The Postwar boom
Major Changes
- $MONEY$ After coming back from war, the economy in the U.S. boomed. Americans had surplus money to spend on leisure items.
- Suburbs emerge out of the city. Highways are built all throughout America, enabling many Americans to buy cars.
- TV comes onto the scene. Americans gather around every night and watch the news in a new medium. Also, the TV granted many companies a new and interesting way to advertise their goods. Consumerism flourishes.
- The population jumps. With thousands of veterans returning home from war, a baby boom generation emerges.
the postwar boom
CONSUMERISM*
By the mid-1950s, almost 60% of Americans were apart of the middle class. They had a lot of money and a want to own material items, buying increasingly large amounts of products. This became known as Consumerism. One product after another appeared in the marketplace as many industries responded to the newfound demand. With more leisure time to fill, people invested in recreational items. In addition to creating new products, manufacturers began using a marketing strategy called planned obsolescence. In order to encourage consumers to purchase more goods, they purposely designed products to become obsolete in a short period of time.
The music industry |
The music industry engendered an entirely new rhythm during the 50s. While the beat movement expressed the social and literary nonconformity of artists and poets, Rock 'n' Roll expressed the dissenting opinions of many other types of artists. Many musicians added electronic instruments to traditional blues music, creating rhythm and blues. The audience was mostly white but the music usually was produced by African-American musicians. The name rock 'n' roll has come to mean music that's both black and white; American.
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Elvis Presley brought rock 'n' roll to a whole new level in the mid-50s. He drew in many newly affluent teens. The music's heavy rhythm, simple melodies, and lyrics, featuring love, cars, and problems of being young, captivated teenagers across the country.
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core American Values |
- Patriotism: One of the constitutional rights of Americans is the right to express one's self. The 1950's is a huge time of freedom of expression. Many people are unhappy with todays society, such as the people in the beat movement. People like Elivs Presley sang about their grievances and inspired many others to do the same. People expressed themselves without fear of rejection, thus demonstrating one of the strongest forms of patriotism; freedom.
- Economic Help: The form of economic help present in the postwar boom is a little different than the others. It is not simply our government helping those in need, its actually quite the opposite. Our citizens helped the U.S. government. The 50's were a time of booming economic prosperity. The age of Consumerism is rushed in and Americans are buying anything they can get their hands on. All of this activity really helps the government flourish.
- Hope: The hope evident in the 50's not a hope of desperation, but a hope of fortification. People were doing well financially, but many simply hoped that they could continue to grow in success. This is when the American Dream arose, the idea that if you could afford a house and a car and have a nice job, then you were successful and you made it.