Happy+Days



That's a great question, don't you think? We will answer it in class on Thursday in a (hopefully) fun activity, but to prepare, we should do a little background reading and watching. R**ead "The Fifties" in __Creating America__ (28-3, pp. 800-803), read over the ABC-CLIO links posted below, and w****atch the videos below.** 
 * FOR HOMEWORK, CREATE A LIST (IN YOUR ONLINE NOTEBOOK) OF POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES CONCERNING LIFE IN THE FIFTIES FOR CLASS ON THURSDAY. WE WILL USE IT TO WRITE SOME DIALOGUE ...**

[|The Cold War at Home] / [|The Economy Booms] / [|The Sky is the Limit] / [|Boom-Time for Babies and Houses] Positives-


 * The housing industry exploded. Government programs like the GI Bill offered low-cost housing and education loans to returning servicemen, which brought college education and home ownership to more Americans than ever before.
 * Builders like William Levitt responded creatively to the new market by building inexpensive, mass-produced homes and creating the American suburb.
 * Federal programs like the Highway Act of 1956 poured massive funds into linking the country.
 * Changes in the law and in government regulations increased wages for many workers. For many other workers, their actual jobs even changed. Corporations began to consolidate during the postwar period, creating huge conglomerates like International Telephone and Telegraph. That meant an increase in office jobs, often with valuable benefits.
 * Demand for schools, shops, and retail businesses meant an increase in service jobs.
 * Many more Americans joined the middle class as they obtained homes, education, and disposable income. With more money to spend—and more goodies on which to spend it—Americans began to buy. They created the biggest period of retail spending the United States had yet seen.
 * Americans bought a wide array of consumer products during the postwar period. Technological advances had allowed the creation of a plethora of goodies, and television advertising made sure that consumers knew about every new "must-have" product.
 * By 1949, Americans were buying 250,000 televisions a month. And of course, they also bought frozen dinners, plastic items, dishwashers, garbage disposals, washing machines, automatic dryers, high fidelity record players, power lawn movers, synthetic fiber clothing and fabrics, and much more.
 * With the growth of suburbia, businesses had relocated, and Americans could now shop at the nearby mall or supermarket. However, because this incredible prosperity left out many Americans—especially African Americans—the seeds were sown for the social upheaval that would soon follow.
 * By 1952, the United States was supplying 65% of the world's manufactured goods.
 * The number of marriages and the birth rate increased for several years after the troops returned from Europe.
 * All of this new building occurred on the fringes of towns and cities. These areas, called suburbs, began to expand. Living in the suburbs was made possible by the fact that more and more families could afford automobiles.
 * A housing bill passed in 1948 made 30-year mortgages available to new home buyers. In addition, the bill allowed veterans to buy houses with no down payment. This gave thousands of struggling new families a chance to own their own homes.
 * 12 million veterans were starting families.

Negatives- Everyone was worried about the spread of communism > - SU tested their first atomic bomb. > - running second to SU in space program > -minorities were still unwelcome in ways > - people feared bomb attacks > - People were so paranoid they had so much civil defense > -Women were called "keepers of the suburban dream, but some women didn't like this role > -The illegal immigrants earned low wages and endured difficult living and working conditions. When the program ended giving them jobs, they were fearful to be sent back to Mexico, so they continued to work for low wages. > >
 * Not everyone prospered in the 1950s. In 1957, nearly one out of every five Americans lived in poverty.
 * Many Mexicans immigrated illegally to the U.S. in the 50s.
 * MacCarthy used the fear of communism to his advantage and created a wave of hysteria. He accused many people of being a communist, although he had no evidencesome thought that American society was shallow and protested against the conformity-"beatniks"
 * Names of suspected communists were kept on a "blacklist
 * worried that Americans were being forced to fit into suburban life, and that in business offices and suburbs, people felt pressured to agree with the beliefs and ideas of the majority.
 * Immigration from Mexico increased greatly, and many people crossed the border illegally.