The 1950s were a remarkable time in the history of the United States of America. Many of the events that occurred during this time inspired and molded the future of an entire generation.
The economy was booming, bringing millions of Americans into the middle class. Government, Business, and Unions worked together to keep the economy going, but I believed the biggest force in the economy in the 1950s decade is the consumers. “Consumer Culture” is a culture where consuming goods become a marker of social states and a way of creating meaning in the people’s lives. The demand of the consumers created many jobs for people. As a result there were millions of things the United States produced, and abundance of things to buy. America had the newest, coolest, popular car out like the Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford Thunderbird. America also produced the wristwatch, TVs, and the famous, girly toy in the world-the Barbie Doll. The best part was credit cards were invented around this time allowing consumers to buy now, and pay off later.
Now with the economy going so great, there was a high cost in demand allowing jobs to be formed. Blue Color Jobs were people who are plumbers, bus-drivers, cab-drivers, warehouse workers and construction workers. White Color Jobs were people who are accountants, sales representatives and mid-management positions. In the 1950s women were the housewife and mostly stayed at home. However, in the late 50s women started to have jobs mostly like being teachers, nurses, stewardess, and secretaries.
In 1950 the gross national product (also known as GNP) had $284.6 billion dollars; the US was by far the largest economy in the world! By the end of the decade the GNP stood at $482.7 billion dollars.
The 1950s played a huge role in segregation. “Separate but equal” was a famous quote to allow segregation seem okay. In truth, African Americans were always separate but never equal. However, in 1948 armed services were