the postwar boom
timeline
beat generation The Beat Generation were a series of writers who tried to express their displeasure with what was going on in society. This consisted of teens rebelling against their parents old ways and conservatives. The Beat Generation arose out of a time of intense conflict, both internally and externally
The word beat originally meant "weary" but came to refer as well as to a musical beat. Followers of the Beat movement which were called beats or beatniks were a stereotype brought by the media and they lived nonconformist lives, they tended to shun regular work and sought a higher consciousness.
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house of un-american activity The HUAC was the agency that investigated possible communist influence both inside and outside of the government.
The HUAC investigated communist influence in the movie industry and tried ten men of being communist for making, writing, or producing pro-Soviet films made during WWII. Everyone of these ten men who were called to testify refused and decided not to cooperate because they believed that the hearings were unconstitutional. Because of their refusal to cooperate they were sent to prison.
Tony Kahn (below) made neighbors uncomfortable because they thought that his father Gordon Kahn was a Communist. Gordon Kahn was a successful screenwriter and was blacklisted due to the HUAC. In 1951 Kahn was scheduled to testify before the committee and refused to name any other communists to save himself. Instead he fled to Mexico and took his family. The Kahn family was only one family impacted by the fear of communism.
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Published in 1957 Jack Kerouac's novel of the beat movement On the Road is the story of a fierce personal quest for meaning and belonging and describes a nomadic search across America for authentic experiences, people and values. Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation" in 1948 to characterize a perceived underground, anti-conformist youth movement in New York.
consumerism Consumerism is the buying of material goods that came to be equal with success. Now there were twice as many middle class citizens in the United States and new technology was introduced to home life.
Consumers purchased electric household appliances such as washing machines, dryers, blenders, freezers and dishwashers. These products gave women more leisure time and the idea of having the house spotless and your wife looking her best when the man got home from work emerged.
With more leisure time to fill many consumers bought a lot of recreational items, such as swimming pools, barbecues, and televisions. Before this time having a swimming pool in your backyard was not even a thought. Many also purchased lawn decorations for their suburban homes and had people over for house parties.
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Sputnik is a Soviet artificial satellite which was the worlds first satellites to go into space and orbit the world.
The launch of Sputnik was October 4, 1957 and it traveled around the world at 18 thousand miles per hour and circling the world every 90 minutes.
The success of this Soviet launch made Americans pour money into upgrading and expanding their space programs. Nationalism for the US grew and many people started to support the Space Programs in the need to win the Space Race and send a man to the moon.
suburbs Suburbs are small residential communities that surround cities. Suburbs became about after World War II when the baby boom happened and there was a need for larger homes for bigger families.
Suburbs were basically little towns on the outskirts of larger cities where families live and sen their children to school but work in the city. The move to suburbs was also known as "White Flight" because many african Americans lived in the cities because they had factory jobs there and when white men got back they didn't want to live with the blacks so they moved to the suburbs.
The expansion and creation of suburbs started the International Highways. The thought was that now these people didn't live in the city and they needed to drive to work became the need for a fast straight way to get into the city. Thus the creation of the highway that was originally stolen from Hitler(Hitler used these types of fast traveling roads to transfer supplies to his men and to ship goods or tanks).
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core american valuesThe interstate highway act and urban renewal helped make the Inited States a more beautiful country boosting nationalist feelings because it made them want to live in America.
The middle class of American citizens grew and they were comparing progress to the goods they have in their possessions and the technology progressed by helping women out with washing machines and dryers and dishwashers. Women loss the equality they eared while their men were at war and were forced back into their old roles. |
changes from previous era Many people lived around cities in suburbs that lied on the outskirts of the cities. Many owned cars now and the highway system was created to help people who lived in the suburbs travel to the city for work faster. There was also a rise in franchises and businesses such as fast food stores.
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