Facts+about+the+1940's+and+50's

= =  The 1940's were dominated by World War II. European artists and intellectuals fled Hitler and the Holocaust, bringing new ideas created in disillusionment. War production pulled us out of the Great Depression. Women were needed to replace men who had gone off to war, and so the first great exodus of women from the home to the workplace began. Rationing affected the food eaten, the clothes worn, the toys with which children played. After the war, the men returned, having seen the rest of the world. No longer was the family farm an ideal; no longer would blacks accept lesser status. The GI Bill allowed more men than ever before to get a college education. Women had to give up their jobs to the returning men, but they had tasted independence.  =Facts about the 1940's = = =  In architecture, nonessentials were eliminated, and simplicity became the key element. In some cases, such as [|Ludwig Mies van der Rohe] 's famous glass house, even practicality was ignored. Modern glass-and-steel office buildings began to rise after the war ended. Pietro Belluschi designed the prototype [|Equitable Savings and Loan building], a "skyscraper" of twelve stories. [|Eliel Saarinen] utilized contemporary design, particularly in churches. The dream home remained a [|Cape Cod]. After the war, suburbs, typified by [|Levittown], with their tract homes and uniformity, sprang up to house returning GI's and their new families. The average home was a one level Ranch House, a collection of previously unaffordable appliances surrounded by minimal living space. The [|family lawn] became the crowning glory and symbol of pride in ownership. **Books That Define the Time**
 * Population 132,122,000 
 * Unemployed in 1940 - 8,120,000 
 * National Debt $43 Billion 
 * Average Salary $1,299. Teacher's salary $1,441 
 * Minimum Wage $.43 per hour 
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">55% of U.S. homes have indoor plumbing <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Antarctica is discovered to be a continent <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Life expectancy 68.2 female, 60.8 male <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Auto deaths 34,500 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Supreme Court decides blacks do have a right to vote <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">World War II changed the order of world power; the United States and the USSR become super powers <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cold War begins. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [[image:http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/house40.gif width="205" height="117" align="right" caption="Typical early ranch style house during the 40s"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Norman Mailer's [|The Naked and the Dead]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Irving Shaw's [|Young Lions]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">John Hershey's [|A Bell for Adano]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">William Saroyan's [|The Human Comedy]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Richard Wright's [|Black Boy]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Dr. Spock's [|Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care]

**<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Children's Book Award winners of the forties: **
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Newbery Award Winners]<span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);">- Began in 1922 (award for the most distinguished child's book of the previous year) <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty 1941: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry 1942: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds 1943: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">1944: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">1945: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson 1946: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski 1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> 1948: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois 1949: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry <span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**FADS** **W**orking mothers, combined with another new phenomenon, the refrigerator, led to the invention of [|frozen dinners]. With the advent of television later in the decade, they became known as TV Dinners. [|Tupperware] and [|aluminum foil] eased the postwar housewives' burden, and [|diners], originally horse drawn carriages with a couple of barstools, became a stationary, respectable staple of the postwar culture. The [|Slinky] was invented by a ship inspector in 1945. Teenagers became a recognized force in the forties. With the men off to war, teenagers - boys and girls - found employment readily available, and so had money to spend. [|Seventeen] magazine was established in 1944. Advertisement began to be aimed at teens. With fathers away and mothers at work, another new phenomenon arose - the [|juvenile delinquent].
 * I**n popular dancing, the [|Jitterbug] made its appearance at the beginning of the decade. It was the first dance in two[[image:http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/kilroy2.gif width="64" height="54" align="right" caption="Kilroy was Here"]] centuries that allowed individual expression. GI's took the dance overseas when they to war, dancing with local girls, barmaids, or even each other if necessary. [|Rosie the Riveter] was the symbol of the working woman, as the men went off to war and the women were needed to work in the factories. GIs, however, preferred another symbol, the pin-up girl, such as [|Rita Hayworth] or [|Betty Grable]. Pictures were mounted on lockers and inside helmets to remind the men what they were fighting for. Wherever American soldiers went, even the first to arrive would find a picture of eyes and a nose, with the message, [|Kilroy was Here]. After they returned, Kilroy began to mark his place on the walls and rocks of public places. More than one pregnant woman came into the delivery room with "Kilroy was here" painted on her belly.

<span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**FASHION** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**T**he [|Zoot Suit] was the height of fashion among daring young men until the War Production Department restricted the amount of fabric that could be used in men's garments. The same restrictions led to the popularity of the women's [|convertible suit], a jacket, short skirt, and blouse. The jacket could be shed for more formal attire at night. Silk stockings were unavailable, so, to give the illusion with stockings with their prominent seam, women would draw a line up the backs of their legs with an eyeliner. At work, as "[|Rosie the Riveter]" took on a man's work, slacks became acceptable attire. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**W**hen the war and it's restrictions ended, Christian Dior introduced the [|New Look], feminine dresses with long, full skirts, and tight waists. Comfortable, low-heeled shoes were forsaken for high heels. Hair was curled high on the head in front, and worn to the shoulders in the back, and make-up was socially acceptable. Glamorous [|Rita Hayworth] made the sweater look popular. It took time to put the New Look together, time the women now had as the men returned to their jobs in the factories and offices.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**TELEVISION**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**A**t the end of the war, only 5,000 [|television sets], with five inch black & white screens, were in American homes. By 1951, 17 million had been sold. The [|Original Amateur Hour], a revival of a popular radio show, was the first top-rated show in 1948. Milton Berle's slapstick comedy, [|Texaco Star Theater], was credited with creating the demand for televisions. Its greatest rival was Ed Sullivan's [|Toast of the Town]. [|Kukla, Fran & Ollie] kicked off children's television as Junior Jamboree in 1947, followed by the [|Howdy Doody Show]. <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">REF E18.5.U75 //Timetables of American History// Include history and politics, the arts, science and technology, and other information of interest.REF E178.5.A48 //Album of American History// //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vol V and VI //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a great book to give the reader the real flavor of the decade because it is made up of photographs, captions, and brief entries.REF N6490 .O94 //Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Art//Medium length entries on the major artists of the century, worldwide. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">REF PS92 .R67 //A Chronological Outline of American Literature//Lists major works by date. Use this list as an index to Twentieth Century and Magill's Survey to locate works written during this decade. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">E 69.1.R7755 //Mass Culture: The Popular Arts in America// Important essays analyzing mass culture in American history. E169.12 .A418 //Dictionary of Twentieth Century Culture: American Culture After World War II// A timeline gives highlights by year. Entries average half a page and are about personalities, trends and groups. GT605.H35 //Common Threads: A Parade of American Clothing//Includes an overview of the 20th century, then chapters on contributors to changes in fashion. It has photographs of people at work, in college, and at play. REF PN1992.18 .M874 //Encyclopedia of Television//Photographs and information about the stars and the shows.
 * T**he sitcom made its appearance in January, 1949, with [|The Goldbergs].
 * Print Resources**

<span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">W[|orld War II][| | Historical text archive.]
 * Websites ** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">

<span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Historical Atlas of the 20th Century][|| Collection of maps and stats of the 20th century.] <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Biography Index][| | Biographies of over 25,000 famous persons, from the History Channel.] [|Genealogy Guide][| | Helpful in locating past people, places and events.] [|Great Buildings Online][| | Important architecture of the 1940s. Descriptions included] <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Solemates: Century in Shoes] | Shoe styles and other fashion trends of the 1940's. Includes film clips.[|Vintage Blues] - History of Fashion 1940-1950 [|The Costume Gallery] - Women's Fashions 1940's