Facts+about+the+1940's-1950+(con't)

The end of World War II brought thousands of young servicemen back to America to pick up their lives and start new families in new homes with new jobs. With an energy never before experienced, American industry expanded to meet peacetime needs. Americans began buying goods not available during the war, which created corporate expansion and jobs. Growth everywhere. The baby boom was underway... ** Facts about the 1950's ** Population: 151,684,000 (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census)* Unemployed: 3,288,000 Life expectancy: Women 71.1, men 65.6 Car Sales: 6,665,800 Average Salary: $2,992 Labor Force male/female: 5/2 Cost of a loaf of bread: $0.14 Bomb shelter plans, like the government pamphlet You Can Survive, become widely available

 **Important Historic and Cultural Events** 1950 - Pres. [|Harry Truman] ( 'til 1952) approves production of the hydrogen bomb and sends air force and navy to Korea in June. 1951 - [|Transcontinental television] begins with a speech by Pres. Truman. 1953 - 1961[| Dwight D. Eisenhower] is president. 1952 - The [|Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952] removes racial and ethnic barriers to becoming a U.S. citizen. 1953 - [|Julius and Ethel Rosenberg] are electrocuted for their part in W.W.II espionage. 1953 - Fighting ends in [|Korea]. 1954 - [|U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy]  begins televised hearings into alleged Communists in the army. 1954 - [|Racial segregation is ruled unconstitutional] in public schools by the U.S. Supreme Court. 1955 - [|Rosa Parks] refuses to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. 1955 - The [|American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations] merge making the new AFL-CIO an organization with 15 million members. also in 1955 [|Dr. Jonas Salk] developed a vaccine for polio 1956 - [|The Federal Highway Act]  is signed, marking the beginning of work on the interstate highway system.  1958 - [|Explorer I], the first U.S. satellite, successfully orbits the earth. 1958 - The first domestic jet-airline passenger service is begun by [|National Airlines] between New York City and Miami. 1959 - [|Alaska]  and [|Hawaii]  become the forty-ninth and fiftieth states.

**"//Painting is a state...self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is." Jackson Pollock// **
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">There was a fresh artistic outlook after World War II ended and the artistic world reflected this outlook. Abstract expressionism (see <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|glossary] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> ) like <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Jackson Pollock] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Barnett Newman] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> , <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Willem de Kooning] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> , <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Clyfford Still] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Franz Kline] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> received official recognition at the New York <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Museum of Modern Art] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">. These artists, referred to as the <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|New York School] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, were generally experimental. Other abstract artists rebelled against the self-absorption of the New York School and delved into <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|existentialism] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Mark Rothko] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> used large scale color blocks to create an overpowering material presence. Painters like <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Robert Rauschenberg] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Jasper Johns] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, also abstract artists, did not want the viewer to rely on what he saw to interpret a painting. African American artists <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|John T. Biggers] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Romare Bearden] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Henry Clay Anderson] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> presented a different view of American life. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> Part of the 1950's boom in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|consumerism] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> included housing. People could afford single family dwellings and suburbia was born. A small suburban community called <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Levittown] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> was built by William Levitt for returning servicemen and their families. An influence of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Frank Lloyd Wright] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> is seen in the popular Ranch style house. Designers like <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Bauhaus] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, who helped create the <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|International style] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> , influenced <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Ludwig Mies van der Rohe] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> , <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Philip Johnson] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> , <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Charles and Ray Eames] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Eero Saarinen] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Louis Kahn] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, architect of the Salk Institute, was a noted architect during this period. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">

<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">EDUCATION
<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> During the fifties, American education underwent dramatic and, for some, world shattering changes. Until 1954, an official policy of "[|separate but equal]" educational opportunities for blacks had been determined to be the correct method to insure that all children in America received an adequate and equal education in the public schools of the nation. In 1954, [|Chief Justice Earl Warren] and other members of the Supreme Court wrote in [|Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas] that separate facilities for blacks did not make those facilities equal according to the Constitution. Integration was begun across the nation. In 1956, <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Autherine J.Lucy] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> successfully enrolled in the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. In 1957, <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Elizabeth Eckford] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> was the first black teenager to enter then all-white <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Little Rock Central High School] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, Little Rock, Arkansas. Although integration took place quietly in most towns, the conflict at Central High School in Little Rock was the first of many confrontations in Arkansas which showed that public opinion on this issue was divided.

Another crisis in education was uncovered by critics like <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Rudolph Flesch] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> in his book [|//Why Johnny Can't Read//]<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, who claimed that the American educational system was not doing its job. Other voices in the movement to revamp American schools were <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Arthur Bestor] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">- //Educational Wastelands,// <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Albert Lynd] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">- //Quackery in the Public Schools,// <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Robert Hutchins] <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> - //The Conflict in Education//, and <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Admiral]

//The Lonely Crowd// by David Riesman //Player Piano// by Kurt Vonnegut //The Power Elite// by C. Wright Mills || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">//The Bridges at Toko Ri// by James Michener //The Conservative Mind// by Russell Kirk //The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955// by Eric F. Goldman //Mrs. Bridge// by Evan Connell || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|**Newbery Award Winners**] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> **-** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Began in 1922 (include the most distinguished children's book published the previous year). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">1950 - The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli 1951 - Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates 1952 - Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes 1953 - Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark 1954 - ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold 1955 - The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong 1956 - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham 1957 - Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson 1958 - Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith 1959 - The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> **Books That Define the Time**
 * Children's Book Award winners ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> ** of the fifties: **

= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">FADS & FASHION <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> = =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Perhaps one of the things which most characterizes the 1950's was the strong element of [|conservatism and anticommunist feeling] which ran throughout much of society. One of the best indicators of the conservative frame of mind was the addition of the phrase "[|under God]" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Religion was seen as an indicator of [|anti-communism]. Fifties clothing was conservative. Men wore [|gray flannel suits] and women wore [|dresses] with pinched in waists and high heels. [|French fashion][|designers] such as [|Dior], [|Chanel] and [|Givenchy] were popular and copied in America. Families worked together, played together and vacationed together at family themed entertainment areas like [|national parks] and the new [|Disneyland]. Gender roles were strongly held, girls played with [|Barbie dolls] and [|Dale Evans] gear, boys with [|Roy Rogers] and [|Davy Crockett]paraphernalia. [|Drive-in movies] became popular for families and teens. Cars were seen as an indicator of prosperity and cool-ness. [|Highways] were built to take people quickly from one place to another, by-passing small towns and helping to create central marketing areas or shopping malls such as [|Sharpstown Mall], [|Gulfgate Mall] and [|Meyerland Plaza] in Houston. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Fashion successes were Bill Blass and his <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|blue jeans] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|poodle skirts] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> made of felt and decorated with sequins and poodle appliques, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|pony tails] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> for girls, and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|flat tops] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and crew cuts for guys. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Saddle shoes] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and blue suede loafers were popular. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Teenagers] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> were defined as a separate generation and were represented by <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|James Dean] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> who wore blue jeans in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">[|Rebel Without a Cause] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> and created a fashion and attitude sensation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> Activities we liked were [|flying saucer watching], and watching and dancing to Dick Clark's [|American Bandstand]. Fad hits with kids were toys like [|hula hoops] and [|Hopalong Cassidy] guns and western gear, Davy Crockett [|coon skin hats] and [|silly putty].

**<span style="font-size: 120%; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">TELEVISION **
<span style="font-size: 120%; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> Perhaps the most far reaching change in communications worldwide was the advancement in the area of [|television] broadcasting. During the 1950's, television became the dominant [|mass media] as people brought [|television into their homes] in greater numbers of hours per week than ever before. In the early fifties, the number of hours young people [|watched TV] steadily increased, a [|trend] which has not changed greatly since that time. What was portrayed on television became [|accepted as normal]. The [|ideal family, the ideal schools and neighborhood][|s], the world, were all seen in a way which had only partial basis in reality. People began to accept what was heard and seen on television because they were "[|eye witnesses]" to [|events] as never before. Programs such as [|You Are There] brought historical events into the living rooms of many Americans. The affect on print news media and entertainment media was felt in lower attendance at movies and greater reliance on [|TV news] sources for information. And then, in 1954, [|black and white broadcasts became color broadcasts.] Shows called "[|sitcoms] " like [|The Honeymooners], [|Lassie], [|Father Knows Best], [|The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet] , and [|I Love Lucy] featured popular characters whose lives thousands of viewers watched and copied. Families enjoyed variety shows like [|Disneyland]and [|The Ed Sullivan Show] on Sunday evenings. Daytime programs like [|Guiding Light][|,] a "[|soap opera]" were popular and helped advertisers sell many products to the homemakers of America. News broadcasting changed from newsmen simply reading the news to shows which included [|videotaped] pictures of events which had occurred anywhere in the world, and then to more and more [|live] broadcasts of events happening at the time of viewing. This was made possible in 1951 with the development of coaxial cable and microwave relays coast to coast. When [|Edward R. Murrow] began offering his weekly radio program (called "Hear It Now") on [|TV] as "[|See It Now]," the world of news broadcasting was irrevocably changed [|(eyewitness recounts the change)]

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">REF E169.1A471872 //**America in the 20th Century**// 1950-1959 is covered in volume 6. Typical of Marshall Cavendish, this encyclopedic set is accessible and gives easy to use background information for this decade. Covers subjects from art to transportation. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">REF E173.A793 //**The Annals of America**// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Volume 17 of this set contains essays and excepts from important writers and on important topics of the time. Great resource for this research. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">REF E174.D52 //**Dictionary of American History**// From very brief to multi-page signed entries on topics in American History. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">N 6490 .L792 **// Visual Arts in the Twentieth Century //**History of art in the 20th Century including all art forms and architecture. Chronological by decade
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Print Resources **

REF E174.D52 **//Dictionary of American History//** This multi-volume set has a very good entry under "Education" in Volume 2 and an entry on "integration" in Volume 3. Major legal decisions are listed alphabetically by title, ex. //Brown v. the Board// in Volume 1. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">REF E169.1.P19 **//Panati's Parade of Fads, Follies and Manias//** Arranged by decade, includes fads, dance crazes, radio, TV, popular books and songs. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">E 169.1.R7755 **//Mass Culture: The Popular Arts in America//** Important essays analyzing mass culture in American history. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">**REF PN1992.18 .M874** //Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television// - an excellent resource to use to understand the medium of television. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">REF E176.W64 1897-1942 v.1 Who Was Who in America Brief entries arranged alphabetically by person

Websites [|Historical Atlas of the 20th Century] | Collection of maps and stats of the 20th century [|American History 1860-present][| | Chronological arrangement of history of this century] [|Biography.com][| | Biographies of over 15,000 famous persons.] [|Genealogy Guide] | Helpful guide for locating past people, places and events

[|History] of the United States Department of Education [|Costumer's Manifesto] [|Links to] wide world of fashion. Good ones. [|Twentieth Century Fashion] Women's fashionsof the fifties. [|Soulmates: A Century in Shoes][| Shoes throughout the century.]

[|Television News Archive] Television news history presented by Vanderbilt University. [|Chronology of TV broadcasting] from Jeff Miller, teacher at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, FL [|The first 75 years of Television] from Tom Genova, many links on development of TV including advertising. Includes a timeline.