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What aspects of the post-WWII United States shaped the trends/issues in the 1950s?  Why?

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What aspects of the post-WWII United States shaped the trends/issues in the 1950s?  Why?

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After World War II, soldiers were coming home, wanting to settle down and marry. Couples that were separated during the war didn’t want to wait much longer, and felt that they were stable enough to finally settle down. As a result, the baby boom was introduced. Babies were being born left and right. Even older couples were having children. With the population increasing drastically, there was a sudden demand for houses. There were low cost government mortgages for soldiers, called the GI Bill, and as a result there was a huge boom in the economy of the United States.

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Due to Americans moving from rural areas to the suburbs, more jobs and businesses were put to work, and thriving from the increasing population (Berg et al.). Incomes were rising, and people felt more confident and comfortable about their lives. There were boosted sales for diaper services, baby food bottlers, home sales and factories were working overtime. Veterans were eager to get back to work, and were welcomed into many workforces. The baby boom was growing, fast. But why? Well, there was uncertainty about the war and future of the nation during the Great Depression (Berg et al.). After World War II however, people didn’t have those fears anymore. The multiplier effect was in motion, people were benefiting off of other businesses, leading to economic growth and prosperity throughout America. However, not everything was positive. These boomer babies grew up with the constant fear of nuclear threats around them, and were often on edge, leading to constant chaos (Berg et al.). The economy was drastically better post World War II than the Great Depression, with the economy booming, but it didn’t come without its conflicts.

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What were the varying perspectives on/reactions to this topic in the 1950's? What was the impact on different groups of Americans?

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What were the varying perspectives on/reactions to this topic in the 1950's? What was the impact on different groups of Americans?

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The baby boom during the 1950s significantly affected civilians of different gender and race. The baby boom, for newly wedded women, shaped their role in society and family life. Women were given the task to remain at home and take care of the children and put food on the table, while the men were in charge of making money to provide for their families. This made many women and young girls in college either drop out early or not continue any profession with their college degree (Hart and Bower). Schools, however, were extremely overpopulated. This made the population overall in colleges mostly men, since women did not have the ideology to pursue any future with their education. African American families during this rapidly changing era still faced racism and many difficult challenges when it came to putting their children in schools. This however, sparked the Civil Rights Movement, which made a goal to end racial discrimination and segregation.

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On the other hand, the baby boom influenced many new families to have kids early and also affected their financial status. The baby boom was incredibly popular for returning soldiers in the U.S.. These soldiers wanted to settle down quickly after the war and start a new family at a young age, particularly around their early twenties. Returning soldiers were promised decent pay and access to good jobs, which fueled their drive to have a stable life within their new family (Hart and Bower). Families that had different amounts of income also went through this era in different ways. One of them being that middle class and higher class families prospered during this era since they were able to have ownership of their homes and provide education for their children ("Another Baby"). On the other hand, lower class families had difficulty putting meals on the table and putting their children in good classrooms with beneficial education.

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Television became increasingly popular in entertainment, along with reinforcing people’s roles within their families. Two popular shows were Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver (Hart and Bower). In Leave it to Beaver, mothers are always moving around and cleaning the kitchen while fathers demonstrate their wisdom and authority, to keep the family functioning. Children’s toys also encouraged them to grow up “traditionally” and encourage them to get married and settle down. The average age that women were getting married was 20, and the average age for men was 22 ("Women at Home").

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Dr. Benjamin Spock was also a huge influence for mothers, as he had the philosophy that mothers should work from home and spend more time with their children. His book entitled The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care reinforced those ideas. According to Spock in an interview, “There are basic values that are universal: love of family, honesty, respect of other people, and a sense of idealism that inspires people to strive for greatness. I think that the Golden Rule—treating other people with the same respect you expect for yourself—is the basis of every religious or spiritual value system the world has ever known” ("Dr. Spock's"). However, many families disagreed with Spock’s views, and didn’t like the idea that only mothers should be responsible for watching their children ("Dr. Spock's"). For the most part, most of the world saw the baby boom and these increasing marriages as beneficial to the United States, however there were beliefs that women should be able to work outside the home, and that the country was just going back to its prewar ways.

Dr. Benjamin Spoc

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What was the significance of this topic to the United States identity at home and abroad? 

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What was the significance of this topic to the United States identity at home and abroad? 

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During the 1950s marriage and the baby boom played a significant role domestically, it became normalized. Post- World War II saw a rise in nuclear families which represent stability, security and conformity. After WWII ended there were almost 2.3 million marriages in 1946, an  increase of 600,000 more than the  previous year. Compared to the depression many people held back on getting married, many more people in the 50s were getting married at a much younger age. Strong family values formed healthy marriages which eventually led to the baby boom. Babies were being born in short periods of time, especially after soldiers came home from war, starting families were necessary to couples. This created gender roles because husbands would take over the breadwinner role and wives would be homemakers and caregivers to their husband and children.

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Internationally, the typical marriage lifestyle was used as propaganda during the cold war era, it showed the superiority of American society because of the contrast between the traditional family values in America and the communist ideology in the Soviet Union for example. These countries mirrored values by the United States, Europe also experienced a baby boom after World War II which impacted the dynamics and gender roles socially and economically. The difference between at home and abroad was that wives would enter the workforce while also caring for her family at home.