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1950s: Baby Boom and Suburban Rise

After WWII, a baby boom occurred as many people were eager to have children and the government increased spending. Suburbs grew as inexpensive houses meant for returning soldiers became perfect for young families. However, the suburbs were not ideal for all as women were often urged to leave their jobs and stay home. Additionally, the civil rights movement gained mainstream attention as acts of resistance against racial discrimination and segregation helped shape the movement for the next decade.

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61 views2 pages

1950s: Baby Boom and Suburban Rise

After WWII, a baby boom occurred as many people were eager to have children and the government increased spending. Suburbs grew as inexpensive houses meant for returning soldiers became perfect for young families. However, the suburbs were not ideal for all as women were often urged to leave their jobs and stay home. Additionally, the civil rights movement gained mainstream attention as acts of resistance against racial discrimination and segregation helped shape the movement for the next decade.

Uploaded by

s161513
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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background: after WW2

1950s Post WWII


the baby boom
• after ww2 (1945), a record number of babies
⁃ 3.4 million were born in the US alone
⁃ 76 million baby boomers born 1946-1964
• many people were eager to have children:
⁃ had confidence about the future
⁃ saw peace and prosperity
• the government spending had increased:
⁃ schools
⁃ highways
⁃ veterans benefits
⁃ military spending in new technology

boosting economy
• rates of unemployment and inflation were low
• middle class people had more money to spend than ever
• more variety and availability of consumer goods (products)
⁃ there were more things to buy and people had the money
• 1950s consumerism was at its peak
• a drastic increase in advertisement and propaganda seen in public, and
at home

rise of the suburbs


• “baby boom” and the use of suburban neighbourhoods went hand in hand
• William Levitt: “Levittowns”
• mass production techniques and inexpensive houses
• cheaper to buy these homes than finding an apartment in the city: meant
for returning soldiers
• houses were perfect for young families
• the 50s is also the “age of the automobile”:
⁃ Canadians fell in love with cars and bought 3.5 million of them
⁃ a “fascination with technology, progress, and personal freedom”

the suburbs
• not so perfect for women
⁃ urged to leave their workplace and stay at home
⁃ later contribute to the feminist movement during 1960s

sparking the civil rights movement


• growing group of Canadians spoke out against inequality and injustice
during the 1950s
• African Americans had always been fighting against racial
discrimination for centuries
• during the 1950s, this struggle against segregation and racism entered
into the mainstream life
• 1955: a movement was born: Rosa Parks
• Acts of “nonviolent resistance” like the bus boycott, helped shape the
civil rights movement for the next decade

the cold war


• 1946: Winston Churchill and the “Iron Curtain”
• spread of communism anywhere threatened democracy and capitalism
everywhere
• communism needed to be “contained”: this shaped policies
• many thought communism would destroy the country on the inside as well
• hearings were designed to put an end to “un-American activities”:
universities, public school and even Hollywood
• tens of thousands of people lose their jobs, as well as their families
and friends, in the anti-communist “Red Scare of the 1950s”

counter culture: a new generation of youth


• 1955-1975: US enlisted a lot of soldiers to go fight a war in Vietnam
• 1960s: in addition to civil rights movement, a lot of protests and
riots were also armed against US involvement
• the media played a significant role at revealing some of the atrocities
in Vietnam

shaping the 1960s


• the booming prosperity of the 1950s helped create a widespread sense of
stability, contentment and consensus in the US and in Canada
• the consensus was a fragile one and it splintered for good during the
tumultuous 1960s

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