Social And Cultural Changes In The 1950s
Life in the 1920s and 1950s While some similarities were noticeable between the 1920s and the 1950s, the differences were striking. The 1920s was known as the beginning of modern America. The 1950s was known for its lucrative prosperity and anxiety. Both eras’ were similar in their economics. They differed in politics and society.
Alina Serbina Pd 3 Essay #1 Compare and contrast United States society in the 1920s and the 1950s with respect to TWO of the following: role of women and consumerism The 1920’s and 1950’s played a big role in women’s roles and consumerism. The 1920’s was a time of an economic boom , due to the end of World War I. Once the soldiers came home , the life of women drastically changed. Many women were no longer satisfied with staying home and wanted to continue to work and perceive careers. The 1950’s were also a post-war decade , marking the end of World War II. This decade sparked an intellectual and economic boom because of the struggle to become a world power.
The 1950s gave rise to strict social norms, the civil rights movement, the Beat generation and McCarthyism. The 1950s and the 1960s were more prosperous for some more than others. With the economy booming people were more inclined to buy more goods.(Doc C) The Black community was barred from the same opportunities as white people. While whites moved into the suburbs blacks moved to the inner cities.(Doc B)
The changing politics of 1950s America made the right wing values of government stronger as it brought some semblance of structure to the country, which was recovering from WWII and starting the cold war against the Soviet Union, which would continue for decades. America during the war had overtaken Britain as the leading world power. Ambitious plans for highways and infrastructure across the US, and the space program contrasted with the witch hunt of the McCarthyism. There Civil rights movement was born and suffrage battles were being fought in the western
The Berlin Wall and Great Depression were over and the new era came upon to spark the beginning of the 1950’s. The typical focus of this era was to protect families individually and preserve domesticity, and hold certain standards too succeed in life. To include, that in 1950’s, there was much improvement when it came to working and jobs. There were more white collar jobs in the office and other administrative settings such as: advertising, marketing, etc. After the Cold War, there was a vast Economic boom, people were earning money and putting money in the banks more than ever before.
During the 1950s the whole nation was filled with extremely high levels of anxiety. This was due to a ton of different factors that ended up changing the country as a whole. One of the main factors that contributed to the high levels of anxiety was not being able to trust the government and threats both inside and outside of the country. Because of all of the anxiety there was an increase in conflict and tension. Although there were some positive outcomes such as the United States having big growth in the economy and turning it into what it is today.
The 1950ś were often referred to as the ¨Golden Age ¨ of America. In the 1950´s the American Dream was alive and well. But for many families, especially those of color the idealized view of life was not the reality for everyone. The post-war economic boom led to an increase in wealth and prosperity, and the rise of suburbia idealized the nuclear family.
The roaring 20’s, the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, no matter what you call it, it’s hard to deny the 1920’s was an iconic era to note in the United States. Some may believe that it shaped the United States to what it is today. Although, the question has to be asked; what were the major cultural and societal changes in 1920s America and how did they pave the way for the Great Depression? Although the 1920’s did not have one specific reason for paving a way for the Great Depression, many changes stuck out such as the role change of women, evolution of transportation, and the information of sports media. To begin, women challenged traditional values by gaining the right to vote in the early twentieth century.
In the 1920s, World War 1 ended and soldiers were coming back with many casualties. A dramatic change completely altered the cultural structure of America and a great economic growth happened because of consumer goods. People became increasingly urbanized. Throughout the 1920s, cultural factors like the Jazz Age, Flappers, and the Harlem Renaissance made Americans flourish and go through a time period of wealth and prosperity. These cultural changes and and a looser society in general was what really made the 20’s a ‘roaring’ time for Americans.
In a time of economic prosperity, a rise in the standard of living and rock and roll, also known as the “happy days”, the 1950s were a time looked back on with nostalgia. On the other hand, the 1950s were also met with many problems involving civil rights, the Cold War and McCarthyism. After the end of World War II, Americans came home to jobs available and a period of consensus. Consensus meaning there wasn’t much debate in politics. However tensions quickly rose throughout the nation when Joseph McCarthy made serious accusations about the State Department.
Post-war economy and workforce rapid success and federal programs like G.I. Bill allows the whole country to start suburbanizing and support the baby-boom generation. Healthcare, education, and automobile transportation to a great extent improved in the 1950s. However, not every single group of Americans were able to experience these improvements. Social inequality and racial discrimination only see some improvement with
One of the main cultural changes in the 1920s that led to the outbreak of the great depression was increasing consumerism. The minor things inside increased consumerism were people lost jobs, companies lost money, and banks shut down. These are all ways that increasing consumerism and the roaring 20s led to the great depression. The banks shutting down was one of the most major out of these three reasons that the great depression became a thing. The reason banks are so important is due to the fact that everybody needed banks due to the fact that everyone needed a bank to manage their money.
American culture encompasses the social behaviors, establishments, and norms of the United States of America. There are abundant influences that create the set culture in our world. Those historical events have had various or different outcomes to them. Specifically throughout the 1920s and 1960s the contrasts displayed throughout are how events occurred and how they ended. In spite of the fact that there are those contrasted events that transpired, there have been comparisons throughout as well.
Life after the war was very different than any others during the 1950s. Acquisition of consumer goods was influential like never before and people had access to large amounts of luxury items. Leisure time became more available and families did more things together like participating in community events, taking vacations or simply gathering around the television. Even with these positive changes many Americans had still had leftover feelings of anxiety and dissatisfaction. Church attendance was on the rise and most attendance was from people living in the new suburban communities.
Racism was also a huge factor that seems to be hid by the appearance of the 1950s. African American and Latino families received no support from the government. Discrimination was widespread. Coontz explains that the sexism
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