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Focal PressThe Fearful 50s
The 1950s marked a period of unprecedented prosperity and, paradoxically, paranoia for the United States. The United States had emerged from the Second World War completely victorious and without the bombing and war scars that were inflicted upon Europe, The Soviet Union and Great Britain.
The Fabulous Fifties Web page will allow you to check out things like popular music, TV ratings and fashions of the 1950s (and 60s). This is a great place to look for popular culture of the time. As Americans grew more prosperous, the automobile took on greater importance. Car styles in the fifties reflected American exuberance. Rewind the Fifties car page is a good place to look at the many styles and shapes.
Silly Putty, Mr. Potato Head, and Barbie all made their debuts in this decade. So did Tupperware, Plexiglas, Play-Doh, and Frisbee...These are household names now, but they were introduced during the 1950s, an era of innovation and invention. Today, we might question the benefits, but the postwar era focused on meeting consumer demand after both the depression and the war had stifled the acquisition of personal items. The History Channel’s Timeline will provide you with an array of toy product introduced in this era.
Broadcast Century and Beyond talks about the blacklists and the publication of Red Channels. Americas worried that Communist spies were out to steal American secrets and from this fear the Red Scare reemerges. The Cold War was so named by Winston Churchill and it marked the beginning of a 40 year struggle between two conflicting ideologies. This BBC link will provide you with a good starting place to begin looking at the many events related to the cold war.
Television prospered during this era. Everyone already knows I Love Lucy (from Tim’s TV Showcase) but many other shows became immense hits in the 1950s. Shows such as Father Knows Best depicted a happy, suburban life after the war. Westerns were immensely popular. Roy Rogers (of Happy Trails fame), The Lone Ranger and Gene Autry all made successful transitions from radio and film over to television, but Gunsmoke was the biggest hit of all. The Tonight Showstarted in 1954 with funny man and musician Steve Allen, but later Johnny Carson redefined it and made the show into a long-running success.
Game shows were very popular in the fifties. Twenty One and The $64,000 Question were among the most popular. During 1958 and 1959, national attention was focused the scandals that racked the network. The PBS website, The Quiz Show Scandals, provides a background into the scandal and the players.
Television news was in its infancy during the fifties. The Museum of Broadcast Communication is a good place to learn about See It Now, TV’s first documentary program. Edward R. Murrow took on Joe McCarthy in a riveting 30-minute documentary aired by CBS.
Network radio began a steep decline and the local stations switched to generic formats. Instead of the variety of programs, soap operas and light dramas, radio stations switched to recorded music. Pop music icons such as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como continued to entertain the adults, but kids tuned into new music—Rock and Roll. Check out the History of Rock’n’Roll. You may be surprised by the links to different genres of music that contributed to rock’s development. Do Wop started a craze in 1954 but so did Rockabilly...when was the first rock concert? Check out Harry Hepcat’s History of Rock for all the details.