ipl-logo

Standard Of Living In The 1950s Essay

2671 Words11 Pages

The 1950s: An Era of Improved Living Standards for Americans?

Wang Long Lee
CE US History
5/15/2023

After the Great Depression and World War Two, America entered the 1950s. In this decade, Americans see significant changes in society, and are known as a decade of improvement in the standard of living. 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 …show more content…

Racial segregation between black and white children in public schools had always been legal until the 1950s (Newman). This also brings unequal funding in public school systems; for example, in South Carolina public schools, only $115 is spent per black student compared to $165 per white student (Newman). Because of inequality like this, African American students are often never able to receive supplies and services that white students are able to have including very basic accessories like textbooks or even pencils (Newman). During President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration, he often avoided helping African American due to the possible loss of the white South vote; as a result, Civil Rights had not really been improved in the period. In 1951, after Brown’s daughter, Linda Brow was denied access to an all-white elementary school, he fired a lawsuit against the Education System in Topeka, Kansas ("Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" 347 U.S. 483). The Fourteenth Amendment was being challenged. As a result In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court of The United States defined the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas’s discrimination and segregation toward Brown’s daughter as unconstitutional and demand all public schools in America be desegregated ("Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" 347 U.S. 483). Although the Supreme Court said all public schools need to be desegregated, the process is very long due to President Dwight D. Eisenhower's fear of losing the white southern vote. In 1955, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks got on a bus but refused to give the seat to a white person; she was arrested for this incident. As a response to this, African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior started the Bus Boycott which forced the bus line Rosa Parks got arrested to be desegregated. Another famous civil rights movement for African American students is the

Show More
Related

2003 Apush Dbq Analysis

971 Words | 4 Pages

When World War II ended, the United States rejoiced with what they assumed their victory would determine; total peace, the discontinuation of Communism, the return of all the dearly missed soldiers, and greater equality for all, especially in the workplace. Much to the dismay of many citizens at home during the war, these aspirations were not exactly what they expected. In the near short years right after the war, there was much prosperity and many were perfectly content, but in these years, many had difficult times with the changes that occurred after the war. With these rough times came many fears of the conditions of the country, but many of these fears were greatly calmed through the work of the President Eisenhower in the 1950s. In the

Read More

Dbq Jimmy Carter Administration

1211 Words | 5 Pages

Social change developments ejected in the 1960s for a few interrelated reasons. In the first place, since the 1930s the part of the government had turned out to be progressively vital in Americans' regular day to day existences, and individuals started to look to the government to determine issues. Second, after World War II (1939-1945), the United States developed as a worldwide power that rivaled the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); this opposition was both a political and good campaign to persuade individuals around the globe that Western popular government was better than the Communist framework received by the USSR. Third, the 1960s were times of relative financial flourishing for the vast majority of the nation, making monetary difference in the United States more self-evident. Fourth, a national culture was developing that connected all Americans more intently than any time in recent memory; TV ended up noticeably normal and enabled individuals to witness occasions occurring in different parts of the nation and the

Read More

1950s Dbq Essay

541 Words | 3 Pages

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)

Read More

1960s Dbq Essay

728 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was a big topic and controversy with all of the United States. It was quite clear that African Americans did not get treated the same way that whites did. It had been ruled that it was constitutional to be “separate but equal”, but African Americans always had less than the whites did. For example, the schools that they had were run down, and had very little classrooms, books, and buses. Martin Luther King had a large role in the Civil Rights Movement, as did Malcolm X, and others.

Read More

Cultural Differences Between The 1950s And 1960s

407 Words | 2 Pages

The 1950s and 1960s were two distinct decades that were marked by their own unique cultural, social, and political events. In the 1950s, the United States was recovering from World War II and the economy was booming. This era was characterized by a conservative culture that emphasized traditional gender roles, family values, and conformity. However, the 1960s saw a major shift in cultural attitudes and values, as the country experienced a period of social and political upheaval.

Read More

Explain Why The 1950's America Was A Step Back In The 1960s And 1970s

673 Words | 3 Pages

1950’s America was a time a prosperity and conformity. The 1960s and 1970s saw a huge step backwards from the 1950s. The social and societal changes showed that there was a lot wrong with the American society and that there needed to be a change. The African American migration toward the cities in the 1950s, led to an urban crisis.

Read More

Quattor Aetates: The Golden Age

910 Words | 4 Pages

Before the 1950s, there were issues that were not formally addressed beforehand. It could be stated that people ignored the truth that “they would have to someday work in the fields to secure food.” The food is the equality that was given to them by divine rule. However, that equality was yet an illusion as there were minorities who cried for civil rights movements. Issues of white supremacy around the US surfaced around the mid 1950s and scuffles took place.

Read More

Social And Social Stereotypes In The 1950's

813 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Impact Of Consumerism In The 1950s

851 Words | 4 Pages

As World War II came to an end, the United States entered the 50s. This decade became a major influential time that brought many cultural and societal changes. Categories such as the economy, where a boom in new products increased, the technology world which incorporated new medicines and computers, entertainment when the television became popular and the overall lifestyles that Americans adapted to. All of these topics reshaped and created several advancements throughout society during the 1950s.

Read More

Comparing The 50s To Today's Society

586 Words | 3 Pages

There are similarities and differences between the 50s and today’s society the 50s were a bad time to be in for all people. People were discriminated by other people. Whites discriminated the blacks because of their color, blacks didn’t have the same rights as the whites and that isn’t fair. They couldn’t even drink from the same water fountain or even use the same bathroom because of the color. This also includes having problems with war but dodge it because in the article called “The Fifties”:

Read More

Brown V Board Of Education Essay

1203 Words | 5 Pages

In the famous 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the justices held unanimously that the racial division of children in public schools was unlawful. One of the foundations of the fight for civil rights was Brown v. Board of Education, which established the precedent that "separate but equal" education and various other services were not, in fact, similar at all. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial discrimination in public accommodations was permissible as long as facilities for Black and White individuals were equal. The court's ruling maintained "Jim Crow" laws, which prohibited African Americans from accessing the same buses, schools, and other public facilities as white people,

Read More

Poverty In The 1960 Essay

432 Words | 2 Pages

This feature page focuses primarily on poverty in the 1960's. The war on poverty began in the 1960’s to battle the poverty that was striking Americans. It was to reveal and combat the causes of poverty alongside with prevention methods (1). In the 1960’s, more women were becoming the head of their household, mostly due to the Vietnam War. The more women that became the head of the household, the more the poverty rate for families grew.

Read More

What We Really Miss About The 1950s Analysis

593 Words | 3 Pages

She bases her information on facts and historical evidence. Coontz discusses that jobs, marriage, birthrate and education were at very high points in the 1950s. Jobs were secure and came with great benefits. Coontz describes that when one takes a closer look at the 1950s they will realize that comparing it to the 1990s or the 21st century is absurd. Coontz also explains that the social society during the 1950s was different than the social society we have today.

Read More

What Are The Key Events Of The African American Civil Rights Movement

795 Words | 4 Pages

One of the earliest and most significant events in the African American Civil Rights Movement was the landmark Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The case upheld the constitutionality

Read More

Civil Rights Movement Thesis

874 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction The story of the Civil Rights Movements of African Americans in America is an important story that many people knew, especially because of the leadership Martin Luther King Jr. Black people in America, between 1945 and 1970 had to fight for rights because they had been segregated by white people, they didn’t have equal laws compared to white people. So they initiated the Civil Rights Movements to fight for getting equal civil rights.

Read More

More about Standard Of Living In The 1950s Essay

Related Topics

Open Document