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A Changing Society

A Changing Society As time goes by change is almost inevitable among a nation. Change has occurred throughout history due to specific events that have a ripple effect upon individuals. Whether the change is a result of advancing technology, social reform, or foreign influence there is little chance of preventing the effect it will have on society. After World War II and the return of soldiers to their families there was a belief that the American society had fallen into a routine of bland conformity. Under Eisenhower ,during the 1950s, there was a belief that life had taken on a role of security and stability. The home was believed to be a safe haven due to the turbulence of the last two decades. The treat of communism encouraged people to stay home and become the ideal family. This ideal family was one that was characterized by the traditional gender roles of the wife raising the kids and the husband making the money. This was an idea of domesticity that was put upon society by itself. This idea of domesticity was considered the ideal suburban lifestyle of which all families were judged by. This ideal lifestyle was just that "an ideal", beneath this dream family lay reality. The 1950s is not a decade of simplicity and blandness as everyone is led on to believe, but instead it was a time of constant change and rebellion. During the 1950s economic growth was prospering and growing. With higher employment and incomes, people were spending more money. Due to this increase in spending stores began offer credit cards, which soon led to increased debt among Americans. By the 1960s over 10 million people owned credit cards, bringing the private debt from $73 billion to $200 billion in ten years.(Present Tense 111) The increase in spending led to the expansion of businesses across the nation. Products such as plastics, drugs, fast food chains, and retail stores began to prosper. While traditional products like iron, steel, and textiles were shrinking in size due to lack of need. Technological advances were causing people to buy the new and throw out the old. This led to a decline in large scale manufacturing, and an increase in retail and service position jobs.(Present Tense 112) There was a superficial belief that during the 1950s the family was this perfect entity that was founded on traditional gender roles. This belief was enforced through television shows, newspapers, religious leaders, and school. Television shows, such as, I Love Lucy, Leave It To Beaver, and The Waltons, all depicted this perfect image of the household wife and working father. This was a distorted vision of reality because it did not deal with everyday problems that the typical family would encounter. Yet the family strived to fulfill this belief of the traditional American family. Since this image was engrained in many women, they began having more children and were marrying younger. During this period there was a baby boom that continued until the 1960s. Even though women were having more children, and there was this ideology of the perfect family, more women were entering the workplace. Most women did not just sit at home and care for the kids. In fact, one third of all women worked for wages, and during the 1950s there was an increase in female employment from 16.5 million to 23 million. (Present Tense 113) Yet during this era the belief was women stayed home with the kids, which was not the reality of the family. Music during the 1950s was responsible for cultural change among Americans. During this era the birth of rock and roll developed within the record industry. This new age music appealed to the younger generation of white youth, which encouraged the record industry to find more recording artists. The music that was popular was "race music" or more commonly called R&B, which was the style of music taken from African-American artists. Artists like Elvis Presley helped to get African-American artists accepted by the white community due to the style of music he played. This acceptance of black singers was a huge step in leading up to the civil rights movement. Education was constantly changing during the 1950s. More working-class children were attending high school. More blacks and hispanics were attending public schools due to the migration of minorities to urban areas. (Present Tense 118) Schools were becoming more culturally diverse, which was creating tension among the nation. This tension was a result of the combination of outward suburbanization, and more diversity among the students. This cultural integration was creating difficulty in teaching education to such a wide range of children. Besides the change in local schools, more children were being encouraged to attend college. This increase in college attendance was a result of more money among families, The GI Bill, and the growing number of campuses available for students. Many people believe the civil rights movement and civil liberties took place entirely in the 1960s, but it was during the 1950s that the tension began to escalate. During the 1950s whites were immigrating to the suburbs, and at the same time blacks were moving into the urban areas once occupied by whites. The inner cities were now mostly black and the suburbs were almost entirely white. Schools had become more segregated and integration was declining. This created severe racial segregation and soon a build up of tension was brewing. This tension came to attention when Rosa Parks boycotted her seat on the bus in 1955. From this point on the civil rights movement was in full effect. From the latter half of the fifties to the sixties the movement for ending discrimination was being pursued. Under Eisenhower this country appeared to be this bland society where family life fit this ideal role of domesticity, and security along with stability was the image of the society. Religion, family values, and prosperity were the apparent goals of the typical 1950s family. Underneath this belief lay reality of a nation that was constantly changing and undergoing a radical cultural shift. More women were entering the workplace, contradictory to belief of staying home with the children. There was an increase in higher education attendance due to funding and more money among families. The fifties was also a time of suburbanization among white Americans, and urbanization of blacks. The 1950s only had the image of being bland, the truth was it was a time of social ferment. The fifties set a basis for which the sixties relied upon. The civil rights movement began in the fifties, but the results did not occur until the sixties. Contrary to popular belief the 1950s and 1960s were both decades of constant change and rebellion. There was nothing bland about this period of time of technological advances and social reform. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1199