55-63 Affluence and conformity USA Flashcards
What did the unprecedented affluence contribute to?
-surburbia growth -decline of cities -mass production of consumer goods -increase in advertising - mass communication
what were some problems regarding growing affluence?
-nuclear threat from USSR
-conformity (critics said American culture was homogenised)
-advertisements
-American Youth
-Race Relations
-Economic inequality
What cars did the middle class own? 1955
Chevrolets and Fords, they were $1300, which was on average 2/5 of the average family income
Why was the post war economic boom good?
more people had job security and more money to spend. Those who remebered the constraints of the depression liked to spend their money on things like cars
How many cars were manufactured in 1955?
7.9 Million
How did growing car ownership change the American lifestyle?
Cars were a demonstration of wealth, promised mobility and freedom
Big 3 cars in the US
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler
What were Eisenhowers reasons for the highway construction programme
-after returning to the US after ww2 he found its roads to be in “shocking condition” compared to Germany
-due to rocketing car ownership Eisenhower told Congress an interstate highway was vital for handling increased traffic
-Most Americans agreed with Eisenhower that more cars meant “greater convience, greater happiness and greater standard of living.”
car ownership
1950- 39.3million
1960-73.8million
between 45-60 there was a 133% increase in car ownership
they marriage and baby boom
1946-2 million americans get married
1950- 21 million babys are born
a 20% increase in the population between the 40s and 50s
impact of the baby boom
people needed homes but they were too expensive.
As a result 5 million homes were built
why was america so affluent in the post war era
America had 57% of the worlds steel production
75% of the worlds gold supply
80% of the worlds carf production
Bill Levitt
figured out how to mass produce homes. His designs meant companies could build up to 17450 a year.
cheap affordable housing
typical levvitown home
for 4 ppl to live in
small living room
e.g Levittown, Long Island
3/4 houses were built Levvit style
Daisy and Bill Myers
Pennsylvania Levittown 1957
They moved into an all white community and caused people to question their superiorty, if they could afford it.
Some people worried it would decrease property values.
Daisy refused to move out
cheap option of housing
Levittown’s
name of African American Levittown couple
Daisy and Bill Myers
impact of cars on post war America
-1 in 7 jobs were related to car manufacture
-growth of malls
-growth of suburbia
-Maccies (God bless)
-Holiday inn 1952
where is the car capital?
Detroit, MIchigan
Maccies
“Like Levittowns on a bun”
$200,000 profit in the first year
started the fast food revolution
by 1960 there were over 200 McDonalds, an icon for entrepneurs
Federal Highway Act
1956
Eisenhower showed that Republicans were willling to spend federal money
$26 Billion
42,000 miles of highway
car based culture
drive in movies
out of town shopping malls
growth of national parks
Ultimately reflecting the age of affluence
Growth of white collar work
office work began to overtake manufacturing
jobs were fuelled by the service indusrty which tapped into the wealth of Americans
a major area of growth was defence
growth of suburbs
5 million homes needed by 1945
Federal Housing Adminstration gave loans for 90% of a mortgage
in the 50s, 18 million moved to the suburbs
‘chocolate cities and vanilla suburbs’
gov. allowed covenants to restrict sales to non whites
consumerism
encouraged by easy credit,
new products, cars, refrigerators, radios
in 1945 there were 8 shopping centres, by 1960 there were 4,000
space race saw new technology in the home e.g non stick pans
a new group of consumers grew- teenagers
the first credit cards
1958 American Express
the teenager significance
weekly oncome of a teenage boy in 1956 went up to $8.96, meaning they had money to spend
in 1950, 40% of the population was under 24
what was associated with youths?
juvenile delinquincy
juvenile delinquincy
Saturday evening post reported crime comitted by teenagers had increased by a drastic 45% between 1950 and 1955
an extreme example of this was Charlie Starkweather, a white teenager who went on a murder spree in 1958
public opnion on juvenile delinquency
in 1960 a report polled it at Americans third greatest concern coming only behind defence and world peace.
A journalist wrote,”Never in our 180 year history has the United States been so aware, or so confused about our teenagers”
government response to juvenile delinquency
in 1954 the Senate created a special sub comittee on juvenile delinquincy. Espcially to investigate the effects of comics, music, movies and over media might have on youth psychology
comics become self regulating after the senate threatens censorship
comic books and juvenile delinquincy
-teenagers could be influenced by them
-teenagers are smarter than kid, and get away with more than adults
-often showed living in the suburbs showing it could be anywhere.
the bad seed, a horror film from 1956 about an evil little girl was an enormous hit at the box office
Elvis on Ed Sullivan
60 million viewers on the Ed Sullivan show
82.6% of TV viewers at the time.
how parents reacted to Elvis
Elvis was viewed as a negative part of youth culture. One newspaper headlined, “Daughter wants to see Elvis? Kick her in the teeth!”
reasons parents objected to Elvis
-Inappropriate moves
-viewed him as thug, encouraging violence
-people idolised him, and they believed he was a bad influence
characteristics of cultural conformity:
-set in suburbia
-contentment with social status
-nuclear family, with a male head of house
-promote beauty over intellligence
characteristics of cultural challenge
-strong female lead characters who pursued a career
-main characters are african american
-rejection of consumerism
-issuesof unhappiness, rebbellion and challenging authority
television
1/3 pf time awake was spent watching tv
3/4 homes had a tv
I love Lucy
1951 ~ conformity
although it had a female lead which was rare, it promoted beauty over brains, and had a continous theme of her getting into trouble for wanting to work
(tv show)
Father knows best
1953~ conformity
the father is the ultimate authority figure in this nuclear family
(show)
The Blackboard jungle
1955~ conformity
not condoning the violent actions of thuggish children
(film)
Rebel without a cause
1955~ challenge
shows the moral decay of American youth and holds parents accountable
society is so empty there is nothing to rebel against
(film)
Motown records
1959~challenge
African-American owned label, celebrated black music and challneged racial prejudice
notable names are the Jackson 5, Stevie wonder and the Supremes
(music)
Bill Haley & the Comets
Rock around the clock
Rock n roll band formed in 1947
considered the forefront of rock n roll in its formative years.
both challenge and conormity
Considered more comformist then Elvis
“On the road” Jack Kerouac
challenge
counterculture, beatnik
literature
“revolutionary road”
1961~challenge
Idyllic nuclear family who begin to recognize how bad conformity is and how stifling the American dream is
Greatest challnege and confmormuty in media
comformity= TV
challenge= Literature
reason for media being challenge or conformity
for tv there was a mass appeal and changing taste
TV is very popular it makes shows to appeal to the masses and doesnt want to rock the boat
in this period Literature “dissapears”
how did beatniks challenge conformity
poems and literature (Jack Kerouac, William S Burroughs and Allen Ginsburg)
did drugs
beatnik and what it means
people beat down by conformity, materealism and affluence
their creativity was being stifled, and wasted on tv etc.
nik- comes from sputnik, the usa was beaten by the ussr so they mock the usas failure
Allen Ginsburg Howl
1956, this poem had people trying to ban it under obscenity laws. The judge viewed it as not obscene.
However all of this attracted attention so more people read it
-oppression of intelligence
-drug taking
-not a celebration of conformity
conformity
-middle class
-marriage
-tv
-levvitowns
-fast food
-comsumerism
-cars
confomrity The Middle Class
real rise in wage, 4.5 a year led to the rise of middle class
confomrity Marriage
1957- 97% of people eligible to be married were
confomrity TV
1/3 of waking hours were spent watchin tv
confomrity Levittowns
3/4 of houses were Levit style
confomrity fast food
By 1960 McDonalds had 200 restraunts
confomrty Cars
133% in car ownership between 1945 and 1960
Conformity Consumerism
made people competive for/in material goods
cultural Challenge
-some films
-Beatniks
-Music
-Civil rights
-Rise of teenagers
-Daisy and Bill Myers
challenge films
Rebel without a cause
challenge beatniks
literature
challenge civil rights movement
Brown vs Topeka Board of education
challenge music
Motown records
challeneg, rise of teenagers
1950, 40% of the population was under 25
challenge Daisy and Bill Myers
lead to insecurity in white middle class
