Conformity In 1950S

737 Words3 Pages
Was the 1950s truly the Decade of Conformity? During the 1950s, conformity was common; conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Many social and political factors occurred during the 50s such as McCarthyism, Brown vs. Board case, Suburbia, and television. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large level. It became clear through the average of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s. Conformity was not the true decade of conformity but mainly for whites they were living the so called American dream; minorities seemed to be shut out from the emerging American Dream. McCarthyism, a campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy, scared many Americans during the 1950s to speak for themselves, therefore they feared of standing out as a communist. As a result of McCarthyism, America in the 1950s were overwhelmed by a suppressing conformity. America's democratic institutions and basic civil and political rights were violated. McCarthyism led to conformity because no one wanted to be accused of being a communist. Poverty rates for African Americans were in general twice those of their white counterparts. Segregation in the schools, the lack of political voices and longstanding prejudices hushed the economic advancement of many African Americans. Black students were required to attend to colored schools which were often poorly funded and poorly equipped with learning materials. This was because poorer areas of town did not supply the same amount of tax dollars as did the more
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