Postwar America and the Rise of Popular Culture

The Growth of SuburbiaG.I. Bill of Rights in 1944 encouraged veterans

to get an education by paying part of their tuition, 1 year of unemployment benefits, and a federally guaranteed loan

• In 1945 and 1946 the housing crisis led developers William Levitt and Henry Kaiser to create efficient-assembly-line mass produced homes (Levittowns)

• Levitt, who bragged that his company could build a house in 16 minutes, offered homes in small residential communities surrounding cities, called suburbs, for less than $ 7,000

• As a result, starting in the 1950s millions of middle-class white Americans left the cities for the suburbs (white flight)

Truman’s Domestic Policy

• During President Truman’s presidency, he offered what he called a “Fair Deal”- an extension of Roosevelt’s New Deal, including proposals for a nationwide system of compulsory health insurance and a crop-subsidy system (both were defeated in Congress)

Eisenhower’s Domestic Policy• As president, Eisenhower was

determined to reverse the trend he saw in U.S. domestic policy toward greater federal involvement in the affairs of the states, localities, and private citizens.

• He began to collect information on domestic policy and formulate his own concept of a domestic program.

• He was in fact willing to strengthen those federal programs that had good track records and even to introduce new measures on a selective basis.

• This was his concept of the "Middle Way."

Baby Boom Era

• The suburban lifestyle was accomplished through achieving job security, home, and the so-called good life

• As soldiers returned from WWII and settled into family life, they contributed to an unprecedented population explosion known as the baby boom (1940s-1960s)

• At the height of the baby boom era (1957), one American infant was estimated to be born every 7 seconds (a total of 4,308,000 that year)

Leisure Activities Increase

• Leisure activities in the 1950s increased with the 40 hour work week established- these activities included fishing, bowling, hunting, boating, and golf

The Automobile Culture

The automobile culture expanded by the following:

• easy credit• plentiful fuel• suburban living• the Interstate Highway System

(Interstate Highway Act 1956)

Positive and Negative Effects of Auto Industry

• The automobile industry boomed and stimulated production and provided jobs, but it also increased other negative aspects of the automobile culture

Positive: creation of drive-in-movies, restaurants, and shopping malls

Negative: pollution, noise, traffic jams, road rage, public transportation declined

The Growth of Consumerism

Consumerism grew in the 1950s and 1960s- that is, buying material goods came to be equated with success

• planned obsolescence (items designed to become obsolete)

• Buy Now, Pay Later (purchase on credit)

• The Diner’s Club issued the first credit card in 1950 (American Express 1958)

• advertising industry capitalized on consumerism by encouraging even more spending

Popular Culture

Popular culture of the 1950s was facilitated by the following:

• Mass media (means of communication)

• The Rise of Television• The Beat Movement

(expressed the social and literary nonconformity of artists, poets, and writers

• Rock ‘n’ Roll (Elvis Presley)