Fabulous Fifties: Culture

The years after the war produced the Baby Boom generation. In 1950 there were twenty-four million young children in America. By 1960,that number was thirty-five million. More families meant the need for more houses. And bigger families needed bigger houses. In 1950 alone, almost one and a half million new homes were built in America. Suburbs were created for the first time, planned communities outside of the city center.  People moved to the suburbs because they thought the schools there were better than city schools. They also liked having more space for their children to play in. More space meant children had room to lay out electric train sets. In a lot of American homes, playing with electric trains was an activity that brought the whole family together.

The late 1950s brought the Barbie doll and a big circular tube of colorful plastic called the Hula Hoop. People had to learn to move their hips in a circular motion, like a hula dancer in Hawaii, to spin it around their body. Hula Hoops became hugely popular in America.

In Hollywood, one of the biggest movie stars of the 1950s was Marilyn Monroe. Her platinum-blonde hair style also became popular among American women. Another famous actor was James Dean, best known for the nineteen fifty-five movie "Rebel without a Cause." That same year he died in a car accident at the age of twenty-four. In music, the rebel was Elvis Presley -- the king of rock and roll. Elvis was a twenty-one-year-old truck driver when he sang on television for the first time. Some parents and religious leaders thought he was a bad influence. They thought the way he moved his body to the music was too suggestive. But young people screamed for more. They listened to Elvis' music on records, on the radio and on the television program "American Bandstand."

​"American Bandstand" became the most popular dance party in America. Every week, young people danced to the latest songs in front of the TV cameras.

Television in the 1950s included dramas acted live on TV. And there were quiz shows, and game shows, and comedy programs such as I Love Lucy. If Elvis was the king of rock and roll, Lucille Ball was the queen of comedy. During the nineteen fifties, millions of Americans watched "I Love Lucy." 

Television shows were all in black-and-white. But one night in 1953, Americans got their own time-machine glimpse into the future of TV. It happened with an announcement during Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows." NBC TV Newsman Richard Harkness: “This is Richard Harkness in Washington. This week will long be remembered in the annals of television, for on Thursday December seventeenth, the Federal Communications Commission approved Compatible Color Television.”

That meant that owners of TV sets could still watch programs broadcast in color, in black and white, instead of having to buy a new set. Color TV’s popularity grew quickly, and the prices of color TVs came down, meaning more color TVs in American homes…and more and more programs produced in color.

During the 1950s, most of the people who appeared on television were white. If black actors appeared, they were usually in jobs working for white people.

This is the playlist for all of the songs presented in Countdown if you ever want to check them out. 

To explore more about the American culture during the 1950’s … do an Internet search and find the following information.

Create a minimum of TWO PowerPoint slides. Email them to Mrs. Tvedt after you are done! 

Cassie:  Why did thousands of American kids wear coonskin caps in the 1950's? Provide images of three toys popularized in the 1950's that are still common today.

Emma: What was meant by the slogan, “I Like Ike”?  Attach an image that best represents this slogan. And also … What was so special about Checkers, the dog?  (attach an image)

Evan: What was the baby boom?  Attach a chart/graph depicting the baby boom. Here is a good source for you: http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers 

Jacob: Find YouTube videos  of three famous bands/singers from the 1950's. Embed these videos in your PPT slides. Also, tell us a little about the  “beat movement”?

Kara:  Find two movie posters from the 50's and provide a summary of each movie.  Also, tell us what the most popular TV shows were in the 1950’s and a find a few clips that we can watch on Youtube.

Kelly: Who was Dr. Jonas Salk and what good did he do for society? Tell us what polio was and describe how it would be to have polio.

Lauren:  Attach an image that displays Ray Kroc's contribution to society.  Explain the image and how it relates to the 1950's.

Martin:  Which president is credited with the Interstate Highway System?  Find an image of its construction.  Also, show us what kinds of cars were driven in the 50's. 

MG: Tell us about the first real planned community (suburbia) …. Levittown.  Show a picture of Levittown, Long Island, New York (in the 1950's) and tell us how it was so different from anything Americans had known before.http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/28/levittown-america-prototypical-suburb-history-cities 

Sally: What was the GI Bill for those men returning home from the War? Show us some images of men returning home from WWII. Show us a few images that depict women's roles after the war. 

Tanah:  Share some of the popular fashions for men and women in the 1950's. 

Brek: Show us  images of two popular 1950's athletes - list the sport and major accomplishments for each. 

Jon:  Share some of the popular music from the 1950's. Tell us about at least three famous artists and provide some of their music for us to hear.