Happy+Days?

That's a great question, don't you think? We will answer it in class on Thursday in a (hopefully) fun activity, but to prepare, we should do a little background reading and watching. R**ead "The Fifties" in __Creating America__ (28-3, pp. 800-803), read over the ABC-CLIO links posted below, and w****atch the videos below.** 
 * FOR HOMEWORK, CREATE A LIST (IN YOUR ONLINE NOTEBOOK) OF POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES CONCERNING LIFE IN THE FIFTIES FOR CLASS ON THURSDAY. WE WILL USE IT TO WRITE SOME DIALOGUE ...**

[|The Cold War at Home] / [|The Economy Booms] / [|The Sky is the Limit] / [|Boom-Time for Babies and Houses]

Positives

- Many Americans lived in suburbs, and shops and businesses moved there as well - Eisenhowever pleased the public; he pleased business leaders and conservatives without upsetting moderates and liberals - Expanded social security and increased minimum wage for workers - Created Departnment of Health, Education, and Welfare - Booming Economy - Baby boom, increase in U.S. birthrate following WWII - Car sales exploded- in the suburbs owning a car was a necessity - Women were praised for their roles as homemakers - New electronics led to an eeconomic boom; goods included dishwashers, washion machines, vacuum cleaners, televisions, tape recorders, and lawn mowers - Shows such as I Love Lucy became popular, entertaining families on their television sets - Elvis Presley became popular with songs such as Heartbreak hotel - Veterans went to college on GI Bill

Negatives

- Fear of communism - One out of every five Americans lived in poverty - Fewer people lived in cities - Many Mexicans crossed the border illegally- they received low wages and endured difficult living and working conditions - People felt pessure to fit into suburban life.Many felt pressured to agree with the beliefs and ideas of the majority - Many women felt bored and isolated as homemakers. When women worked out of the hosue, they usually worked in nursing, teacher, or office work - Movie attendance plummeted as more and more people stayed home to watch TV - Housing shortage- with soldiers coming home, marrying, and having kids there were not enough houses to buy - Many African Americans and other minorities weren't welcomed in suburbs - Separate but equal was still the case, however, many places were NOT equal - Public schools struggled with record attendance levels - When the baby boomers retired, social security was expensive leading to national de bt