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Of course the discrimination that was around in the 1950's didn't just happen. But the point perhaps is that for some it was ideal, for others it wasn't. Somethings were new however. The bombings and attempted bombings (failure to explode or discovered before exploding) of synagogues in the south in the late 1950's was new - there were at least eight.
Jews had been in the south since the early colonial days; There was a Jewish member of Raleigh's expedition to the Roanoke Colony in NC., Dr. John de Sequeyra treated many of the Founders in Williamsburg; the Stars and Bars on Confederate flags was designed - according to its designer William Miles - to be heraldric and not a religious cross to ensure Jews and some Protestant sects were not offended. And of course, Judah Benjamin appeared on the CSD $2. (The only consecrated Jewish military cemetery outside of Israel is in Richmond - the Weissensee Jewish Cemetery might also be.) In short, the bombings were a new phenomenon. Our rabbi's home was vandalized while he was conducting Friday night services, though that might have just been him having been watched.
The Citizens Councils were established in the 1950's. The agenda of the Klan wrapped in the demeanor of the Chamber of Commerce, they sought to establish hatred as more respectable than folks in white sheets.
Was the turbulence in the '50s confined to specific cities/regions and thus, without the Internet, most of the country was less aware so for them, it was the utopia it's constantly portrayed to be?
Just to add another tidbit, yes, turbulence was confined to certain areas but people all over the country knew about it. I think people back then had more time to pay attention, to listen to the news and to read the newspapers carefully. They also subscribed to newsy magazines like Look Magazine and Life Magazine. Huge pictures in your face and articles that were highly informative and compelling.
Besides the fears you mentioned, another major player was the fear of getting polio. Everybody knew at least one person crippled by that terrifying disease. Also, debates on tv as to whether you would let your friends into your backyard bomb shelter if we were attacked and your friends hadn't bothered to build anything for themselves. Then when Sputnik was launched it signaled a fear and a realization that we were not as great as maybe we thought we were. President Eisenhower declared some sort of new emphasis on the study of science in school so that we could beat the Russians. Yes, I think the assassination of JFK signaled the end of the era.
There was a "Twilight Zone" episode on the bomb shelter theme, one of the better ones.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The 1950s were certainly not the "good old days" for everyone, me for example. Women were kept at home sometimes literally barefoot and pregnant (my mom had 9 kids 1951-1967. Our father beat us regularly for punishment, and we were treated like his personal slaves. Back then corporal punishment was accepted. You could buy a nice house for $25,000 but median annual income in 1955 was $4,400. Gas was 25 cents a gallon, but you were lucky to get 8 mpg. Cars were not made with seat belts, and they had only one brake line serving all 4 wheels. The worst, for me and my current health, was the number of practices and chemicals that were in common use now but later banned for causing cancer, such as asbestos, creosote, several pesticides and herbicides, sugar substitutes nd other food additives.
The yearning for a return to a simpler time, like in a George Rockwell illustration, has been voiced by Americans with a more conservative perspective than others. Living memory helps that perception. A large part of the ‘50s myth is nostalgia. Most eras suffer from that affliction. For example, there is now a heightened level of interest in “Mid-century Modern†homes and design. The white middle class could afford a new home in the suburbs. There were advances in technology that people could afford— TV and AC. Interstate highways opened up travel and commuting was possible. There was a lot of infrastructure construction going on. So it was a period of expansion and seemed to be a “new world order†compared to what the adults had experienced in the 1930-40s. We like shiny things so those images and ideas are remembered while we forget Pruitt-Igoe, polio, Little Rock, urban renewal, and bomb drills.
The 1950s were certainly not the "good old days" for everyone, me for example. Women were kept at home sometimes literally barefoot and pregnant (my mom had 9 kids 1951-1967. Our father beat us regularly for punishment, and we were treated like his personal slaves. Back then corporal punishment was accepted. You could buy a nice house for $25,000 but median annual income in 1955 was $4,400.Gas was 25 cents a gallon, but you were lucky to get 8 mpg. Cars were not made with seat belts, and they had only one brake line serving all 4 wheels. The worst, for me and my current health, was the number of practices and chemicals that were in common use now but later banned for causing cancer, such as asbestos, creosote, several pesticides and herbicides, sugar substitutes nd other food additives.
The average home price in 1955 was about $18,000 not $25,000. $25,000 was the upper-end. Low end prices for a basic home were well inder $10,000.
$18,000 would be about $210,000 today. I think a lot of people today would be happy if they could find an average home today for $210,000. Home prices have doubled since the 1950s. Which makes homeownership unaffordable to many more people, and puts them at the mercy of landlords who can raise rent prices endlessly.
As for 8 mpg, the average today is 28 mpg. Gas prices are slightly higher. So operating cost might be lower, but new car prices, like home prices have doubled. So any operating cost savings is irrelevant.
Housing prices have doubled. Car prices have doubled. The price of almost everything has double, except for wages.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz
The average home price in 1955 was about $18,000 not $25,000. $25,000 was the upper-end. Low end prices for a basic home were well inder $10,000.
$18,000 would be about $210,000 today. I think a lot of people today would be happy if they could find an average home today for $210,000. Home prices have doubled since the 1950s. Which makes homeownership unaffordable to many more people, and puts them at the mercy of landlords who can raise rent prices endlessly.
As for 8 mpg, the average today is 28 mpg. Gas prices are slightly higher. So operating cost might be lower, but new car prices, like home prices have doubled. So any operating cost savings is irrelevant.
Housing prices have doubled. Car prices have doubled. The price of almost everything has double, except for wages.
The 1950s were the good old days for most people.
Well, we were in California.
I agree with you on the effect of inflation since the 1950s but you are short-changing your arguments.
New car prices today are far more than double from the 50s. My first brand new car in 1973 was $2,500, today the entry-level Nissan Versa is MSRP $16,390, that's over 6 times as much. My 2017 F150 sticker was $46,800, my wife's 2020 Outback was $36,000.
I was too young in the 50s to know about car prices, and my father bought used, but I looked up his 1957 Chrysler Wagon MSRP and it was $4,746. Of course needed the room for all of us, but a more basic 1955 Ford Fairlane was $1,801.
I'd love to know where home prices have only doubled since the 1950s. Our first house was built in the 1940s, we paid $50,000 in 1978, and it sold recently for $874,000.
I guess my point is that there are other considerations that made that decade worse than today in ways other than expenses.
A number of years ago, I read a book regarding life in the USA during the 1950s. Its title is "Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen", and the author is Alix Kates Shulman.
This book is loosely based on Ms. Shulman's 'coming of age' in that decade.
In an interview, she was quoted as stating "The 1950s were conformist, prosperity driven, and communism obsessed."
As someone who also lived through the 1950s, I concur.
I agree with you on the effect of inflation since the 1950s but you are short-changing your arguments.
New car prices today are far more than double from the 50s. My first brand new car in 1973 was $2,500, today the entry-level Nissan Versa is MSRP $16,390, that's over 6 times as much. My 2017 F150 sticker was $46,800, my wife's 2020 Outback was $36,000.
I was too young in the 50s to know about car prices, and my father bought used, but I looked up his 1957 Chrysler Wagon MSRP and it was $4,746. Of course needed the room for all of us, but a more basic 1955 Ford Fairlane was $1,801.
I'd love to know where home prices have only doubled since the 1950s. Our first house was built in the 1940s, we paid $50,000 in 1978, and it sold recently for $874,000.
I guess my point is that there are other considerations that made that decade worse than today in ways other than expenses.
Well I was going by the averages. In 1955 the average home price was $18,000 ($210,000 adjusted for inflation). But today the average is about $387,000.
The average car price was about $2,100 ($23,000 adjusted for inflation). The average price today is $48,000.
But yeah, that was the average. So that's a good indication of how much worse off the middle class is. The middle class is about twice as bad off as they were in 1955. Of course the poor are even much worse off.
Hell if a guy had a good job and got married in the 1950s, and if one of their families was willing and let them live with them while they saved all their money, in 2 or 3 years they would have been able to save enough to buy a new home and new car. Cash, no payments, no debt. Even if that was not an option, and they had to make payments, they would have paid the mortgage off by the 1970s in low payments.
Try doing that today. Most young people today will be in debt for the rest of their lives, just with their student loan debt. The American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare.
50's? Suburbia was getting going. The modern (though pre computer) era of cars began, and one could take a long drive and expect to get there. the interstates were new. There was lots of American pride. The space age was beginning. There was hope!
60's? Revolution! Violence! I was born in 68 so don't remember anything, of course, but my mom saved the magazines such as National Geographic, Life, Etc. and when I read them and look on documentaries of the times......geeesh! How the hell did we make it through the 60's.
I think when people look back, they see the surrounding decades and then the 50's look like the best times. If one was in their 30's or older during the 50's, I'm sure they saw that decade as living the dream after coming out of WWII and the great depression!
Perhaps, kind of how gen X'ers like me view the 80's/90's!
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