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American Cultural History 1950-1959 By Peggy Whitley The end of World War II brought thousands of young servicemen back to America to pick up their lives and start new families in new homes with new jobs. With an energy never before experienced, American industry expanded to meet peacetime needs. Americans began buying goods not available during the war, which created corporate expansion and jobs. Growth everywhere. The baby boom was underway...
EVENTS AND TECHNOLOGY
ART & ARCHITECTURE "Painting is a state...self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is." Jackson PollockThere was a fresh artistic outlook after World War II ended and the artistic world reflected this outlook. Abstract expressionism (see glossary ) like Jackson Pollock , Barnett Newman , Willem de Kooning , Clyfford Still and Franz Kline received official recognition at the New York Museum of Modern Art . These artists, referred to as the New York School, were generally experimental. Other abstract artists rebelled against the self-absorption of the New York School and delved into existentialism. Mark Rothko used large scale color blocks to create an overpowering material presence. Painters like Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns , also abstract artists, did not want the viewer to rely on what he saw to interpret a painting.
BOOKS & LITERATUREAmerica had just begun her recovery from World War II, when suddenly the Korean Conflict developed. The USSR became a major enemy in the Cold War. Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to know that Communists had infiltrated the United States government at the highest levels. Americans were feeling a sense of national anxiety. Was America the greatest country in the world? Was life in America the best it had ever been? As the decade passed, literature reflected the conflict of self-satisfaction with 50's Happy Days and cultural self-doubt about conformity and the true worth of American values.
Science Fiction became more popular with the actual possibility of space travel, Ray Bradbury wrote The Martian Chronicles. Isaac Asimov wrote I, Robot, and other books about worlds to be discovered. Established authors continuing to write included Tennessee Williams -The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone; Robert Penn Warren -World Enough and Time; Carl Sandberg -Complete Poems; Herman Wouk -The Caine Mutiny; J. D. Salinger-The Catcher in the Rye; Truman Capote -The Grass Harp; John Steinbeck- East of Eden; Edna Ferber -Giant; James Michener -The Bridges of Toko Ri, Hawaii; Thomas Costain-The Silver Chalice; Eudora Welty -The Ponder Heart; William Faulkner -The Town.
Children's Book Award winners of the fifties:
EDUCATION During the fifties, American education underwent dramatic and, for some, world shattering changes. Until 1954, an official policy of " separate but equal " educational opportunities for blacks had been determined to be the correct method to insure that all children in America received an adequate and equal education in the public schools of the nation. In 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren and other members of the Supreme Court wrote in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that separate facilities for blacks did not make those facilities equal according to the Constitution. Integration was begun across the nation. In 1956, Autherine J.Lucy successfully enrolled in the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. In 1957, Elizabeth Eckford was the first black teenager to enter then all-white Little Rock Central High School ,Little Rock, Arkansas. Although integration took place quietly in most towns, the conflict at Central High School in Little Rock was the first of many confrontations in Arkansas which showed that public opinion on this issue was divided.Another crisis in education was uncovered by critics like Rudolph Flesch in his book Why Johnny Can't Read , who claimed that the American educational system was not doing its job. Other voices in the movement to revamp American schools were Arthur Bestor- Educational Wastelands, Albert Lynd- Quackery in the Public Schools, Robert Hutchins - The Conflict in Education, and Admiral Hyman Rickover- Education and Freedom.FADS & FASHION - these were a few of our favorite things. Perhaps one of the things which most characterizes the 1950's was the strong element of conservatism and anticommunist feeling which ran throughout much of society. One of the best indicators of the conservative frame of mind was the addition of the phrase "Under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Religion was seen as an indicator of anti-communism. Fifties clothing was conservative. Men wore gray flannel suits and women wore dresses with pinched in waists and high heels. French fashion designers such as Dior, Channel and Givenchy were popular and copied in America. Families worked together, played together and vacationed together at family themed entertainment areas like national parks and the new Disneyland. Gender roles were strongly held, girls played with Barbie dolls and Dale Evans gear, boys with Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett paraphernalia. Drive-in movies became popular for families and teens. Cars were seen as an indicator of prosperity and cool-ness. Highways were built to take people quickly from one place to another, by-passing small towns and helping to create central marketing areas or shopping malls such as Sharpstown Mall, Gulfgate Mall and Meyerland Plaza in Houston.Fashion successes were Bill Blass and his blue jeans, poodle skirts made of felt and decorated with sequins and poodle appliques, pony tails for girls, and flat tops and crew cuts for guys. Teenagers were defined as a separate generation and were represented by James Dean who wore blue jeans in Rebel Without a Cause and created a fashion and attitude sensation. Activities we liked were flying saucer watching , and watching and dancing to Dick Clark's American Bandstand . Fad hits with kids were toys like hula hoops and Hopalong Cassidy guns and western gear, Davy Crockett coon skin hats and silly putty . MUSIC
 When the 1950's are mentioned, the first type of music to come to most people's minds is rock 'n roll . Developed from a blend of Southern blues and gospel music with an added strong back beat, this type of music was popular with teenagers who were trying to break out of the mainstream conservative American middle class mold. Popular artists such as Bill Haley & his Comets, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis were promoted on radio by just as popular disc-jockeys (DJ's) like Alan Freed and the Big Bopper. The deaths of Lubbock singer Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper is still lamented by fans. The influence of these early rockers has been felt in popular music worldwide.TELEVISION Perhaps the most far reaching change in communications worldwide was the advancement in the area of television broadcasting. During the 1950's, television became the dominant mass media as people brought television into their homes in greater numbers of hours per week than ever before. In the early fifties, young people watched TV more hours than they went to school, a trend which has not changed greatly since that time. What was portrayed on television became accepted as normal. The ideal family, the ideal schools and neighborhoods, the world, were all seen in a way which had only partial basis in reality. People began to accept what was heard and seen on television because they were "eye witnesses" to events as never before (live TV) . Programs such as You Are There brought historical events into the living rooms of many Americans. The affect on print news media and entertainment media was felt in lower attendance at movies and greater reliance on TV news sources for information. And then, in 1954, black and white broadcasts became color broadcasts.Shows called " sitcoms " like The Honeymooners , , Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , and I Love Lucy featured popular characters whose lives thousands of viewers watched and copied. Families enjoyed variety shows like Disneyland and The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evenings. Daytime programs like Guiding Light, "soap operas" were popular and helped advertisers sell many products to the homemakers of America. News broadcasting changed from newsmen simply reading the news to shows which included videotaped pictures of events which had occurred anywhere in the world, and then to more and more live broadcasts of events happening at the time of viewing. This was made possible in 1951 with the development of coaxial cable and microwave relays coast to coast. When Edward R. Murrow began offering his weekly radio program (called "Hear It Now") on TV as "See It Now," the world of news broadcasting was irrevocably changed (eyewitness recounts the change) THEATER, FILM & RADIOWorks by well known dramatists still held audiences and won new admirers. Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman were written in the 40's but were still very popular in the 50's. Eugene O'Neill finished Long Day's Journey into Night in 1957. Williams wrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) and Baby Doll (1956) . Musicals were very well received. Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan won acclaim with South Pacific in 1950. One of the most emotionally charged plays of 1956 was The Diary of Anne Frank. Dance underwent change during this period. Martha Graham's work influenced dancers worldwide. In 1958, Alvin Ailey created the American Dance Theatre which featured all-black casts and dance styles that were culturally based and truly American in style. Radio's influence was still very great as is seen in the rapid growth of Rock 'n Roll . Music of Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole among others was listened to by people carrying small transistor radios . Music could be heard in any location because it was now portable.
People in the Fifties loved sports. More leisure time and greater general prosperity led to greater participation in athletic activities for the average person and added large numbers of fans to all types of sports. Unlike many areas of society in this decade, athletes were a diverse group. Popularity was not based on social status, but on the ability of the individual. All American sports such as baseball and football gave opportunities for the rise of stars like Jackie Robinson , Roy Campanella, Henry (Hank) Aaron, Juan Marichal, Jim Brown, and Frank Gifford. Great women athletes played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. As television became more popular and available, other sports found growing numbers of fans. College football was widely followed. Professional golf became very popular with stars like Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer helping to create the idea that to succeed in business, men needed to play golf. Women like Babe Zaharias-Didrikson created the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1950, so women were joining men on golf courses all over America. People watched the Olympics 1952 and 1956 , and in part due to the Cold War, rivalry between countries became very fierce. Track and field athletes like Bob Mathias (decathlon) and Bobby Morrow (relay) were favorites.Sports like tennis, basketball and boxing were also popular in the fifties. Althea Gibson was the first African-American to play in the U. S. Lawn Tennis Nationals at Forest Hills, NY. Major names in basketball were Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson and Dolph Schayes. Another favorite, boxing, gave opportunities to great athletes, Sugar Ray Robinson and Rocky Marciano. | |||||||||||||||
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III Part History of 1950's Rock And Roll: By Harry Hepcat Click Here | THE ROOTS OF DOO-WOP MUSIC: By Pete Chaston Click Here | ||||||||||||||
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Part of the 1950's boom in consumerism included housing. People could afford single family dwellings and suburbia was born. A small suburban community called 
Authors like Norman Vincent Peale ,