Back to the 50s

It was July 16th in the year 1945. In a remote area, just 210 miles outside of Los Alamos, New Mexico, A large group of over 400 people, mostly scientists and military and political leaders, looked on at a 100 foot tower with a plutonium device, called “gadget” mounted at the top. At precisely 5:30 am, the device was detonated, releasing 18.6 kilotons of power that instantly vaporized the tower it rested on. Seconds after the explosion, the onlookers were forced to the ground by an enormous blast of energy that sent searing heat across the desert floor. The test was codenamed “Trinity”, and it was the first nuclear explosion the world had ever seen.

 On August 6th of 1945, the United States dropped the first of two nuclear bombs on Japan, devastating between 129,000 and 226,000 people. The explosion brought Japan to its knees and effectively ended World War II. It was the dawn of the “atomic age”, one where the United States stood atop the world as a singular superpower. “America at this moment”, said former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill in 1945, “stands at the summit of the world”.

The 1950s are regarded as many things. Some call it the “American decade”. It was a time of innovation, an era best recognized for iconic automobiles and the dawn of “rock ’n’ roll. The postwar era brough a rise in American consumerism and financial prosperity in the United States. Within a matter of a few years the entire nation was under the spell of television and popular culture. Stars like John Wayne, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe became household names. Boys across the country wanted to be Mickey Mantle, and everyone “liked Ike”. Without a doubt, the decade of America had begun.

When it comes to the 1950s, the word “boom” is used to describe the “booming economy”, or the “booming suburbs”, and most of all, the “baby boom”. The boom began in 1946, peaked in the 1950s, and didn't begin to taper until the mid-1960s. In this period, a record number of 3.4 million children were born in the United States and gave way to a new generation. 

With the Second World War over, Americans began feeling a strong sense of confidence in their nation, economy, and future, and were eager to have children. Unlike previous decades, a majority of children were being raised in a country that didn't know the hardships of total war and the Great Depression. From 1945 to 1950, the United States GNP more than doubled and kicked off a golden age of American capitalism. Government spending increased and the construction of schools, interstate highways, and other segments of the nation’s infrastructure were vastly improved. Military spending was on the rise, and the emergence of airports and new technologies created a world that had never been seen before.

With families growing and a rise in the standards of living, developers started buying land on the outskirts of major cities and began building modest, inexpensive housing to placate the rising population. These new neighborhoods were labeled “suburbs” and quickly became a fixture for young families. Most of these new homes were perfect for the 50’s family—a spacious, open floor plan with a big yard for “backyard living”. 

New homes and growing families meant a spike in the auto industry. Auto makers began focusing on vehicle aesthetics like chrome, sidewall tires, wood paneling, and fins. The decade also saw a spike in station wagon sales as growing families began purchasing autos such as the Chevy “Nomad”.

The decade was shaping up to be an era of “good times”, and popular culture reflected it. The affordability of television sets made it so nearly all families could have one in their home. This “golden age of television” gave rise to stars like Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, and Donna Reed. Instead of gathering around radios, as was done in the past, families began tuning into their favorite sitcoms like “The Honeymooners”, or gameshows such as “What’s My Line”. Hollywood also saw a spike in popularity with the “western” genre reaching a level of popularity unmatched at any other point in American history.

Television and advertisements presented a “lifestyle” image to the American people, a “squeaky clean” mage for families to aspire to. Men were expected to be breadwinners with good jobs that could afford new vehicles, campers, backyard BBQ’s, and three bedroom homes. At the same time, women were expected to leave their wartime jobs and become “homemakers” - keeping tidy homes and serving their families. Children were expected to go to school, play sports, join clubs, and be seen, but not heard.

The squeaky clean image of the 1950s was widely accepted by many, yet it was challenged by aspects of popular culture such as music. As early as the 1940s, black musicians began making music with faster beats and suggestive lyrics. Much to the concern of parents, this “rock ’n’ roll” sound quickly caught on with the nation’s teenage population and soon other musicians began to emulate it. Musicians like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis turned the music industry on its head. The music also gave rise to DJs like Alan Freed and the disc jockey turned recording star “The Big Bopper”.

The decade of the 50s is often remembered for its good times, yet the nation and the world kept a watchful eye on relations between the United States and Soviet Union. After witnessing the destruction of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviets began developing atomic weapons of their own. A “Red Scare” gripped the United States that resulted in a buildup of nuclear arms that were capable of twice the destruction of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. The Soviets, too, began testing new and more dangerous weapons while exaggerating their nuclear arsenal.

On June of 1950, after five years of tensions on the Korean peninsula, The People’s Army of North Korea, a communist regime backed by the Soviet Union, invaded the Democratically governed South Korea. The United States, backed by the United Nations, and already fearing the expansion of Soviet communism, sprang into action and sent troops, weapons, and supplies to aid the South Koreans in defeating the north. For a time, the United States had the north on their heels, but in October of 1950, communist China entered the war on behalf of the North Koreans and pushed the Allies back to the 38th paralell—the border between North and South Korea.

From late 1950 to the end of the conflict, the war became one of attrition with both sides locked in a stalemate. For a time, military leaders in the United States supported using nuclear attacks on China to end the stalemate. The strategy was abandoned, however, for fear that the use of nuclear weapons would prompt the Soviet Union to join the conflict and risk the threat of armed combat between Russia and the United States. On July 27th, 1953, the Korean Armistice was signed to allow the exchange of prisoners as well as create a demilitarized zone. While the fighting was over, no peace treaty was ever signed and the war remains “frozen” in 2024. 

With the Korean war effectively “over”, young men who served in the war could finally return home to their families and do their best to enjoy the growing prosperity of the United States. The United States had a lot to offer its citizens, yet not everyone could enjoy the prosperity on equal terms. Women were still being urged to keep out of the workforce, and black Americans, while making some advances in the 1940s, were still being segregated from white Americans—movie theaters, restaurants, schools, and other sectors of the economy could rightfully refuse service to people based on skin color and many businesses and institutions were made for black Americans alone. It would be another decade before civil rights would come to the forefront of the American experience.

The 1950s has gone down in history as a decade that people look back on fondly. The big war was over, the nation was on the rise, and life was changing in ways that no one had ever experienced before. While the decade was far from perfect, there’s no denying that the 50s were a special time in American history, and definitely a decade to remember.