Life in the U.S. and Throughout the World in the 1950s Was In a State of Flux
Life in the U.S. and throughout the world in the 1950s was in a state offlux. It was anything but stable and quiet. Rather, it was a time ofchange, rock and roll and international instability. The United States was undergoing a new "look." Tract homes as thoseconstructed in Levittown, Long Island, introduced the world of suburbia,and families started to make their way from urban to the once rural areas.This move was furthered by the expansion of the nation's interstate highwaysystem and the affordability and need for an auto
Intermixed with the sitcoms was coverage of the Civil RightsMovement, launching of satellites, and Joseph McCarthy's hearings. Speed andefficiency also started to become part of the American way with the firstMcDonald's restaurant that served fast-prepared food. The music dramatically changedthe mode of entertainment and began (although introduced by white artists)bringing black music into the Anglo world. Instead of a "quiet" time, the '50s was actually a busy transitionalperiod. These threeadditions, suburbia, highway efficiency and an emphasis on fast servicetransformed the country and continue this day to epitomize the Americanway. The country was readying itself for the political and socialturmoil to come in the 1960s. However, teenagers everywhere could not get enough of ElvisPresley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. Bomb shelters and school drills with students cramped under deskswere the norm. Meanwhile, the latest national and international news was enteringsuburbia through the ever-increasing numbers of television sets in areahouseholds. The threat of Communism stillprevails, but more worrisome is the threat of terrorism, where bombshelters and drills are not the answer. The TV also brought the events of war into the household-both the"hot" ones occurring throughout the world and the Cold War with theSoviets. No one who listens to music onthe radio today can say that this time period did not leave an indeliblemark on society.
Common topics in this essay:
Lee Lewis,
Soviets Bomb,
American McDonald's,
Levittown Island,
,
Joseph McCarthy's,
Rights Movement,
bomb shelters,
throughout world,
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