1950's American Society

The 1950s was a decade of unprecedented economic and population growth for the United States, The baby boom that had begun in the years immediately following World War II continued well into the decade. From 1948 to 1953 more children were born than in the previous thirty years, and in 1954 the country experienced the largest one-year population gain in history.

any Americans regard the 1950s as a time when most women stayed home, and men were the sole breadwinners. As this excerpt indicates, the decision for women to work was very often economically based. Women were working to purchase extra items for the children or a larger house. Women were also working to help provide financial security that the experience of the Great Depression caused them to doubt. The 1950s were the decade when consumerism established its hold on America—which it has never lost since. That consumerism was financed, in part, by women working.

What impact has television had on American society? On the one hand, it may be too soon to gauge its full impact, as it has been a social force for only fifty years. On the other hand, it is difficult to think of an invention that has so completely transformed our lives and our understanding of the world.

The American economy experienced a shift during the 1950s that created more income for more Americans than ever before. Though during the early 1950s the American economy was negatively affected by inflation—prices were rising, currency was losing its value, and a recession was at hand—these problems were relatively short-lived. By the mid-1950s, the nation began to enjoy the fruits of economic boom and prosperity. The robust economy gave rise to the American middle class.

"Civil rights movement." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Sep. 2016. http://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/310706. Accessed 6 Oct. 2016.

Friedan found life as a full-time suburban housewife intellectually demeaning and emotionally unsatisfying

Brown v. Board of Education reached the Supreme Court through the fearless efforts of lawyers, community activists, parents, and students. Their struggle to fulfill the American dream set in motion sweeping changes in American society, and redefined the nation’s ideals.

At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home to a country quite different from the one they had left four years earlier. Wartime production had helped pull America's economy out of depression, and from the late 1940s on, young adults saw a remarkable rise in their spending power.

On February 10, 1962, U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Powers had been shot down in May 1960, creating an incident that destabilized American-Soviet relations.

On 17 April 1961, shortly after President John F. Kennedy took office, close to fifteen hundred Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-trained Cuban exiles landed in the Bay of Pigs, constituting the initial phase of what CIA planners hoped would be a campaign resulting in Cuban leader Fidel Castro's ouster.

uring this period there was not much improvement in relations, as little common ground could be found to begin discussions. Even worse, the 1950s witnessed the acceleration of the arms race as the superpowers introduced new delivery and weapons systems—intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and long-range bombers—that both countries would rely upon throughout the Cold War. By the end of the decade, both countries were quickly obtaining the capability of destroying each other.

With the explosion of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb in 1953 and John Foster Dulles's announcement of the new policy of massive retaliation in 1954, SAC nuclear forces acquired added importance and funding. As the United States and Soviet Union entered the nuclear arms race, it became clear that the number of nuclear warheads deployed and their means of delivery would be key determinants in nuclear power and deterrence.

With Dwight D. Eisenhower's election to the presidency in 1952, the American military took on a new look. Rather than committing American forces to brushfire wars around the globe, Ike would let American allies do it, but with long-range assistance from American air forces. He would also build up American nuclear reserves while cutting military manpower, reducing draft requirements, and cutting conventional military spending.