1950's Culture

The 1950’s were revolutionary times in which Americans celebrated the return of their soldiers. The baby boom during the fifties involved the birthrate skyrocketing after soldiers began returning home. With men home from war, women happily returned to their positions as housewives, yet not all gave up their jobs.
With the baby boom, education systems were forced to grow in order to accommodate for the incoming students; 10 million new students entered elementary school during the 50’s. There were increased jobs in the toy business due to the demand for child entertainment.
Adult leisure became more widespread. Home appliances, like the invention of the washing machine and dishwasher, made it easier for women go out without worrying. Fans went out to sports events and participated in bowling, fishing, and hunting. Magazines and comic books entertained millions of readers. The populace read more fiction books, for their amusement, rather than educational ones; they indulged in romance and mystery novels.
With the growing population, came the automotive boom (auto mania) and in five years car sales rose by one million. Commuting workers needed cars to get from their suburban neighborhoods to more urban areas. With the influx of cars, more efficient routes of travel were built such as highways and interstates.
During the 1950’s advertising flourished, creating mass consumerism. On television, billboards or in magazines, these advertisements brought customers to stores. Housewives were drawn to advertisements for the newest appliances to make their work at home easier. Planned obsolescence became a system for manufacturers so that owners would need to replace an item after a few short years. The credit system allowed people to spend more freely knowing that they could buy now and pay later. Because of this rise in credit, private debt increased by over $100 billion.

by Noel Thompson and Liz Talalai