists Led to increased fear of domestic communism
10. Americans response to domestic communism Many books, including one titled red channels, made accusations of producers and actors using television and radio as vehicles for communist propaganda There were many movies as well, such as The Blob and Invasion of the body snatchers, that were used to show the fear of communism
11. Communism was affecting everyone

12. Target:

    Describe the major goals of President Truman’s Fair Deal and relate whether they were accomplished
13. Background 1948 Truman wins re-election Post WWII people were upset with Truman because of post war inflation ex: meat prices Many labor strikes were occurring because of labor unrest Truman did not support the strikes because he feared it would disrupt the economy Truman proposed many ideas during his State of the Union address in 1949 which became known as the Fair Deal
14. The Fair Deal “Every segment of our population…has a right to expect from our government a fair deal.” Reforms: full employment, a higher minimum wage, a national health insurance program, construction of affordable housing, increased aid to farmers and the expansion of welfare benefits Many republicans and Democrats opposed the Fair Deal
15. The Fair Deal Reforms Truman accomplished: -Congress extended Social security benefits to 10 million more people -raised the minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents/hour -approved programs to demolish/rebuild slums -expanded federal programs to promote flood control, hydroelectric power and irrigation *The Fair Deal had limited success because Americans were not excited about reform programs that would expand the government *People wanted peace, stability, and gradual prosperity
16. Containment & Eisenhower Vietnam – Ike supplied S. Vietnam with funds, weapons and military advisors to help them resist communist rebels and Ho Chi Minh’s government. Latin America – used the CIA to help stop governments that were found to be objectionable. Middle East – used the CIA to help protect American interests
17. Ike’s Management Steps Eisenhower want to balance the federal budget and lessen regulations of the economy. Government jobs were eliminated Cut billions from the budget Reduced farm subsidies Expanded Social Security and unemployment Increased the minimum wage and education
18. Who was helped the most? White men were the ones who benefited most from Eisenhower’s political practices. This helped spread franchises, developed cheap housing, television commercials helped consumers find and purchase new items and white collar/service jobs were readily available.
19. McCarthyism In response to the “Red Scare” 1000’s of Americans were accused of being Communist Conducted by the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) Inspired Arthur Miller, who was investigated, to write “The Crucible”
20. Technology Many new and revolutionary technologies were invented in the 1950’s The credit card, which is still used extensively today, was invented by Frank McNamara so that one could always have a plastic card with money on it accessible to them The first passenger jets were put into service
21. Technology The black box, also still used today, was invented to record crews during a flight to help determine the cause of a plane crash Pearson, Fuller, and Chapin invented the first solar cell which was able to turn energy in sunlight into electrical energy First computer drive was invented and was as big as 2 refrigerators and stored 5 MB of information at $10,000 a MB
22. Technology First modems were invented in order to allow the American air defense to communicate The first micro chip was invented and is to this day considered one of the greatest innovations of mankind

23. Suburban Life in the 1950’s

24. Suburban Life Many people waited to marry after the Depression and World War II Spurred by an expanding population Federal Government played a large role in moving people to the suburbs
25. The Baby Boom The drastic birthrate in the 1950’s accounted for a 90% population increase (30 million people) The Average age of brides and grooms were at an all time low Children became a large focus of suburban life Childhood rearing placed a large emphasis on mothers
26. Baby Boom Source: Wikipedia.com
27. Mothers Advertisements, magazines, and the cinema depicted “trophy wives” and “homemakers” Women felt pressure for their family to fit the ideal image portrayed by books and magazines Working mothers actually increased during the 1950’s Families needed a double paycheck to maintain their middle class status
28. Consumerism People felt pressure to conform to a broad image “Work hard to keep up with the Joneses” Advertising played a large role in conformity Encouraged Americans to enjoy prosperity by buying consumer goods
29. Cars 8 million cars sold each year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhYst9drwx0 <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BhYst9drwx0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

30. 1950’s Teens and Trends

31. Teens Economic boom in the 1950’s gave teens more independence and freedom They were able to buy clothes, magazines, and movies on their own The clothes teens wore were influenced by the movies and television shows they watched Parents were concerned that all of the new opportunities were teaching their kids inappropriate things Parents were concerned there would be an increase in juvenile delinquency- antisocial behavior by the young
32. Teens Teens were big consumers They were encouraged to go to college
33. Fashions of the 1950’sCulture Topic Girls wore poodle skirts, polka-dot dresses, and every girl owned at least one jumper that they could wear on top of a blouse. They also wore starchy petticoats and gloves to Church Boys wore jeans and and rolled t shirts with a cigarette in the sleeves. They also wore leather jackets Girls wore their hair in a bob cut Boys wore the duck tail and often greased their hair
34. Fads of the 1950’s Barbie dolls were very popular in the 1950’s with young girls Barbie was a role model for girls. She was always put together and was built like what a girl wanted to be built like Moms for a while did not like Barbie because she was dressed provocatively Barbie and Ken were supposed to represent what a teenage couple should be like. Ken was a nice, clean guy
35. Fads of the 1950’s Silly Putty was a huge hit during this time It was made by accident when James Wright was trying to make a synthetic rubber The goo in the test tube was able to stretch and bounce and had a very high melting point Wright sent the substance to other scientists but no one saw the need for it By 1955 Silly Putty was a huge success with kids. Producers played commercials during Howdy Doody and Captain Kangaroo Silly Putty was sold in catalogs for $1
36. Theater, Film, Television, RadioCulture Topic
37. Television Introduced commercially after WWII By the end of the 1950’s, 46 million households owned a television In 1954, color broadcasts became available Families enjoyed watching TV together
38. Selective Mirror TV programs portrayed selectively white, middle class, suburban experiences Poverty was shown as a minor problem Rare appearances: working mothers, minorities, inner city life
39. Programming Sporting events (World Series) Situational Comedies (“I Love Lucy” Quiz Shows These types of shows reinforced materialism by contestants competing for prizes Mostly rigged
40. Film With popularity of the television, movie revenues decreased New movie techniques were developed Cinemascope, 3-D film Films reflected “The American Dream” Disney was prosperous during the 1950s
41. Theater Important and popular component to Americans in the 1950s Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Omaha!, South Pacific Lerner and Loewe My Fair Lady
42. Radio Radio was being phased out by television Musical stars who became popular on the radio eventually held concerts

43. Culture Topic

    MUSIC
44. Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ Roll was reworked rhythm and blues New type of music for teens Adults disliked rock ‘n’ Roll because it promoted antisocial behavior in teens, it was immoral, and had made up words Rock ‘n’ roll helped break down racial barriers because black and white musicians shared the stage It was easy to dance to Rock ‘n’ Roll
45. New era for Music New records were invented in the 50’s to play on phonographs Initially record companies marketed music to adults and played music on radio stations for the whole family Radios started to become popular in cars so teens started listening to their own music
46. Elvis Presley Born in 1935 to a poor family He loved gospel and at 13 he moved to Tennessee and listened to many African American gospel and rhythm and blues He took a break from music to serve in the Army He started his music career again right after his service
47. Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (Sept. 7, 1936 - Feb. 3, 1959 Pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll His success only lasted 1.5 years He inspired The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and more. His eyeglasses he wore while performing were an inspiration to John Lennon
48. Frank Sinatra American Singer and film actor Began his career in the swing era He won 11 Grammy Awards He was not in favor of Rock ‘n’ Roll He was a good friend of John F. Kennedy He was known as a “crooner” which is an American epithet given to make singers of pop standards either backed by a full orchestra, big band, or piano
49. Nat King Cole American musician who first became known as a jazz pianist He had a soft baritone voice He performed in big band and jazz genres One of the 1st black Americans to host a TV variety show, The Nat King Cole Show He began recording pop oriented material in the late 1940’s
50. Music
51. Sports of the 50’s Boxing was an outlet for gambling and where communist spy’s met. As Television became popular, so did sports. College sports were televised and extremely adored. Notre Dame was the power house team of college football. Golf stars such as Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer made and idea that to be successful in business, men needed to play golf.
52. Racing Racing was popular in the 50’s, mainly horses for gambling. After Lemans race in 1955, people became worried of the sport and it gained less attention for a while. http://my50syear.blogspot.com/2009/06/10-june-1955-disaster-of-speed-planned.html
53. Sports Stars Bob Cousy- Boston Celtics point guard Known as the “Houdi on the hardwood” MVP in 57 and led league in assists 8 times Rocky Marciano- only undefeated champ in any weight class in history. Streak started in 52, record of 49-0-0 Jim Brown- Cleveland Browns runningback, one of best players ever. Never missed a game, led league in scoring all years but 62, retired quickly to become an actor and civil rights leader. Active member today.