Intro. to Nifty 50s and turbulent 60s - politics, culture, and innovation of the 1950s and 1960s Flashcards
Political issues of the Time: Cold War
- cold war- period of military competition, and political and economic tension btw. the Soviet Union and US following the end of WWII
Key Characteristics of the Cold War:
- space race- race btw. US and Russia to get to the moon first
- Communism VS Democracy
-Arms Race- developing more and stronger nuclear weapons; the threat of nuclear warfare
-Proxy Wars- wars fought btw. two or more major powers, but other powers are sent in to do the fighting for them
Comparing the US and Soviet Union
US:
- democracy- people have individual freedoms and rights
- Capitalist- people buy, self, and trade goods
USSR:
- Totalitarian Rule- ruled by a dictator, one political party
Rebuilding Europe after WWII
- The Marshall Plan- Plan developed by military leader, George Marshall; the US gives $13 billion worth of food, money, and other supplies to European nations to help them rebuild after WWII
Why?
- strengthen allies
-stop spread of communism
-stabilize European economy again
- The Truman Doctrine- US foreign policy that the US would provide military aid to countries threatened by communism
- Both are examples of the
Policy of containment- stop the spread of communism around the world
New organizations and alliances `
- United Nations- established in 1945; tasked with maintaining international peace, security, and human rights; still exists today
- NATO- members would protect each other if one of them got attacked by the USSR; pro-capitalists, non-communists members; established in 1949, still exists today
*Warsaw Pact- military alliance btw. the communist countries; will protect each other if attacked; falls w/ the USSR in 1991
Social issues of the time: civil rights movement
- the 1950s and 60s, Jim crow and segregation remain legal, but progress is coming….
- Executive order 9981- Truman’s executive order to officially desegregate the US military in 1948
- Brown V. Board of education (1954) - supreme court rules that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional; overturns the Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) > schools are now fully integrated
- although segregation in schools is now illegal, some states are slow to enforce these decisions
- in the 1950s sees the rise of civil rights leaders such as MLK
Life in the Suburbs
*The GI Bill- allows veterans to receive financial assistance for housing, college, or other job training
-Post WWII Economic Boom- new jobs, affordable housing, etc.
- The Baby Boom- dramatic increase in the birthrate in the US btw. 1946-1964
*Suburbs- neighborhoods outside of big cities typically inhabited by white-collar workers in the 1950s-60s
Why move out of city?
- suburbs were quieter and safer
-better school system
-more affordable
- cities were overcrowded
-Affordable housing - GI bill, end of the depression
New Innovations
- Medical developments- better medication and treatments to fight cancer and diabetes; better antibiotics for common illness; polio vaccine
- Commercial airlines continue to develop and become more popular
- The TV Dinner- first introduced in 1953
- Microwave (1945) becomes more popular in 1950s
- Television- begins to enter Americans homes in the late 1940s
The Birth of television
by 1957- 40 millions TVs were in use nationwide
- news, show, sports
- many radio shows transitions to TV shows
-often one TV per home
Beats
*Beatniks, teens and young adults who considered themselves “Beats” largely considered themselves as artists or supporters of art that went against typical expectations of the 1950s
- could also be a word that means opposed anything from young women being expected to marry and stay at home to opposing the anti-communist sentiments that dominated much of the 1950s culture
Prep or Preppie
- meant that you fit in with the norm and didn’t rebel in a serious way.
- also had other subgroups like the “Jocks,” or athletes, as well as the “Brains,” or
students who were known for their success in school.
This isn’t to say that people who weren’t “Preppies”
couldn’t be athletes or considered a “Brain,” but the majority of students in a school in the 1950s would fall into the “Preppies” category.
Greasers
are probably the best known social group of the
decade thanks to movies like Grease and novels like The Outsiders,
“Greasers” weren’t really known as that term during the 1950s. The term
“Greaser” usually referred to someone who was from a working-class
family and often times was associated with Mexican and
Italian-Americans. However, by the 1950s, teens and young adults who
dressed in denim and leather (for men) and wore pants and tighter skirts
(for women) fell into this group. Their fashion reflected their economic
status as being from families who didn’t necessarily profit off the
post-World War II economic boom. Some associate them with being
rebellious and anti-authority, but that wasn’t necessarily true for the vast
majority of people who considered themselves “Greasers.”
TVs shows that were from the 1950s
- Davy Crockett
- I love Lucy
- the honeymooners
- the Disneyland story
- the ed sullivan show
- the twilight zone
Movies from 1950s
- singing in the rain
- the ten commandments
- the blob
- Peter pan
Rock n Roll
- rock n roll was seen as sinful by older people
- jailhouse rock
- lewis boogie
- johnny be goode
- sh-boom
Artists:
- Elvis Presley
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- chuck berry
- the chords
