1950s Entirely Era

502 Words3 Pages
Up front, Halberstam seems correct in saying that the 1950s was an “orderly era.” There were many good feelings towards the beginning of the decade however as the years progressed dissension became more and more apparent with events like the Little Rock Nine and the emergence of rock n roll. In the beginning of the decade it appeared that there was little social dissent. People dressed carefully and conservatively; men wore suits and ties and women wore dresses. Young people seemed normal and largely accepting of the current social standards of the time period. It was as if everything was perfect. There were many reasons for this; the biggest of which was that this time period was in the wake of the Depression and WWII. People were eager to…show more content…
You have the extreme rise of household debt due to the idea of Keeping up with the Joneses which caused many Americans to believe that if they did not have as good of a television or vehicle or some other piece of technology than that of their neighbor then they were failing to provide as good of a lifestyle for their family. So due to this idea, Americans quickly began to consume way above their means causing a rapid rise in the average amount of debt for the typical household. Teens began to be seen as more dissenting with the popularization of Rock n Roll and changing styles and overall people, especially minorities, became resentful of the current social standards towards women and blacks and other minorities. This tension at home lead to civil rights movements and women’s rights movements. Along with these domestic issues America also had to deal with looming threat of not just communism from states like the Soviet Union and China but the threat of nuclear warfare. The 1950s have existed as a decade masquerading as an era of order and tranquility at home, a decade that represents the American dream. In reality these ten years were anything but. In this decade existed racial and gender tensions so high that it caused a movement along with the omnipresent threat of communism in the second red scare. If judgement had to be made on the 1950s then it should be said not that it was “an orderly era” as Halberstam
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