FYS The Fifties

“Critics found the formulaic patterns stultifying but the residents got exactly what they wanted: affordable, well-built, single-family houses.” (Dunar, 177) This quote describes the attitude towards Levittown in the nineteen fifties. Levittown, a creation of Abraham (the father), William and Alfred Levitt, were mass-produced houses in urban areas. The Levitts had come up with the idea and started planning the production before and during World War II. This worked out perfect because by the time the war had ended the Levitt’s had perfected their production techniques and the returning veterans provided them with a positive prospective market. Continue reading →

As many of us already know, babies born between 1946 and 1964 are referred to as baby boomers. The birth rate increased about twenty percent in each of these years and averaged around 3.4 million babies born per year. Until reading about this growing population in Martin’s book, I was unaware of why so many children were born. The end of World War II plays one of the biggest factors. Young couples waited until the soldiers returned home to get married and start a family. These couples were also much younger than women who had children previously were. Instead of starting to have children in their late twenties, couples would be as young as eighteen and already be married and have a child. Not only were they young, these couples had multiple babies in a short span of time. Continue reading →

The fictional cartoon character of Smokey Bear, sometimes called Smokey the Bear, is well known across the country. But where did this face come from? Why is he so recognizable among both adults and children? What was he created to do? Continue reading →

The 1950s are portrayed as one of the happiest decades in American history. What is happier than Disneyland? On July 17, 1955 in Anaheim, California Walt Disney opened his theme park that he had been envisioning for years. He came up with the idea for his park while sitting in boredom on park benches watching his two daughters ride on the carousal. Disney first imagined the park to be a small 8-acre park to add entertainment for the people who wanted to visit his movie studio. As he went to other parks and talked to designers, the ideas got bigger and more elaborate, enough to cover 160-acres of land. Continue reading →

There was a new fad that emerged in the 1950s and that fad was cars. Now that cars were being produced more frequently in America it became more affordable and more plausible for families to own cars. People were buying and using cars in new ways than they were in previous years. People could now go to the movies, to get food, and even go to church all without getting out of their car! Even the mail man could now come to deliver your mail without leaving his car due to the fact that mailboxes were starting to be conveniently located at the end of driveways at the same height as car windows. All of this made life more convenient for the people of the 1950s and increased the appeal of owning a car. Continue reading →

My understanding of this incredible group of students occurred in middle school when I was assigned to read Warriors Don’t Cry, written by Melba Patillo Beals. Melba was one of the students in this group of nine kids and in this book she provides a recount of her experiences being one of the first to integrate into the Little Rock Central High School in 1957. After reading this book it sparked my interest on this group and how the Brown vs. Board of Education case influenced this integration of this high school. Continue reading →

The 1950’s are a time period very well known because of the numerous historical events that took place. Advancements during the 50’s provoked an evolution in medical care. DNA was officially discovered and cigarettes were found to cause cancer. The first organ transplant was successfully performed in 1950 and the invention of the polio vaccine cured the polio epidemic of 1952. These medical advancements changed the way medicine was used to treat and cure patients from diseases that were not easily cured in the past. Continue reading →

Brown v Board of Education was a huge court ruling for the United States, which helped the civil rights movement and the way blacks were treated. This court ruling changed life in America, especially the South, as time would go on. During the time before the civil rights movements started the colored race was not treated even as close as good as the white race. The blacks were separated from whites in everything they did, including transportation, hotels, schools, and even drinking fountains. With this all of the accommodations for the whites were a lot better than those for the blacks. Continuing blacks were treated so badly that if they did anything questionable to a white they were persecuted and often times murdered. With this being said pre-Brown v Board of Education was a dark time in America and included much pain, agony and worry for the black race as a whole. Continue reading →

When one thinks of the culture of the 1950s, the first thoughts that usually come to mind entail the television, music, or clothes. Movies, however, at the beginning of the decade had become a dying breed that faced a drop in appeal. What could cause such a popular form of media that had previously been viewed as so alluring for years? The answer can be found in the very invention of the television, with which the public could easily find entertainment without leaving the comforts of their home and for no money. Film companies slowly began to lose money as their product was suddenly become less and less popular, and they needed to find a way to bring movies back into the eye of the public. Continue reading →

The 1950’s was the beginning of the large and countrywide movement that was the civil rights movement. At the tail end of the decade, more and more violence towards black people was occurring, leading to protests and changes. One small little girl that contributed to the movement was Ruby Bridges. Ruby Bridges, born on September 8, 1954, was the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school, William Frantz Elementary, in the south. She and her family lived in New Orleans, Louisiana. When she was six years old, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asked her parents if they would be interested in volunteering Ruby to participate in the integration that was occurring in the New Orleans school system. Ruby was one of six black children that passed the test that determined whether or not the back children be able to go to the white school. Ruby was assigned William Frantz Elementary School while the other selected African American children went elsewhere. Ruby’s father was reluctant in letting her go to an all white school, but her mother strongly believed that this was a step needed to give her daughter a better education and to take a step forward for all African American children. Continue reading →