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Information/Research

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In the 1950’s there was a lot of pressure on women to get married and have children right away. “Getting married right out of high school or while in college was considered the norm.” (pbs.org) A large majority of women gave birth to their first child within the first year of marriage and then went on to have several more children. Having a large family was also considered normal and so was being a stay at home Mom. Women typically cooked, cleaned, did laundry and looked after the children. In advertisements women were usually shown to be cooking, cleaning or taking care of the home.

The 1950’s was also a time of change because women now made up “approximately one-third of the peacetime labor force.’”  (khanacademy.org) During World War 2 many women were forced to get jobs to support their families financially while their husbands were away fighting. After the war these women were encouraged to give up their jobs and return to being “homemakers” but many women decided they liked working outside of the home. Women now had a choice about whether they wanted a career or not. It was the beginning of a whole new way of thinking. Women didn’t have to be one thing anymore, they could be a Mom and have a job too if they wanted.  Or they could choose an education and a career over the traditional role of being a mom/wife. For the first time women realized they had a say and a voice in picking the type of life they wanted to have.

Sources:

(found through sweet search)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html

http://www.pbs.org/video/2330963851/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-8/apush-1950s-america/a/women-in-the-1950s

(having trouble adding the image, here is the link)

http://quest.eb.com/search/140_1629302/1/140_1629302/cite

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Nuclear Family by Sean Lee

In the 1950s, most people lived in the suburbs as “nuclear” families (Kallen 53).

“Men and women of the 1950s married at an early age” (Kallen 53).

Most men getting married were about twenty-two, and most women were about nineteen (Kallen 53).

The divorce rate was at a low of only 10% (Kallen 53).

“Nuclear” families were made up of a mother, a father, and their biological children (Kallen 53).

In the suburbs, “middle-class family activities emphasized togetherness” (Kallen 53). Family was close.

“... more than 4 million a year after the mid-1950s. This ‘baby boom’ formed a huge demographic category that influenced everything from the sale of diapers and cars to the popularity of rock ‘n’ roll” (Kallen 53).

Picture Caption:
Nuclear Family
circa 1955: Mr and Mrs Paul, and their children Belinda and Cliff, say grace before starting their meal.

Works Cited

1. Kallen, Stuart A.. A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades: The 1950s. Lucent Books, Inc., 1999.

2. Nuclear Family. Photographer. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/115_884672/1/115_884672/cite.

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Role of Women By Odalys Guerrero

Fifties women were to perform the jobs of stay-at-home mothers (Kallen 54).

Mens were thought to be tough, unemotional, solid, aggressive and the man of the house.  Women's basic needs were to be a wife, a mother, and homemaker (Kallen 54).

Women also served society in many different ways. Many women volunteered for charity drives, Boy and Girl Scout Den mothers and on the boards of Parent Teacher Associations. Some women's taught school (Kallen 54).

In the 1920s, half of all colleges were college women. Around 1950s, the number dropped to 35 percent (Kallen 55).

19.3 million women had entered the workforce. The most common jobs were low-paying clerical jobs, nursing, and teaching. Some women did pursue careers in medicine, law, and the sciences (Kallen 55).

Many women were forced stay home, while other women were happy about staying home (Kallen 55).

Works Cited:

Factory workers, Photo, 1950. Photo. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia                   Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/109_234116/1/109_234116/cite.     Accessed 9 Mar 2017.

Kallen, Stuart A. A Cultural History of the United States. San Diego, Lucent Books Inc.

Picture Caption:

Factory workers, Photo, 1950

Woman, Work: factories.-Women working in the production of paper.

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Suburbs by Ryan Paquette

A little more than 50% of families living in the U.S. owned their own home almost 2 out of 3. (Willis 51).

“In most suburban developments, the houses were built in a few standard styles. Some houses were constructed in the so-called Cape Cod or Colonial styles and were based on American house designs.” (Willis 52).

“Suburbanization resulted from the migration of people from inner-city dwellings to homes in the residential outskirts of cities in the 1950s.”(Parson).

Picture Caption: Bosphorus Ferry
circa 1950: A ferry at Galata Docks, where ferries leave for points across the Bosphorus and into the suburbs of Istanbul. (Photo by Richard Harrington/Three Lions/Getty Images)

Works Cited

Bosphorus Ferry. Photographer. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/115_2848944/1/115_2848944/cite. Accessed 8 Mar 2017.

Parson, Jennifer. “Suburbanization, Post–World War II.” Encyclopedia of American History, Vol. 9, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2009. American History, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/199111?q=the 1950s suburbs. Accessed Sept. 2017.

Willis, Charles A. America in the 1950s. Facts on File.