In the post-war society of the 1950s, life in America became focused around the family. Soldiers who were returning home from overseas were eager to start families and settle down in the newly-created suburbs and Levittowns. Teenagers were hungry for a society of their own. Racial discrimination was also present in the 1950s, the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement that took the 1960s by storm.
The 1950s weren't all just "Happy Days" and "I Love Lucy" like it has been described. We're going to take you back in time and tell you about our lives as adults in a suburban society in the 1950's.
Hi, my name is Jane Smith. I live in a new suburban area with my husband John and our two kids, John, Jr. and Sally. I am a housewife. I cook, clean, and do what I can to keep my family happy. Thanks to new household inventions such as the dishwasher, electric refrigerator, electric mixer, and Pyrex, and the microwave, cooking is a breeze. With the invention of the TV Dinner, we are able to spend time together around the television set. Take a look at this video for a better look into my life in the 1950s.
Hello there, my name is John Smith. You've already met my wife, Jane. I work in a law firm. I love my family and my job. My family and I are living the so-called "American Dream". The American Dream is, more or less, the potential for everyone to achieve and find success. I have come to agree with an idea created by John Kenneth Galbraith, in which he says we live in an "affluent society." Watch this video and see more about my life.
Hi, I am a friend of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and I am an African American who migrated here for work and to live the American Dream. But, because I am black, I do not have equal opportunities for the American Dream like the Smith's do. I came to America looking for this perfect opportunity, but just as George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi said, "soon the promised land... [became] an ugly nightmare of slum housing, joblessness, illiteracy, dysfunctional families, welfare dependency, street gangs, pervasive crime, and racism." The American Dream was most definitely a failed idea. Watch this video and see how other minorities were affected.https://www.showme.com/sma/embed/?s=vbkGlwu
Though the American dream had its amazing parts, overall it was a flawed idea. Many people gained opportunities from America's booming economy from the aftermath of WWII. Although this was a plus for the majority of those living in the 1950s, negatives took place also. The booming economy caused a great amount of migration to take place. Because of this move towards the imagined American promised land, the cities became overrun forcing minorities (immigrants) to the inner cities in slums living in poverty as the new suburbia was being created. Many immigrants were being segregated, as in all of our United States history. The American Dream was after all a flawed idea as it didn't create the option of a perfect life in everyone, only white Americans.
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