1954 History and Events

The Gearhead Geek / 49-54 Chevy web site members have wondered what were some of the events that happened in the years 1949 - 1954. I was not yet on this world during those times, so I did some research on the events of that time frame. I tried to verify everything through several sources but make no promises as to the accuracy of the information presented here. If you find something wrong let us know and we will correct it.

The 1950's

The 1950s in America is known for many things. Emerging victorious from World War II five years earlier, the United States in 1950 was reaping the benefits of a growing economy. 1950 Americans had an increased choice of leisure time activities. Conformity was the trend among the middle-aged. Middle-class values became ideal. The Korean War started. The rise of modern jazz took place. The first of the 'fast food' restaurants and drive-ins appeared. (Jack in the Box - founded in 1951; McDonalds - first franchised in 1955 in Des Plaines, IL. and A&W Root Beer Company - formed in 1950, although it had already established over 450 drive-ins throughout the country) A baby boom was happening. The all-electric home was the ideal. White racist terrorism increased in the South. The invention of the television and TV dinners. Abstract Art came on the scene. The first credit card was issued. (Diners Club, in 1951) Drive-in theaters peaked in the late 50s with over 4,000 outdoor screens. (Where teenaged couples could find privacy in their Hot Rods.) There was a youth rebellion to middle-aged cinema.

Older viewers were prone to stay at home and watch television. (About 10.5 million US homes had a TV set in 1950) In the period following WWII when most of the films were idealized with conventional portrayals of men and women, young people wanted new and exciting symbols of rebellion. In the late 1940s and 1950s Hollywood responded to the youth demands with the anti-hero. Star newcomers like James Dean, Paul Newman (who debuted in the costume epic The Silver Chalice (1954)) and Marlon Brando, replaced more proper actors like Tyrone Power, Van Johnson, and Robert Taylor. Sexy anti-heroines included Ava Gardner, Kim Novak, and Marilyn Monroe.

1950 saw the emergence of new industries that were anchored on new technologies. One among these is the aerospace industry. The great success of the heavy bombers during the war emphasized the importance of innovation. Improvements in engine design, metallurgy, and arms technology helped advance the industry as well as improve manufacturing procedures.

The onset of the Cold War ensured that the industry was there to stay. At its peak, the industry hired hundreds of thousands of workers in four major factories. The industry was also fueled by a $3 billion government spending.

Other industries that grew during this time were boosted by the growth of different related industries. For example, the housing boom experienced after the war. New homes meant additional furniture and appliances as well as new cars. The consumer-led growth likewise spread to other areas. The introduction of television to the masses spurred the growth in electronics. There were also after effects in the growth of industries. As the demand for homes and cars increased, many Americans were lured out of central cities to the suburbs. The construction of better highways also contributed to these phenomena.

The end of World War II led to the end of the Great Depression and the start of a long period of economic expansion through the 1950s. Social changes and the youth movements forever changed the nature of the family and the county.

1954

In 1954 growth and expansion was everywhere. The Baby Boom was well underway. American’s had picked up their lives and started new families in new homes with new jobs. People could afford single family dwellings and suburbia was born. Perhaps one of the things which most characterized the 1950's was the strong element of conservatism and anticommunist feelings which ran throughout much of society.

Families worked together, played together and vacationed together at family themed entertainment areas like national parks and the new Disneyland. Gender roles were strongly held, girls played with Barbie dolls and Dale Evans clothes, boys with Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett items. Fifties clothing was conservative. Men wore gray flannel suits and women wore dresses with pinched in waists and high heels. French fashion designers such as Dior, Chanel and Givenchy were popular and copied in America.

America had just begun the recovery from World War II, when suddenly the Korean Conflict developed. The USSR became a major enemy in the Cold War. Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to know that Communists had infiltrated the United States government at the highest levels.

Americans were feeling a sense of national anxiety. Was life in America the best it had ever been? Was America the greatest country in the world? As the decade continued, people reflected on the conflict of self-satisfaction with a growing sense of cultural self-doubt about conformity and the true worth of American values.

The concern with conformity and the belief in the power of the individual to control their fates was producing the beginnings of an anti-establishment movement especially with teenagers. An example was the new group of authors that appeared on the scene in the form of the Beats, or the Beat Generation or some called them Beatniks.

Teenagers were defined as a separate generation. Teenagers were trying to break out of the mainstream, conservative, American middle class mold. Activities they liked were watching and dancing to Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Fad hits with kids were toys like hula hoops and Hopalong Cassidy guns and western gear, Davy Crockett coon skin hats and silly putty. Fashions were Bill Blass, blue jeans, poodle skirts made of felt and decorated with sequins and poodle appliqués, pony tails for girls, and flat tops and crew cuts for guys. Saddle shoes and blue suede loafers were popular.

Many unique things became popular in the Fifties. People loved sports. More leisure time and greater general prosperity led to greater participation in athletic activities for the average person and added large numbers of fans to all types of sports. Unlike many areas of society in this decade, athletes were a diverse group. Popularity was not based on social status, but on the ability of the individual.

Drive-in movies became popular for families and teens. Cars were seen as an indicator of prosperity and coolness. Highways were built to take people quickly from one place to another, by-passing small towns and helping to create central marketing areas or shopping malls.

Science Fiction became more popular with the actual possibility of space travel.

Perhaps the most far reaching change in communications worldwide was the advancement in the area of television broadcasting. During the 1950s, television became the dominant mass media as people watched in greater numbers of hours per week than ever before. In the early Fifties, the number of hours young people watched TV steadily increased. What was portrayed on television became accepted as normal. The ideal family, the ideal schools and neighborhoods, the world, were all seen in a way which had only partial basis in reality. People began to accept what was heard and seen on television because they were "eye witnesses" to events as never before. Programs such as You Are There brought historical events into the living rooms of many Americans. The affect on print news media and entertainment media was felt in lower attendance at movies and greater reliance on TV news sources for information. Then, in 1954, black and white broadcasts became color broadcasts. Shows called "sitcoms" like The Honeymooners , Lassie, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and I Love Lucy featured popular characters whose lives thousands of viewers watched and copied. Families enjoyed variety shows like Disneyland and The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evenings. Daytime programs like Guiding Light, a "soap opera", were popular and helped advertisers sell many products to the homemakers of America. News broadcasting changed from newsmen simply reading the news to shows which included videotaped pictures of events which had occurred anywhere in the world, and then to more and more live broadcasts of events happening at the time of viewing. This was made possible in 1951 with the development of coaxial cable and microwave relays coast to coast. When Edward R. Murrow began offering his weekly radio program (called "Hear It Now") on TV as "See It Now," the world of news broadcasting was irrevocably changed.