The 1950

1
The 1950s
2
50s - Growth of the Suburbs

• The interstate highway system led to the growth
  of suburbs
• People commuted to cities to work and returned
  home to the suburbs by car
• Levittown NY was the first planned suburb in the
  US

3
50s - The GI Bill

• Veterans of WW II were promised loans for
  housing and schools
• Many WWII soldiers went back to school and bought
  homes in the suburbs

4
50s - Jobs

• The 1950s was a time of economic growth
• Blue collar laborers worked in the automobile and
  steel industries
• White collar office jobs, in sales and
  management, grew even more quickly than blue
  collar jobs.

5
50s - Role of Women

• After the WW II many women left the factories and
  returned to the home, working in traditional
  jobs as homemaker, mother and wife

6
50s - Baby Boom

• From 1945 until 1961 there was a boom in the
  number of children born
• 65 million children were born, one every 7 seconds

7
50s - Consumer Goods

• People had more income in the 1950s than in the
  Depression and War.
• People purchased autos, refrigerators, washing
  machines, vacuum cleaners and other household
  appliances in great numbers

8
50s - Bomb Shelters

• The US and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear
  arms and space race
• People built bomb shelters to protect themselves
  from a Soviet attack.

9
50s - Rock n Roll

• Rock n Roll was the new type of music of the
  50s
• Elvis Presley and other Rock n Roll stars drew
  from African American Rhythm and Blues roots