50shappydays

 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] =GOOD:= -baby boom > growth of suburbs -"sunbelt"-population increases in warmer states -white Americans-life in suburbs=American dream -Economy booming; housing industry exploding -Hollywood came out with more and more TV shows-I Love Lucy, Lassie, Happy Days... -Rock 'n' Roll songs-Elvis Presley -MacCarthy censured by the U.S. Senate - U.S. supplying 65% of the world's manufactured goods-1952 -baby boom= prosperous economy b/c added Americans became additional consumers= booming U.S. industry. -Technological advances -Post WWII=Optimism and a "can-do" attitude -Science!-National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) sponsored huge medical research projects,U.S. government poured money into developing space program; ect. -Improved medicine: antibiotics and vaccines -New vaccinces developed in 1954,1957 -ended polio epidemics -more suburbs= greater demand for automobiles= more sales! -country linked together with Highway Act of 1956 -population boom with return of soldiers meant more consumers and a greater market for more goods -wages increased with laws and government regulations - Many more Americans joined the middle class as they obtained homes, education, and disposable income -reatial spending soars -televisions made new market for advertising- made new technological advancements into "must-haves" -new military missles created -increased focus on space program with the "space race" of the cold war

=BAD:= -MacCarthy used the fear of communism to his advantage and created a wave of hystera. He accused many people (especially from Hollywood and State Department) of being a communist, and although he had no evidence -Many lives, jobs, and social situations of politicians, actors, and normal people were ruined through McCarthy's actions -Many Mexicans crossed over to America illegally. -poor people in cities -movie attendance greatly decreased- movie market down -some thought that American society was shallow and protested against the conformity-"beatniks" - Alger Hiss, an American diplomat ( assisted FDR at the Yalta summit in 1945) was accused of subversion and espionage and found guilty. -This shook the confidence of Americans- how could someone turn on them? -HUAC monitered media, it almost felt as if media was being censored-"blacklist" -Polio epidemics fairly often in the early early 50's-1953, paralyizing and ending the lives of many Americans -prosperity of the middle class in the suburbs left out many, including African Americans - Most minority families remained in the cities and were largely unwelcome in the suburbs -Separate but equal was still the standard in schools and public facilities, but separate was emphasized more than equal -crime, substandard housing, and race riots afflicted the African Americans and other minorities who remained in the cities, while white families lived more serene lives in the suburbs -baby boomers lead to new issues now-social security, etc.