American Culture in The 50s and 60s

FC.
145A POSTWAR CONFORMITY & THE SEEDS OF DISSENT IN THE 1950S A
World War II (FC.135)
Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

growth, leisure & opportunities for
education & research
New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

spending to maintain the consumer econ:
Modern Supermarkets Mass media,
advertising  New ways esp. TV
Credit cards to shop & Pressure to
Easy buying consume give baby
Growing debt (FC.145B) boomers lots
problem in US of new stuff
Go from milit. Millions of new Kinsey reports Birth control

conformity to fam’s Need on sexual pill (1960) to
corporate homes behavior of relieve women
conformity Suburb. sprawl humans in poverty
Men feel Housewives More open Women less

trapped in feel isolated attitudes to fearful of
meaningless & trapped in sex (e.g., getting
jobs their lives Playboy) pregnant
Growing
Looser
anger vs.
sexual
conformity
standards
Beats & Rock Start of Civil

and Roll Rts movement
(FC.145C) (FC.146B)
Roots of social, cultural &

political dissent in 1960s
(FC.148)
Crabgrass Frontiers
"We are not builders. We are manufacturers." --Bill Levitt
As early as 1944, people foresaw the
coming housing shortage when the war
ended.
Reproduction poster or advertisement

addressing needs of returning WWII vets.
As early as 1944, people foresaw the
coming housing shortage when the war
ended.
Into the breach stepped William Levitt.
Reproduction poster or advertisement

addressing needs of returning WWII vets.
Before the suburbs there were the “urbs”.
By 1920, America had become an urban
nation where more than half its people
lived in communities of 2500 or more.
Many of them lived in urban tenements
such as the one nostalgically recalled in
Norman Rockwell’s painting on the left.
Norman Rockwell, Homecoming GI, 1945
Before the suburbs there were the “urbs”.
By 1920, America had become an urban
nation where more than half its people
lived in communities of 2500 or more.
Many of them lived in urban tenements
such as the one nostalgically recalled in
Norman Rockwell’s painting on the left.
This was before there was any stigma of
poverty associated with living in the city.
It was also before any urbanites had
anywhere else they could live that was
easily accessible to work. And it was
before there were enough cars to take them
between the two places.
Norman Rockwell, Homecoming GI, 1945
"Any fool can build homes—what counts is how many
you can sell for how little.”--William J. Levitt During the 1930s, the Levitts’ firm custom built a
few hundred houses a year, mostly on Long Island.
In 1941 it won a government contract to build
2200 defense housing units in Norfolk, Virginia.
Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a Fortune

Magazine feature story in 1952.
During the War, William Levitt served in the
Pacific in the Seabees (Naval engineering corps)
where he saw the possibilities of mass construction
of houses given cheap materials and labor and
proper organization.
Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a Fortune

Magazine feature story in 1952.
Rather than hiring expensive skilled workers who
built one house at a time, he broke the process of
building a house into 27 stages, each done by a
separate crew that focused on that one aspect of
the project and then moving on to the next house.
That way Levitt could create a virtual assembly
line of house building modeled after Henry Ford’s
assembly line.
Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a

Fortune Magazine feature story in 1952.
assembly line.
He could also use cheap unskilled workers who
only had to learn one narrow aspect of house
building.

assembly line.
He could also use cheap unskilled workers who
only had to learn one narrow aspect of house
building.
Best of all, it kept prices down.
Architect’s rendering of two versions of the 1947 Cape Cod built in Island Trees. Having only
two models made it easier and cheaper for Levitt’s crews to work quickly. Once the project was
in full production, Levitt was finishing 36 houses a day.
Levitt sacrificed individuality and custom design for low-cost efficiency. Still, his
Pennsylvania development featured six house models, each in several different styles
and model years. Levitt boasted that he had created "the least monotonous mass
housing group in the country."
Introduced in 1953, the
Rancher sold for $1,000 less
than the Levittowner and
included a second floor that
could be finished into an extra
bedroom. It proved especially
popular with couples planning
large families
The Jubilee debuted in 1954 to mark Levitt and Sons’ 25th anniversary and
proved an instant hit with consumers. The anniversary model included an
enclosed garage and an expandable second floor. A later version, the Jubilee
Jr., was identical to its predecessor except for the unfinished second floor.
Before and after shots of the potato fields on Long Island that became the Levitts’ first postwar
community, called Island Trees because of the two trees left at the entrance. It was later
renamed Levittown.
Using surrogate agents for his Pennsylvania Levittown, Levitt purchased a total of
5,750 acres, mostly farmland, from between 150-175 individual property owners
over several months in 1951. By buying his property "in one fell swoop," Levitt
hoped to avoid the piecemeal acquisitions that plagued the development of his
Long Island community.
While many supplies were shipped in, some materials were made on site. A
cement hopper and gravel pit set up in the Lakeside section produced
concrete for house slabs. After construction was completed, Levitt flooded
the pit to create a community lake.
To reduce his dependence on
middlemen, Levitt bought his own
lumber stands in California and
Oregon, invested in a lumber mill,
and established a centrally located
warehouse in Levittown. To
increase efficiency, pre-cut lumber
was bundled "combat loaded," with
pieces needed first at top, before
being trucked off to the site.
SLAB CONSTRUTION
Levitt was the first large-scale builder to construct houses on radiantly heated cement
slabs. By foregoing a dug-out basement, Levitt estimated he saved consumers $1,000
per dwelling. The practice caught on. By 1952, 25% of all new houses were
constructed on slab
Levittslabs just
waiting for someone
make them a home
Building materials, from siding to nails, were delivered in perfectly calibrated
house-sized amounts to each house site. Workers needed to do no
measuring or cutting. Interchangeable, standardized parts also cut costs.
A newly constructed housing section. During Levittown, Pa.’s first year, the company sold an
average of 1600 houses a month. During a typical closing, it was not uncommon to see 40 to 50
buyers settling simultaneously on their new homes.
Levittown, Pa., 1959
Levittowner Model #1
As with everything else, landscaping was standardized so that each lot received the
same allotment of shade trees, fruit trees, evergreens and perennials and flowering
shrubs. The final plan called for more than 400,000 plantings at a cost of $8,000,000.
Page from the home

owners manual
distributed by Levitt
and Sons, outlining
the "how-tos" of lawn
care.
George Ryan cartoon

published in the
Levittown Outlook,
spoofing Levittowners'
approach to lawncare.
Levitt supplied homeowners with detailed instructions on the care of lawn, plants and
shrubbery. The assumption was that most new homeowners—as lifelong city dwellers—
would have been unfamiliar with even the most basic aspects of horticulture. lots any
larger than that.
Page from the home

owners manual
and Sons, outlining
care.
George Ryan cartoon

published in the
Levittown Outlook,
Levitt supplied homeowners with detailed instructions on the care of lawn, plants and
shrubbery. The assumption was that most new homeowners—as lifelong city dwellers—
would have been unfamiliar with even the most basic aspects of horticulture.
While small by rural standards, Levittown's 7000 square foot lots seemed spacious to
city dwellers. Levitt believed that most homeowners would be unwilling to maintain lots
any larger than that.
Page from the home
owners manual
and Sons, outlining
care.
George Ryan cartoon

published in the
Levittown Outlook,
Picture Windows
Consistent with mid-century architectural design, Levitt incorporated windows and
natural light wherever possible. The Levittowner featured full-length or floor-to-ceiling
picture windows, in front and back, segmented into standard multiples.
A Levittroom (left) and and artist’s
sketch of what living in Levittown
would look like from the inside.
Expandable Attics
Carports and, in most later models, expandable attics, were promoted as ideal
"rumpus rooms" for children that could be finished at the leisure—and expense—of
individual homeowners
Kitchens
All Levitt houses featured modern kitchens complete with electric range, refrigerator
and other built-in accessories designed to take the labor out of housekeeping
Indoor/Outdoor Living
Most models featured large, sliding glass doors that opened on to an outdoor terrace
which could be finished into a livable patio space
To cut costs and add flexibility,
Levitt replaced conventional,
solid-wood closet doors with
Japanese manufactured bamboo
screens. Like all of his materials,
Levitt ordered the bamboo
screens in bulk—1,750,000
square feet of it in his initial
order. "The Japanese will learn
what it means to be touched by
Levitt," Fortune Magazine
quipped.
While most of Levitt's cost cutting

measures held up, some did not.
His tarpaper composition sewer
pipe saved money in the short run
but proved unstable. Homeowners
often were forced to pay
thousands of dollars to install
new, copper lines—generally after
Levitt's five-year warranty had
expired
Planning for Community
The basic planning unit for Levittown was the master block, a roughly mile-square area
that encompassed three to five variously sized neighborhoods, also known as
"sections." Each section contained on average between 300 and 500 houses.
Although the goal of Levittown was to house people, and lots of them, by arranging his
houses around neighborhoods drawn to human scale, Levitt hoped to create a small-
town feel.
In addition to houses, Levittown's master plan called for swimming pools, baseball
fields, churches, schools, and shopping centers. Levitt believed new homeowners
preferred a full-service community with "built-in" features—just like its houses.
Elementary schools were to be nestled inside each master block so that, in Levitt's
words, "no child will have to walk more than one half mile to school or cross any major
road.”
Levitt created the illusion of variety by alternating house angles, as revealed
in this aerial photo of Levittowner house slabs in the Stonybrook section.
Levitt also varied exterior house colors.
Levitt's plan included
Olympic-sized swimming
pools, Little League
baseball fields,
neighborhood parks, and a
multi-purpose community
building. An avid baseball
fan, Levitt even built a
regulation, major-league
field in the hopes of luring a
minor league team to
Levittown.
Many churches, like the one pictured, were centrally located along the Levittown
Parkway. Levitt donated the land for both churches and schools.
By building a few large, centralized shopping centers, Levitt hoped to avoid the
problems associated with haphazardly placed and often unsightly commercial strips.
Levittown's main shopping center was not only large—at the time, the biggest
shopping center east of the Mississippi—but also meticulously landscaped.
"Suburbia is becoming the most important single market in the country. It is the suburbanite who
starts the mass fashions—for children, … dungarees, vodka martinis, outdoor barbecues, functional
furniture, [and] picture windows … All suburbs are not alike, but they are more alike than they are
different." --William H. Whyte, author of the 1956 best seller, The Organization Man
Levittown, Pa.
"It is a one-class community on
a great scale, too congested for MR. LEVITT'S RESPONSE:
effective variety and too spread
out for social relationships… "What would you call the
Mechanically, it is admirably places our homeowners left
done. Socially, the design is to move out here? We give
backward." them something better and
something they can pay
Lewis Mumford, 1952 for."
Between 1950 and 1960, 20 million
people were drawn to mass housing
developments on the outskirts of
America's cities. In terms of sheer
numbers, the move to the suburbs
outstripped the fabled Westward
migration of the 1800s many times
over.
Suburbia cartoon. [Reprinted from

Electrical Merchandising, July 1957]
FC.145A POSTWAR CONFORMITY & THE SEEDS OF DISSENT IN THE 1950S A








Electron Frontiers:
The Birth of TV
If one thing came to increasingly define American culture in the 1950s, it was television. In
1949, there were only 3,602,872 sets in the US. In 1950 that number had nearly tripled to
9,734,872. By 1959, it had reached 67,145,000.
The first color TV broadcast was the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 1954
to 21 stations. At the time, there were only 200 experimental color sets able to view
it. By March there were 370 stations broadcasting in color, with 202 ready to start.
In April, RCA started selling color sets at $1,000 each (half the price of a car). One
year later, it had sold only 5,000 sets. But color was clearly the wave of the future.
What Things Cost in 1954:

Car: $1,950
Gasoline: 29 cents/gal
House: $17,500
Bread: 17 cents/loaf
Milk: 92 cents/gal
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Stock Market: 404
Average Annual Salary: $4,700
Minimum Wage: 75 cents per hour
1942 Philco Ad
Page 1
1943 Ad
1945
1945
1945
1945
One of the most popular TV
shows of the time was The
Wonderful world of Disney,
featuring such shows as Peter Pan
and Davy Crockett. Starting out in
the 1930s making Mickey Mouse
cartoons, Walt Disney cashed in
on TV, which helped sell tickets
to Disneyland, the first theme
park, and vice versa.
Other mainstays of TV programming in the 50s were game
shows, Superman, and for all those new babyboomers, kiddie
shows like Howdy Doody and Popeye, the foremost spokesman
for the spinach industry who, like Mickey Mouse, made the
successful transition from the movie theaters to TV.
Those Fadulous 50s


Poodle Mania!
While the French poodle has always been popular, in
the Fifties it was everywhere. There were ceramic
poodles, plastic poodles, pink poodles, white poodles,
black poodles. You could wear poodles, decorate with
poodles, store things in poodles, even throw your trash
in poodle wastecans.
Some of these items bore the label "Made in Occupied
Japan." After World War II we were fussy about what
we'd let Japan manufacture. In short, nothing that could
possibly be used for making war. The consequence?
Japan made lots of French poodles.
As if that wasn't enough, a poodle haircut was
prevalent. The best example of the poodle style is none
other than Lucille Ball, pictured below.
Coonskin Caps
Davy Crockett was our hero. And to prove it, we all went out and
bought 100 million dollars worth of raccoon caps in one year along
with capguns, wrist watches, books, moccasins, lunch boxes and
all manner of merchandise.
Fess Parker portrayed both Davy Crockett and later Daniel Boone
on TV. Many historians feel that this caused a permanent blurring
of the two real life men into one entity (Davy Boone, Daniel
Crockett?) forever making each less distinct.
What's curious about this is that Davy Crockett was only a five
episode adventure which aired as part of Disneyland in 1954 and
1955 and never got a series of his own. Like most fads that come
in with a vengeance, they tend to go out with the proverbial
whimper. Thus it was with Davy Crockett and the coonskin cap.
HULA HOOPS
Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, founders of
Wham-O, were the architects of the biggest fad of all time -
the hula hoop!
In 1957, an Australian visiting California told them, quite
casually, that in his home country, children twirled bamboo
hoops around their waists in gym class. Knerr and Melin
understood how popular such an item could be and made
one of Marlex, a lightweight but durable plastic then
recently invented by Phillips Petroleum.
The name "hula hoop" came from the Hawaiian dance its
users seemed to imitate.
Wham-O sold 25 million hula hoops in two months with
another 100 million international orders following. They
were manufacturing 20,000 hoops a day at the peak of
popularity.
Not all nations followed this fad. Japan banned the hoops
thinking they might promote improprieties. The Soviet
Union called the hula hoop an example of the "emptiness
of American culture”. The fad was short-lived. But Knerr
and Melin were already onto another hot idea: the frisbee.
Chlorophyll
In the 1950s it was widely believed that
chlorophyll, the stuff that makes plants green,
eliminated bad smells. So they added it to every
kind of product imaginable. The picture at left just
suggests the variety and number of items to which
chlorophyll became a promotable ingredient.
Today many people still tout the benefits of it for
health.
While not engaging in the debate of chlorophyll's
therapeutic properties, suffice it to say that it sold
well. Until "The Journal of the American Medical
Association" pointed out grazing goats virtually live
on chlorophyll and they smell bad just the same.
Telephone Cramming
Oddly enough, this fad began in South Africa, spread to England and then in 1959 went straight to
- California!
The idea was to cram as many people as possible into a telephone booth. A competition sport,
cramming soon spread across college campuses as each one tried to set a new record.
Sometimes called Telephone Box Squash, there were very few rules except that it was widely
accepted that the booth must still contain a phone. Under British rules, you had to be able to be
able to either place or receive a call, but that did not apply anywhere else. The door was left open
and only half of a person must be inside the booth to be counted. And the booth had to upright.
The South African record of 25 people withstood all challengers. The English only made it to19
and hey, they had wider booths. A Canadian group made it to 40 but the booth was on its side
and so that figure was discounted.
As for the spirit that built the West - the most

efficient bunch we had was a group at St.
Mary's College in Moraga, California.In an
effort to beat the South African record, they
managed to cram 22 people in a booth. Well,
you can't win them all.
Cramming expanded into other venues and
VW Beetle cramming enjoyed a brief
popularity. But like all good fads, this one
ended rather quickly






Go from milit.
conformity to
corporate
conformity


Go from milit.
conformity to
corporate
conformity
Men feel
trapped in
meaningless
jobs


Go from milit. Millions of new

conformity to fam’s Need
corporate homes
conformity Suburb. sprawl
Men feel
trapped in
meaningless
jobs



corporate homes
Men feel Housewives

trapped in feel isolated
meaningless & trapped in
jobs their lives



corporate homes
Men feel Housewives

jobs their lives
Growing
anger vs.
conformity


Go from milit. Millions of new Kinsey reports

conformity to fam’s Need on sexual
corporate homes behavior of
conformity Suburb. sprawl humans
Men feel Housewives

jobs their lives
Growing
anger vs.
conformity


Go from milit. Millions of new Kinsey reports

conformity to fam’s Need on sexual
corporate homes behavior of
conformity Suburb. sprawl humans
Men feel Housewives More open

trapped in feel isolated attitudes to
meaningless & trapped in sex (e.g.,
jobs their lives Playboy)
Growing
anger vs.
conformity



Men feel Housewives More open

trapped in feel isolated attitudes to
meaningless & trapped in sex (e.g.,
jobs their lives Playboy)
Growing
anger vs.
conformity




Growing
anger vs.
conformity




Growing
Looser
anger vs.
sexual
conformity
standards




Growing
Looser
anger vs.
sexual
conformity
standards
Beats & Rock

and Roll
(FC.145C)




Growing
Looser
anger vs.
sexual
conformity
standards

(FC.145C) (FC.146B)




Growing
Looser
anger vs.
sexual
conformity
standards

(FC.145C) (FC.146B)
Roots of social, cultural &

political dissent in 1960s
(FC.148)

American Culture in The 50s and 60s

Cargado por

Información del documento

Título original

Derechos de autor

Formatos disponibles

Compartir este documento

Compartir o incrustar documentos

Opciones para compartir

¿Le pareció útil este documento?

¿Este contenido es inapropiado?

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

American Culture in The 50s and 60s

Cargado por

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

FC.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

Go from milit. Millions of new Kinsey reports Birth control

Men feel Housewives More open Women less

Beats & Rock Start of Civil

Roots of social, cultural &

Reproduction poster or advertisement

Reproduction poster or advertisement

Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a Fortune

Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a Fortune

Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a

Abraham, William and Alfred Levitt pose for a

Page from the home

George Ryan cartoon

Page from the home

George Ryan cartoon

George Ryan cartoon

While most of Levitt's cost cutting

Suburbia cartoon. [Reprinted from

World War II (FC.135)

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

What Things Cost in 1954:

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

As for the spirit that built the West - the most

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

World War II (FC.135)

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

Go from milit. Millions of new

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

Go from milit. Millions of new

Men feel Housewives

Unprecedented prosperity, tech.

New factors to encourage conformity, esp.

Go from milit. Millions of new

Men feel Housewives

World War II (FC.135)