Daily Life in 1950s America

Nancy Hendricks

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781440864421
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Placing the era firmly within the American experience, this reference illuminates what daily life was really like in the 1950s, including for people from the "Other America"—those outside the prosperous, white middle class. ' Daily Life in 1950s America shows that the era was anything but uneventful. Apart from revolutionary changes during the decade itself, it was in the 1950s that the seeds took root for the social turmoil of the 1960s and the technological world of today. The book's interdisciplinary format looks at the domestic, economic, intellectual, material, political, recreational, and religious life of average Americans. Readers can look at sections separately according to their interests or classroom assignment, or can read them as an ongoing narrative. By entering the homes of average Americans, far from the corridors of power, we can make sense of the 1950s and see how the headlines of the era translated into their daily lives. This readable and informative book is ideal for anyone interested in this formative decade in American life. Well-researched factual material is presented in an engaging way, along with lively sidebars to humanize each section. It is unique in blending the history, popular culture, and sociology of American daily life, including those of Americans who were not white, middle class, and prosperous.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Timeline of Events
• Glossary
• 1. DOMESTIC LIFE
• 2. ECONOMIC LIFE
• 3. INTELLECTUAL LIFE
• 4. MATERIAL LIFE
• 5. POLITICAL LIFE
• 6. RECREATIONAL LIFE
• 7. RELIGIOUS LIFE
• Appendix A: Slang of the 1950s
• Appendix B: Award Winners, Championships, and Chart-Toppers of the 1950s
• Appendix C: Best-Selling Books of the 1950s
• Appendix D: Major Legislation by the U.S. Congress in the 1950s
• Appendix E: Major Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1950s
• Bibliography
• Index
• Untitled