THROUGH THE PICTURE WINDOW: SOCIETY AND CULTURE

1945-1960

KEY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRENDS

Unprecedented prosperity During the 1950s Americans enjoyed a

period of unprecedented prosperity. The gross national product soared from $200 billion in 1945 to $500 billion in 1960. With just 6 percent of the world’s population, Americans drove 75 percent of the world’s automobiles, consumed half of its energy, and produced almost half of its manufactured products.

Several factors combined to produce this remarkable economic boom. Cold War defense spending represented the single most important catalyst. America’s commitment to contain Communism in Europe and fight the Korean War in Asia pushed the defense budget from $13 billion in 1949 to over $50 billion in 1953. At the same time, World War II rationing created a pent-up consumer demand for cars, appliances, and most of all new homes in the suburbs.

KEY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRENDS

Suburbanization Robust economic growth sparked a strong

demand for new homes. William Levitt successfully applied assembly-line production techniques learned in the automobile and shipping industries to building homes. Levitt’s affordable mass-produced homes provided a model for builders across the country.

Of the 13 million new homes constructed in the 1950s, 11 million sprung up in the suburbs. The G.I. Bill enabled veterans to buy new homes with little or no down payments and then make modest monthly payments for 20 to 30 years.

A system of new highways also promoted suburban growth. The Federal Highway Act of 1956 appropriated $25 billion for a ten-year project to construct a 40,000 mile system of four-lane interstate highways. The new interstates accelerated suburbanization by enabling people to work in the cities and commute to their homes in the suburbs.

KEY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRENDS

The baby boom The nation’s thriving economy

provided jobs and incomes that renewed people’s faith in the future. More and more Americans married at an ever younger age. By 1956 the average age of marriage for men dropped to 22 and just 20 for women.

The marriage boom triggered a postwar baby boom. The 1950s witnessed 40 million births. They were part of a huge baby boom generation that included 76 million people born from 1946 to 1964.

KEY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRENDS The new cult of domesticity

By 1960 nearly three-fourths of all women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married. The soaring marriage and birth rates encouraged a return to traditional gender roles in which men were breadwinners and women were housewives.

The mass media reinforced and idealized the new cult of domesticity. In the popular TV show Leave it to Beaver, June Cleaver is a middle-class housewife who is dedicated to her family. When her two boys arrive home from school, June is usually preparing dinner in her immaculate kitchen. A special issue of Life magazine featured “ideal” suburban housewives who, like June Cleaver, were dedicated to their husbands and children and yet still found time to attend PTA meetings.

KEY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRENDS

Consumerism The spreading affluence promoted a zeal for

consumerism. Shopping became a major recreational activity as suburban families drove to the new shopping centers mushrooming across the country.

Nothing seemed to occupy more leisure time than television. In 1946 there were just 7,000 TV sets and 6 TV stations in the entire country. By 1953 half of all homes had a TV set. Many people rescheduled social engagements so they could be home to watch such favorite shows as The Honeymooners, Father Knows Best, and I Love Lucy. On January 19, 1953, a record audience turned on over 70 percent of America’s television sets to watch an episode featuring the birth of Lucy’s baby.

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS

Social critics The new suburban lifestyle did not enjoy

unanimous approval. Social critics decried mass-production Levittowns filled with endless rows of identical box houses. To these critics the suburbs created a superficial lifestyle and a generation of spoiled children.

Influential social commentators extended their criticism to the large corporations where many suburbanites worked. In 1960, 38 percent of the nation’s workforce was employed by organizations with more than 500 employees. In his book The Organization Man, William H. Whyte described how the corporate emphasis upon “the Team” created stifling conformity that squelched personal identity. Harvard sociologist David Riesman also studied alienation and conformity in large corporations. In his bestselling book, The Lonely Crowd, Riesman argued that the corporate culture produced other-directed employees who prized getting along above individual risks.

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS

Social critics Criticism of the suburban lifestyle was not

limited to sociologists. Novelists also joined the chorus of critics who found cracks in the suburban picture windows. For example, Sloan Wilson’s novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit tells the story of a young couple, Tom and Betsy Rath, who struggle against the pervasive (spread everywhere) pressures of middle-class conformity. The book’s title comes from Tom’s sudden realization that “all I could see was a lot of bright young men in gray flannel suits rushing around New York in a frantic parade to nowhere.” Tom then looks at himself and is aghast to discover that he too is wearing a gray flannel suit.

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS

The Beat Generation A small but culturally influential group of

self-described “beats” also rejected middle America’s carefree consumption and mindless conformity. The beats congregated in San Francisco and New York’s Greenwich Village. These urban enclaves enabled them to avoid the “square” world. Beats often met in small bookshops where they listened to jazz, discussed Buddhist philosophy, and read works by popular Beat Generation poets.

Jack Kerouac was the best-known Beat Generation author. His autobiographical novel On the Road describes the eclectic mix of people he met on spontaneous road trips across America.

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS

Artistic rebels Edward Hopper continued to paint in

the realistic tradition. His paintings capture the loneliness and alienation of American life. For an excellent example see Office in a Small City.

Jackson Pollock refused to portray specific subject matter. Instead he created Abstract Expressionist paintings by spontaneously dripping oil on a canvas spread across the floor. For an excellent example see Autumn Rhythm.

OFFICE IN A SMALL CITY – EDWARD HOPPER

NIGHTHAWKS – EDWARD HOPPER

HOTEL LOBBY – EDWARD HOPPER

AUTOMAT – EDWARD HOPPER

AUTUMN RHYTHM – JACKSON POLLACK

THE SUCCULENT WIFE – JACKSON POLLACK

NUMBER 5 – JACKSON POLLACK

BLUE POLES – JACKSON POLLACK

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS Rock and Roll

Relatively few Americans read Beat Generation poems or visited trendy art galleries to see Abstract Expressionist paintings. However, most Americans did listen to music on their radios. The pop sound that dominated the early 1950s was typically emotionless, cute, and bland. For example, in one hit song a perky Patti Page hopefully asked, “How much is that doggy in the window?”

While white Americans listened to pop music, black musicians combined gospel, blues, and jazz into a new sound called rhythm and blues. Within a short time an increasing number of young white music fans began to buy rhythm and blues records and attend concerts by black performers. A Cleveland disc jockey named Alan Freed renamed the new sound “rock and roll.”

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS

Rock and Roll In the Spring of 1953 a poor truck driver

dropped into Sun Records in Memphis and politely introduced himself: “My name is Elvis Presley and I want to make a record.” The head of the studio, Sam Philips, soon realized that Elvis was “a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel.” Elvis soon became the best-selling recording artist in America. His songs and sexually suggestive onstage gyrations thrilled teenagers and horrified their parents.

In the beginning, rock and roll was the music of teenagers who brought 70 percent of all released albums. Rock and roll proved to be more than just a passing fad. Like Beat Generation writers, rock and roll singers challenged accepted beliefs about sex, race, and work. Rock and roll soon became the sound that helped shape and define the new teenage culture.

SOCIAL CRITICS AND NONCONFORMISTS Elvis Songs

All Shook Up Return to Sender Blue Suede Shoes Heartbreak Hotel I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You

PROMPT #10

Historically, the 1950s are seen as some of the best times in U.S. History. Discuss the reactions to this time period, both then and now.