1950s America

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the 1950s were a decade of political, economic and social change. It looks at how political suspicion of communism was rampant and how this suspicion created a culture of fear of the unfamiliar, which directly resulted in national economic growth due to the military build that was a response to the possibility of an international standoff. The paper also discusses how, as an offshoot of this economic growth, aided with favorable lending policies, Americans began to settle in suburbs and spend their disposable incomes luxury goods and services which were never as readily available as they were during the fifties. The paper also looks at how Hollywood and Madison Avenue advertising firms took full advantage of the changing social attitudes toward sex and sexuality effectively making 1950s America the optimal environment for a publication such as "Playboy Magazine".

From the Paper:

"What made the political events of the late 1940's through the 1960's so interesting from an historic and sociologic point of view was what Whitfield (1996, 10) refers to as the 'politicizing culture'. Not since revolutionary times had the American public allowed foreign policy to become such an integral part of their lives in the way the cold war did. What began as a vocal government opposition to international communism and the threat of its spread quickly gained popular public endorsement in the form of rooting out domestic sympathizers within the US. This pursuit of domestic communist party members is in part due to Americas (and the United Nations) inability to persuade or force the Soviet Union from abandoning their national policy. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Author Unknown, Marilyn Monroe, 2007, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000054/ (accessed October 14, 2007).
• Bell, P.M.H. The World Since 1945: An International History. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
• Berkin, Carol., Cherny, Robert., Gormly, James., Mainwaring, W. Thomas., Miller, Christopher. Making America. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
• Boyer, Paul S, et. al. The Enduring Vision. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
• Brodie, Janine. Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson, 1999.

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