The 1950s

Levittown

 

The times of suburban growth was very much enhanced in the 1950s. The 50s were a time of prosperity and an increase of the industries in the United States. Levittown was major example of the times that were changing in the U.S. This country is becoming more of a family friendly place to live. Levittown is a place where majority of the houses in a neighborhoodare identical to each other. In these neighborhoods they created on average about 40 houes a day. This resulted in 17,000 very similar houses being created in about four years. The reason why these houses were built so fast was because of the use of an assembly line. The construction workers were able to use the assembly line for easier access to working on the house because one person would do something to each house and then another would do something else. This was a very efficient way to create what was known as Levittowns. For an example, one worker might do the frame of the house to each one on a street and the guy after he might be putting the siding on the house. Levittown is within the state of New York. This neighborhood became a model neighborhood for the United States. This started as a low-cost, mass produced housing and ended up being one of the most famous suburban areas in the country. This allowed an increase in population because more people were able to have children after the war. The housing increased due to the "Baby Boom", which was a mass increase in the population. A major positive about the growth of suburbs was the close distance to the city. This short distance allowed many to live in the suburbs while still able to work in the city. In the 1950's, about 1/3 of all Americans lived in the suburban area. One downfall of the suburbs and the Levittown idea that the price of living there was only realistic for the white portion of the population. Minorities were not able to live in these suburbs and towns because they were not able to afford with the type of jobs they had. African Americans were majorly segregated from the suburbs because in these towns it was mostly a white community. Also, at this time segregation was a major problem in the United States. They were not able to afford these types of housing with the income they had. African Americans had to stay in the crowded cities unlike whites. In current times, the Levittown styles of homes have been remodeled or expanded. Houses are expanded due to the fact of the increasing growth of a family's size. Children in times of today have increased due to a two person income. In the 1950's, the men would bring home the money while the mother would stay home with the children, clean and cook. However, that has changed drastically. Suburbs still exist oday and they are most used type of family style living. Families today would not being living in suburbs if it were not for the development of Levittown in the 1950's. 

 

Interstate Highway Act

 

The Interstate Highway Act is also commonly known as the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. This act is very important to how the world travels today. It created the interstate highway system of the United States. The highway is used every day by everyone to travel from one place to another. This is how people were able to drive to work, be able to travel, go to school and live their daily life. Earlier in history, Franklin D. Roosevelt with his New Deal programs tried to create a highway, but it was not working out well for the United States. It took a very long period of time for FDR to actually make the plan into action. The war with Europe put a hold on the highway construction. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower came int office; he wanted to focus his attention to the highway problem in the U.S. He quoted that, "...protect the vital interest of every citizen in a safe and adequate highway system," was very important to him as a president. Eisenhower saw the struggles that FDR had earlier in time and wanted to make it better for the United States. The Congress of the United States was hesitant about passing the bill for a highway act. The main controversy of the topic was through the appointment of the fundign between Federal government and state government. The state government did not want to pay the money to fund the highway because it was going to spill over around multiple states throughout the United States. The federal and state government would have to share the cost, however that would be hard to control over time. During his union address, Eisenhower renewed his call for a modern interstate highway act. Congress had thought about this proposition for a few months and then it was emerged into the Federal Interstate Highway Act of 1956. This bill was passed into the House Senate conference committee. The highway was expanded from 9,000 miles to 41,000 miles of highways. The cost of this act was 25 billion dollars. As the interstate was being built, Eisenhower became very sick and had to sign the bill into a law. There were many problems that had occured while creating the road system that the United States had to face with. Only about 24 percent of the federal roday system was adequate for present traffic conditions. In the year 1954, it was a prime to have Eisenhower focus on the highway problems of the United States. The 1954 bill authorized $175 million for the interstate system, to be used on a 60-40 matching ratio. The formula represented a compromise: one-half based on population and one-half based on the Ferdeal-Aid primary formula. This was compromised of one-third on roadway distance, one-third on land area and one-third on population. If it was not fo the Interstate Highway Act, we would not have the road system we have today. Also, in the 1950's if the highway was not built, it would have been very difficult for families to travel and go to places they need to go to. 

 

New Industries

   

Throughout the decade of the 1950s, many new industries were growing. The growth of the industries allowed the economy to be stimulated. There were a diverse amount of industries in The United States at this time. The automobile industrymajorly increased in the 1950s. The amount of cars that Americans had nearly doubled since the 1920s. This industry grew greatly because of the interstate highway act was being constructed. Also, because many families were moving out of the city and into the suburbs. A family car was necessary in the 1950s. The car industry also increased the creation of other businesses. The drive - in movie theater was a booming succuess in the 1950s. This type of entertainment hub became much more popular than it was in the 20s. Automobile sales increased other businesses profits as well as their own. Families were traveling more with their cars, so when they needed a place to sleep they had many hotel chains open up. For an example, Holiday Inn recieved its start in the 1950s. Another, major industry creation was the shopping mall. The shopping mall increased convience for many americans. By the end of the 50s, there were 1,800 shopping malls developed. Fewer and fewer people didnt find a need to go into the inner city because of the convience of the shopping malls. This development lead to a decrease of people in the city at night. The world famous, Mcdonalds, was started in the 1950s. This operation was very famous for its 15 cent hamburgers. Currently, in the 2000s, Mcdonalds is a way of life for many people in the United Staes and all over the world. In 1954, businessman Ray Kroc purchased the franchise rights to an assembly-line hamburger operation that had been started in San Bernardino, California by Maurice and Richard McDonald. By the end of the 1950s, 50 milliion Mcdonalds hamburgers were sold. The 1950s were a time of great economic and industry growth. 

 

Baby Boom

 

    The baby boom happened after World War II. This was a time in history when the population tremendously increased because they were scared to see what will happen in the future with the wars. Around, 3.9 million babies were born in the middle of the 1950s. By the end of the baby boomer decade there were roughly 70 million babies born in the United States. The baby boomer population became about 40 percent of the nation's population. Many women during the 1950s were becoming house wifes in their early 20s. In this day in age we believe that 20s is too young, however back then this was the best time for women to starting having children. Everyone in the post war setting believed in the posperous future. That is why baby boomers were so popular in the 1950s after World War II. Corporations became larger because of the labor unions accepting the fact that there will be more pregnant women on the staff. The wages of the corporation worker beame more generous for the families. The baby boom was able to help the recesion because of the increase in consumer goods and families buying more goods for their bigger families. This climbed the United States out of a recesion and into a posperous time period. Many other businesses and entertainment came out of the baby boom age like the Mickey Mouse Club House for example. The boomers were a way for the United States to reach a high potential in the 1950s. The baby boomers were very popular in the 1950s time due to the fact of everything they did for the United States.