The Wonders of the 1950’s
By: Justin Perez, Ingrid Gruener, and Tanner Jenkins
Includes: Celebrity Gossip Fashion Sports & more
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Table of Contents Page 3: Book Review Page 4: Celebrity Gossip Page 5: Education Page 6: Fashion Page 7: Food Page 8: Film and Theatre Page 9: Culture Page 10: Sports Page 12: Music Page 14: Lifestyle Page 16: Government and Politics Page 18:Law and Justice Page 20: Foreign Affairs Page 21: Foreign Affairs Page 23: Domestic Affairs Page 24: Domestic Affairs
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Book Review Fahrenheit 451, created by Ray Bradbury in 1953, was a dystopian novel that took place in the future where people's lives were controlled by the television and new inventions that fascinated the lives of real people during these times. Books were giving people many different ideas and offended others as well, causing all books to be burned and destroyed. When one Firefighter, named Guy Montag, realizes everything wrong with the society he lives in, he decides to attempt to fix this technocratic society and bring back books, and to start an uprising and bring the world back to how it was. But when his colleagues suspect of him reading books and conducting these illegal activities, there’s no going back. 3
Celebrity Gossip Elvis Presley’s first appearance occurred on January 28, 1956 on the Stage Show, which is barely remembered. On this show he appeared in 3 episodes, appearing a total of 6 times. Later, his first national TV appearance was on the day of April 3, 1956 on a show named the Milton Berle Show. Elvis’ agent named Colonel Parker called Berle, asking to give Elvis an audition. As soon as the audition ended Berle let Elvis know that he impressed enough to let him on the show. There Elvis performed “Shake Rattle and Roll,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” and Blue Suede Shoes.” Not only did Elvis perform “Heartbreak hotel,” but he also wrote it. On that show Elvis also performed “Hound Dog,” which the press decided to pay attention to finally. The press finally payed attention to him due to his confidence and his astounding moves. After this performance Elvis became prominent, appearing in the newspaper inadequatly. Although he had appeared in the newspaper in a bad manner the matters got worse, Berle stated that 4 days after the show he began to receive pan mail, where people stated that they would never watch his show again, due to the appearance of the disgusting young man with the name of Elvis. But Berle took that as a good sign, stating that if people care enough to write letters then that meant that he was on their minds.
“All publicity is good publicity.” 4
Education:
The 50s had great education, but there was a major problem, being school integration. For numerous years African Americans had been controverted admission to both schools and colleges that were only for white people. Not to mention, there was a “separate but equal” doctrine, which had been the support of the segregation. The meaning of “Separate but equal” was that both black and white people could attend
different schools, but still experience equal opportunities when it came to education, but sadly that was not the case, in most cases the schools which taught white people were more modern and were equipped with better teaching materials. Luckily, in the year of 1954, the court stated that “separate but equal” rejected black people’s equal protection under the law. However, many states desired to maintain the “separate but equal” doctrine, which resulted in both violence and in national headlines. On the other hand, teachers honored the increasing average of adults who desired to extend their education, which lead them to extending their learning experience past both high-school and college, which they accomplished by registering in adult-education programs, but at the same time educators grieved the fact that the government funding for public schools was decreasing. As more of the baby boomers came to the adequate age for school, schools started experiencing a lack of teachers, school materials, and many more important things which are required for a person’s education. Moreover, at first teachers focused on teaching their students how to read, write, and how to do math. But after The Sputnik launch it all changed. The Sputnik launch was seen as proof that the Soviets were ahead of the United States in the space race, so educators began to teach their students basic skills like both math and science. Finally, during the 50s children were greatly spending their after school hours in front of the television, so educators considered teaching things with televisions, but television continued to be a more popular source of entertainment. In 5 conclusion, the 50s was an era with many surprises when it came to education.
Fashion:
During WWII fabrics were rationed, due to the fact that the supply was very low. The end of WWII was also the end of the rations for fabrics, which led to the new type of fashion of the 50s. To begin, during the 50s, many male teenagers began to turn the fashion, which often led to their dress code opposing the school dress code, which was known as preppy style. The 50s, an era that depicted a new way of fashion. Not to mention, the 50s shirts were oversized shirts that men wore in the 50s in order to both dress casually and well. In addition, the woman fashion in the 50s was aimed to attract men. Models were required to have both defined hips and a thin waist in order for the clothes to look good on them. Moreover, the style for women in the 50s was glamorous, mature, and neat, with dresses, skirts, and undergarments being tight. On the same path, women always coordinated their outfits with matching jewelry, hats, shoes, belts and even gloves. Women had expectations, they were required to be well-dressed when they were in public or around their husband, but when they were not they were permitted to wear leisure clothes. 6
Food:
The 1950’s was a very interesting and unique time for both home cooked food and junk food, especially with chicken. There was mainly Chicken Parmesan and Chicken Francese, which came from Italy, and Coronation Chicken, which came from the UK. Honey mustard was also a revolutionary and new condiment, which was used commonly with chicken. There were also TV dinners, which was a meal heated and served in a metal tray with separate pockets for each side dish. And with every era,
there will always be a section of unhealthy foods, and Peeps marshmallows and Cheez Whiz are two great treats that are cherished by many even today. Peeps still are a famous candy sold in the US and many other countries worldwide from 1953. It’s especially popular during holidays like Easter or in less common occasions Christmas or Halloween, and during the 1950’s they had wings until they were “clipped off” for a more compact box. Cheez Whiz was also a very popular portable jar of liquid cheese in 1952 which allowed anyone to bring it anywhere to picnics or to use as a dip. And speaking of portable, another food that blew up during this time was the frozen pizza in 1950. This allowed families to store multiple pizzas in freezers and have a large meal to share during the end of 7 the day when one couldn’t cook.
Film and Theatre: During the 50s both theatre and films were idolized. After the war, people desired new and exciting symbols of rebellion, so Hollywood responded to the audience’s wishes, making many incredible films. To begin, McCarey’s romantic drama, An Affair to Remember was one of the most popular films in the late 50s. This film displayed the story of a cursed romance between both Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, which was the result of an automobile accident. This accident delayed an important meeting at the top of the Empire State Building in New
York City. In addition, During the 1950s musical theatre remained favored. The Suburban Dream was the typical 1950s housewife, which would be considered a stereotype. There was also a development in children’s theatre, community theatre, and even university theatre. Surprisingly there are some popular theatrical pieces that are still enjoyed today, which include Grease, which is about the school year for a group of bobby soxers and greasers. Also Peter Pan, which is about Wendy and her brothers being taken to Neverland, a magical world, by Peter Pan. 8
Culture:
Most people may think that the 50s were simple because it was in between two of the most dramatic periods in the United States’ history, but the 50s was anything but that. To begin, The United States was the world’s toughest military potential. The economy was prospering greatly, which lead to the invention of new cars, the availability of a greater amount of consumer goods, and the construction of new suburban houses. Moreover, there was a great birth rate increase, which was later dubbed “baby boom”. The baby boom began in the early 50s and lasted more than an era. Some connoisseurs have argued that it there was a baby boom due to the fact that people desired normality after 16 long years of having to deal with both depression and war. On the other hand, other argue that it was all a part of a Cold War campaign with the goal being to fight communism by outnumbering them. Although this was a magnificent era, it was also an era of great disputes. Not to mention the fact that the combination of both the budding civil rights movement and the campaign against communism all over lead to the concealed division in American society. Finally, the prosperous 50s then helped generate a stable society, which included contentment and consensus in America.
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Sports Sports in the 1950’s were as popular as ever. Baseball and Boxing were huge while football and golf were on the rise. The Yankees dominated the decade with an astounding 6 out of 10 world series. The Cleveland Browns, surprisingly also dominated because as of today they are the worst in the league. Rocky Marciano and Floyd Patterson battled throughout the decade to see who was the best. But Rocky Marciano had an undefeated run between 1952-1956. Football was switched around because today Pro football is a lot more popular than college and in the 50s college was a lot more popular due to the Rose Bowl. One Rose Bowl between Ohio State and Oregon attracted 100,000 fans. Some major athletes during the time that were famous and popular even today include Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Jim Brown, and Otto Graham.
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Music: Music in the 50s drastically changed, but societal norms from the past were held on to. The 50s music changed affected the music for the past few decades. The music of this decade reflected the racial tensions which were being strained due to the start of the Civil Movement. Both R&B and Rock ‘n’ Roll universalized black
music, which led to the success of many African-Americans, but not everything was lovely for the African-Americans, at the same time, some African-Americans were either forgotten or were not let into the audience due to segregation. At the same time many believed that white artists took pieces from black people, publishing them as their own for their own benefits. On the other hand, it was also believed that the universality of both R&B and Rock ‘n’ Roll only helped the civilization by furthering the civil rights movement. But not only did they do that, but they also lead the way for the music in the future.
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Lifestyle: During the 50’s America had the strongest military in the world. The economy was booming, and many more productions and goods were available such as some things like cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods. But even though all of this stuff sounded good, the 1950s were also an era of great conflict. For example, the nascent civil rights movement and the crusade against communism at home and abroad exposed the underlying divisions in American society.
Another prominent event during this decade was the baby boom. 4 million babies were born every year in the 50’s. This was also a great time of segregation. One example of discrimination was in 1954 when the Supreme Court ruled that there would be different schools for blacks and whites. Rosa Parks also protested and refused to sit in the back of the bus. This event was known as the Montgomery bus boycott.
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Government & Politics: During the 50’s a major event called the Space Race started between the US and the Soviet Union. The SOviet Union started of to a quick start by launching Sputnik which was the first satellite in space. But soon, the US had the first men on the moon. They were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the President during this time. He served from 1953-1961. Eisenhower was a republican.
He eased the tensions of the Cold War greatly and was victorious in Europe during World War 2. A cool fact is that right before his second term he had a heart attack but quickly recovered and was reelected for his second term. Eisenhower was one of the most popular presidents of the 20 century. He did have his downfalls though. People thought he was a great general but not so much of a politician.
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Law and Justice:
The police force strengthened in the 1950s and some people think this is what caused the increase in crime rate. More of the crimes were also committed by gangsters. The government and the gangsters were going at it during the 50’s. There were many popular gangs in New York City and East Harlem. Many lawyers in the 1950s would avoid trial work in order to work on higher paying and higher publicized cases. Also, only 8 states had public defenders for the poor who could not afford their own lawyers.
Police corruption was also popular and this made people wonder if they could trust the police. This sort of thing sounds similar today as we always see police brutality and white police officers shooting black people. The courts were also very biased towards the rich and whites and showed little to no respect or justice towards the poor and the blacks. This was also a very racist and segregated time where blacks were still treated unjustly.
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Foreign Affairs: As the 1950’s drew near, Harry S Truman, the current president, was under stress. The Arms race was currently underway, and the Russians had recently tested an atomic bomb in the summer of 1949, and it was a huge success. Truman had no choice but to then re-think his national security plan. And so, in January of 1950 decided to counter the Soviets with a much bigger bomb by approving of the National
Security Council 68 (NSC-68), this re-evaluated US military strategy and further brought the US into the war with the USSR, and further bringing us into the Arms Race with Russia, beginning the Cold War, that would extend for over a decade. During 1951, the United States entered the Korean War as a result of North Korea attacking South Korea and enforcing communism. Douglas MacArthur, wanted a very aggressive approach to the war and requested that Truman bomb North Korea. MacArthur assured Truman that the Chinese would not get involved, but after they did, and American forces were pushed back, MacArthur was fired by Truman. The Korean War also went on for another decade, but since Truman was seen as soft on communism, he was viewed negatively and he decided not to run for a 3rd 20 term.
Foreign Affairs: Once Eisenhower was elected to the Presidency, he immediately began to work on AmericanRussia relations, as he did not trust the Soviets. 1955 marked the first time a President had met with a Russian premiere to discuss “peaceful coexistence” since WWII ended in 1945. He then authorized the CIA to conduct secret aerial missions to spy on the Soviet Union. Eisenhower authorized many missions by the CIA, as he could use them to help topple governments, and on top of that, deny he was a part of it. He was also part of the Suez Canal crisis in the Middle East. The Eisenhower Doctrine came about as a result of the Suez Canal being nationalized by Nasser, President of Egypt, against the wishes of Great Britain, and France as well. This Doctrine increased the President’s power to give aid to countries in the Middle East. In 1955, the US Government gives
aid and supports Diem in establishing a non-communist government in South Vietnam.
Eisenhower viewed this as easing Cold War tensions, but in hindsight, it would entangle the US in the Vietnam War for years to come, starting conflict outside America and within, as well. During his Farewell Address, he warned the American people to watch out for “the military/ industrial complex”. He said it was necessary to keep the peace, 21 but warns of the power.
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Domestic Affairs:
Since the Korean War affected the American Economy, President Truman hopes that a government intervention would help stabilize the wages and prices of the economy and help credit. Lots of people, however, criticized the intervening of the government and their control, but Truman kept this system and ignored feedback. in January 1950, the British government had arrested Klaus Fuchs, a German émigré scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb.
This was important because this was linked to the Cold War that was taking place, and because of the information given to them by Klaus, the US had found out that the Soviet Union had created an atomic bomb, which the US didn’t think they’d be able to create. The Red Scare of communism then rose in America, as well as the rise of MCcarthyism, where people would accuse many others of being a communist for not agreeing with entirely democratic law, causing much political confusion. Truman was forced to publicly announce the fake accusations and put the 23 confusion to a rest.
Domestic Affairs: Although Truman left behind a bumpy road of the dangers of the Cold War in the 1950’s, people remember Eisenhower’s presidency as the “happy days”, as the big boom in the economy arrived due to the popularity of the Television, radios and small pastime objects such as hula hoops. Not only this, but younger audiences wore the latest fashion in this era, and went to drive in movie theaters to watch a movie from their car. However, with the economy came other spending and infrastructural problems that Eisenhower faced to maintain the economy. In polls
Conducted by the media had shown that 70% of people had agreed with Eisenhower’s policies, but he still had harsh critics. Republicans also wanted Eisenhower to use his power to get rid of Truman’s “Fair Policy”, but instead Eisenhower kept the policy and created the Social Security Act, raised the minimum wage and created the Department of Health, Department of Education and the Department of Welfare.
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Tic-Tac-Toe the famous game in the 50’s
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Works Cited: -
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The People History -- Steve Pearson. Clothes and men's and ladies fashions in the 1950's prices and examples. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2017. "Film History of the 1950s." An Award-winning, Unique Resource of Film Reference Material for Film Buffs and Others, with Reviews of Classic American-Hollywood Films, Academy Awards History, Film Posters. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2017. Jfox@siouxcityjournal.com, JOANNE FOX. "'Grease' celebrates the 1950s." Sioux City Journal. N.p., 07 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 May 2017. "Peter Pan (1953)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 16 May 2017. The People History -- Steve Pearson. "Music Played in the 1950's Popular Music From the 50s." 1950's Music played in the 50's Bands groups singers from The People History. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2017. Daal, Alexandra. “Law and Justice in the 1950s.” Prezi.com, 9 May 2014, prezi.com/mkcyfjmrteht/law-and-justice-in-the-1950s/. Accessed 16 May 2017. “Dwight D. Eisenhower.” The White House, The United States Government, 8 Mar. 2017, www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/dwightdeisenhower. Accessed 17 May 2017. History.com Staff. “The 1950s.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/1950s. Accessed 16 May 2017. ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupNa me=Reference&zid=45ebd80ba953e163c655225d83f816a0&p=UHIC%3AWHIC&action=2&catId =&documentId=GALE%7CCX3436900309&source=Bookmark&u=fair67600&jsid=4dee3a8f8d05 5420ee269b36342e72ce. “Sports in the 1950s.” RetroWaste, www.retrowaste.com/1950s/sports-in-the-1950s/. Accessed 16 May 2017. Shmoop Editorial Team. "The 1950s." Shmoop. Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 18 May 2017. History.com Staff. "The 1950s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 18 May 2017. History.com Staff. "Baby Boomers." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 18 May 2017. In Context, U.S History . "The 1950s Education: Overview." Gale U.S History. UXL American Decades, 2003. Web. "Harry S. Truman: Foreign Affairs." Miller Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017. (IACP), Lynne Olver. Food Timeline: Food History Research Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017. N.p., n.d. Web. "Harry S. Truman: Domestic Affairs." Miller Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017. 26