section 2 the american dream in the 1950s. summer of 1946 10 million men/women return from wwii...
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Section 2The American Dream
in the 1950s
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Summer of 1946
10 million men/women return from WWII
1920’s
Roaring
Twenties
1930’s Great Depression
1940’s
WWII - Sept,1945
1950’s
The Nuclear
Age
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The Organization and the Organization Man
• Business expanded – More people worked in higher-paid white-collar jobs (clerical, managerial, professional like sales, insurance, communications) than in blue-collar jobs (manufacturing)
• Conglomerate – major corporation that includes a number of smaller companies in unrelated industries (diversification)
Example: ITT (Int’l. Telephone and Telegraph) owned rental car companies, insurance companies, hotel and motel chains.
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Franchise = a company that offers similar products or services in many locations.
• Founded by Ray Kroc in 1955 – he bought it from the McDonald Brothers in San Bernadino, California
• Assembly line process, efficient, drive-in service
• Fast-food restaurants standardized what people ate.
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Social Conformity Loss of Individuality: Corporations did not want creative thinkers or anyone who would “rock the boat.” Personality Tests given to see if someone was able to “fit in” corporate culture
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The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
Auto-biographical novel about a typical businessman who wears a dark suit, white shirt and conservative tie and shoes. -Has 3 kids, wife, house in the suburbs -Commutes to Manhattan – but he and his wife are both dissatisfied.
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Suburbs• Most Americans worked in cities, but fewer and fewer of
them lived there• Cars and gasoline were affordable• By early 1960s, every large city was surrounded by suburbs• 85% of new homes built in the 1950s were suburban
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The Baby BoomWhat: During 1946-1964 the birthrate soaredWhy: -Returning soldiers who were settling into family life -Advances in medicine -confidence in economic prosperityResult: largest generation in US history
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Leisure Time• Most Americans had more leisure time than ever• 40 hour work week + several weeks of vacation• People owned more labor-saving devices (washing
machines, dryers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, power lawn mowers)
• Activities geared to youth grew: Scouts, Little League, etc
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The Automobile Culture• Suburban living made owning a car a necessity• Suburbs did not offer public transit• Most families owned 2 cars• Drive-in movies, drive-thru restaurants• More and more Americans hit the road vacationing, sight-seeing• Disneyland opened 1955
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The Interstate plan in 1955
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1919 Army Convoy A 62 day trip
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Federal Aid Highway Act 1956
WHAT: the interstate highway system• To be built over a 20 year period• 25 billion (90% came from federal government) (Inspired by Eisenhower’s army convoy in 1919)Result: suburbs (“white flight” which leads to inner-city decay), shopping malls, drive-in movie theaters, Disneyland, noise, pollution
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Interstate Highways• Over 41,000 miles were planned, all with the following design standards:
- a minimum of 2 lanes in each direction- a 12 foot width for each lane- right paved shoulders of 10 feet in width
• Major routes have either one-digit or two-digit numbers. • Auxiliary routes traveling around a city, meanwhile, have three-digit numbers. • North-south major routes are given odd numbers.• The odd number routes increase from west to east. • I-5 runs along the west coast • I-95 runs on the east coast. East-west major routes have even numbers. The even numbered routes increase from south to north. I-10 is in the south I-94 is in the north.
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Consumerism(buying material goods)
Planned obsolescence
Marketing strategy where manufacturers purposely design products to become obsolete (wear out; become dated) in a short period of time
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