Download Benson APUSH Unit 10 American Society at Midcentury The

Benson
APUSH
Unit 10
American Society at Midcentury
The Economic Miracle the 1950s and early 1960s saw booming economic growth. The
prosperity was certainly not distributed equally, but it did affect most of society.
1. Government spending, particularly Cold War military expenditures, supported economic
growth as did the $100 billion interstate highway program
2. The baby boom meant increased consumer spending
3. The rapid growth of the suburbs supported construction growth and automobile sales
4. The West grew dramatically due largely to New Deal programs and WWII defense
industries
5. The Federal Reserve carefully monitored interest rates and the government regulated tax
rates to further stimulate the economy and cure recessions
6. Wide-scale corporate and agricultural growth took place. Corporations made concessions
to large labor unions known as the “post-war contract.” This air of cooperation also led
to the unification of the AFL-CIO in 1955.
7. Unions made some strides, but membership remained stagnant due to the Taft-Hartley
Act and state right-to-work laws.
The Explosion of Science and Technology —The atomic age saw an unprecedented
explosion of technology.
1. Medical breakthroughs: antibiotics such as penicillin; antiseptics to prevent infection;
vaccines for smallpox and typhoid; Dr. Salk’s polio vaccine in 1954
2. Pesticides: DDT used by the military, long-term toxic effects were unknown
3. Consumer electronics: TV introduced in the 1940s; color TV introduced in the 1950s
4. Computer technology: UNIVAC and IBM data processors
5. Bombs, rockets, & missiles: 1952= The hydrogen bomb; early intercontinental
ballistic missiles introduced (ICBMs)
6. The space program
The Affluent Society--One of the most notable social developments of the post-war era was
the rapid expansion of the middle-class their consumer culture.
1. What factors helped fuel the consumer culture of the 1950s?
2. The new interstate highway system and the proliferation of automobiles changed the
American landscape and culture. Identify several specific examples.
3. What was a “Levittown” and how did it symbolize an unprecedented demographic shift?
4. Explain the prevailing gender role for women in the 1950s. How did Dr. Spock’s Baby
and Child Care reinforce these expectations?
5. What were the social consequences of television in the 1950s?
6. Who was the Beat Generation (a.k.a. the beatniks) and what did they criticize? Identify
two prominent beat authors and their works.
7. What are the roots of rock-n-roll music? What audience did it appeal to? Identify two
prominent rock-n-roll musicians of the 1950s.