Changes

The return of all the soldiers from World War II in 1945 was a time of great joy and prosperity for the nation.  Families were reunited.  Soldiers quickly married and began to have families.  Young couples had children, and our nation's economy began to expand.

The return of all the soldiers from World War II in 1945 was a time of great joy and prosperity for the nation.  Families were reunited.  Soldiers quickly married and began to have families.  Young couples had children, and our nation's economy began to expand.

A culture of conformity developed soon afterward.  In the 1950s, it became "cool" to conform.  Everybody wanted to be like everyone else.  Everybody dressed the same.  Everybody had the same style haircut.  Every man wanted to get a job with General Motors (making cars) or with IBM (selling typewriters or big computers to other businesses), where the office workers wore a white shirt every single day to work.

A culture of conformity developed soon afterward.  In the 1950s, it became "cool" to conform.  Everybody wanted to be like everyone else.  Everybody dressed the same.  Everybody had the same style haircut.  Every man wanted to get a job with General Motors (making cars) or with IBM (selling typewriters or big computers to other businesses), where the office workers all wore a white shirt every single day to work.

You got ahead in life in the 1950s by doing what you were told, and not by  making waves (the same is true today in most big companies).  Tired of war, people wanted to make some money, have a happy family life, and then retire.  People now look back on the 1950s with much nostalgia, as though it were a better time.  Television shows like "Leave it to Beaver" depict the culture.  The most popular television show in the late 1970s was "Happy Days," which described growing up in the 1950s.  An adult named Ron Howard played the happy-go-lucky teenager "Ritchie Cunningham," and his trouble-making friend was known as the "Fonz".

You got ahead in life in the 1950s by doing what you were told, and not by  making waves (the same is true today in most big companies).  Tired of war, people wanted to make some money, have a happy family life, and then retire.  People now look back on the 1950s with much nostalgia, as though it were a better time.  Television shows like "Leave it to Beaver" depict the culture.  The most popular television show in the late 1970s was "Happy Days," which described growing up in the 1950s.  An adult named Ron Howard played the happy-go-lucky teenager "Ritchie Cunningham," and his trouble-making friend was known as the "Fonz".