The term "teenager" was rarely used before the 1950s.
During the Eisenhower years, young people began to see themselves, for the first time, as a distinct group.
Earlier in American history, young people often had to work full-time jobs to help support their families' basic survival.
By the 1950s, that was usually no longer the case. Teens instead worked part-time jobs or received allowances from their parents, giving them money to spend on fun stuff. They owned cars, cruised the highways, and frequented fast food outlets and drive-in movies. They bought records and adopted rock n' roll as the sound of their generation.
Rock was a form of music created specifically for teenagers, performed by young people, and marked by a more open sexuality than the kids' parents were used to.
Like many in the Fifties, they were restless. But as they grew up, they tended to adopt to the norms of the wider society.
Almost half the young men of the era were drafted and served dutifully in the United States military. Even Elvis Presley, the epitome of defiant youth, was one of them.
Watch this video on Teen Culture in the 50's and this on some of the music fads of the time.
Complete your America's first teenagers Worksheet today.
Comment on the Blog:
What do YOU think would be cool about being a teen in the 1950's?
What would you not like so much?
Something I would enjoy about being a teen in the 1950s would just be that while era in general. I'd love to wear checkered shirts and go out to diners with friends. Pretty much the stuff that's in the movies :) I would not like the fact that nearly half the boys in America were drafted into the military. The only reason I wouldn't like it is because I guarantee one of those boys would have been in my family or one of my friends.
ReplyDeleteI think that the best part of being a teen in the 1950's would be the freedom through rebelliousness. I also think that the worst part is the rebellion. It would stink to want to do things and only be able to do them if you disobeyed your parents.
ReplyDeleteI would like being a trend-setter and trying new things. It must have been cool to live in a time period where all the new things were revolutionary. I would have hated it because the peer pressure must have been brutal. Not engaging in the things the other kids are doing would set you apart, maybe even more than today.
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ReplyDeleteWhat would've have been cool about being a teenager would for me would be having a hot rod. I would also like to go to the drive-in movies with my friends different times of the year. I would not like all the attention and like Evan said: it would be disappointing and sad that we could only do the fun things if we disobeyed our parents. I don't think many people would disobey their parents just to listen to Rock n' Roll music and to do other things that your parents might not want you doing or they don't think you're ready for yet.
ReplyDeleteI think the fun things would be all the drive in movies and dinners. the thing I would not like is disobeying y parents.
ReplyDeleteI think the fun things would be all the drive in movies and dinners. the thing I would not like is disobeying y parents.
ReplyDeleteSomething i would enjoy would probably be just the thrill of knowing who i was, as a "teenager" and living differently than generations of young people before the 1950's. The rebellious lifestyle, always doing things with friends, and just having fun seems cool. But like Tanah said, i would hate to have one of those friends or someone in my family getting drafted into the military.
ReplyDeleteSomething I think I would like was running around free with all my friends. It feels like kids back then had no limits and could do whatever they wanted. On the flip side, I would not like that there are no limits. It would give kids the opportunity to do some really stupid stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe fun things would probably be cool would just be everything in general especially the big music box.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that teenagers had a free will of mind and could do what they wanted in there "rebellious" stage of life.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't want to have a lot of free will of speech and also the clothes look itchy and uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked the freedom of being myself however I would not liked being unable to wear pants without being looked at and the possibility of jail time.
ReplyDeleteI would like a LOT about being in this decade. Seriously I wish I was born then. I would like the music, not so much the style for girls but definitely for the guys, drive-in theaters and the cute little shows . But something I would not like is my men (lol) being drafted.
ReplyDeleteWell, if I time traveled today back to the 1950's I would probably like the fashion best. I also like how in the 1950s kids were safer to walk to school by themselves (or with other friends) and not have to worry about kidnappers or robbers. I'm sure there were such things, but there seemed to be safer conditions in the 1950s. A few things I don't like about the fities is how teens were rebellious, it sort of set the stage for if they had children, they to most likely would have been raised to be rebellious..well, I just don't like that part, and I wouldn't prefer the music, it was cool music, but I think the music sort of had no meaning, like, it sort of replaced the "classical music" or instrumental music, that had more meaning to it, and didn't suggest bad things.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it seems to me that the generations of "teenagers" before the 1950s were more responsible and competent. Like when there was child labor, I'm not talking about 6 and 7 year olds right now, but the teenagers above the age of 16 that had to work to support their family. I don't agree that this work should interfere with their schooling, but in the case that it doesn't, I think the work gave this generation a sense of responsibility and purpose, the work probably gave them the sense of accomplishment, of goodness when the young adult brought home the money to his family. Teenager in the 1950s were rebellious, and didn't want to have anything to do with their families, at least the most rebellious didn't. Being rebellious is not really good, I know that the teenagers wanted "freedom", but I think they went to get it in the wrong way. Instead of following their parent's commands, instead of honoring their parent's wishes, they run away and be "free". I don't think that was such a good thing. It sort of started the generation of "delinquency". And delinquency is still found today amongst youth.
Deletewhat I think would've been cool being a teen in the 1950s is all the things that were made! considering our country would be coming from a war with being terrified and scared a couple new toys would be nice. I would not like being threatened by the Soviet Union by atomic bombs though.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think would be cool about being a teen in the 1950's is having close friends without the obsession of cell phones! :P
ReplyDeleteWhat I wouldn't like so much is not being allowed to wear pants, being a girl and all. ;(