From 1955 to 1975 the United States was full of tension and violence but also momentous social change. It was a volatile period for our country. During this time period there was a push for social, racial and gender equality. After the end of World War II in 1945 our country started to experience such change but between 1955 to 1975 was when people started to really recognize the change that was happening. Of course not everyone wants change so inevitably there was violence and there certainly was tension. During the early 1950s Americans didn’t question anything about the “ideal” society, where women stayed at home to take care of household chores and the children while the men went to work and provided for the family financially. They conformed to the rules of society. Young people and older people didn’t have separate ideas or hobbies. Younger people just followed in their elders footsteps and that became traditional. I believe that the media contributed to this belief of a traditional society. There were shows in the late 1950s that gave this idea of the perfect family such as Leave it to Beaver that started to air on television in 1957. There was the family that ate dinner together and talked about their day. There was a hot meal on the dinner table by the time the father came home and when the children came home from school mother was already preparing dinner and doing laundry. People who watched those kinds of shows believed that’s how all families should be. A number of movements challenged the idea of a traditional society such as the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement. Within the “traditional” society women were expected to dress a certain way, not wearing anything to ... ... middle of paper ... ...sult of women’s movement and their fight for equality in the past women are now more independent than ever. There are women in every field of work. Women are no longer expected to stay at home while their husbands work, though some may choose too it’s not as typical as it once was. Prior to 1955 women and men got married and started a family after high school and now it’s quite the opposite. In today’s society both genders attend college whether it’s for four years or more and then get married and start a family. As for African Americans, civil rights movements made it so segregation is unconstitutional all across America. There is now race and gender equality. Though people may be judged based on their gender and race, everyone has the same rights and without the movements that sought to change the “traditional” norms of society we wouldn’t be where we are today.
American Society on the Change during the Post-World War Years. After World War II, Americans experienced a time of rapid social change. American soldiers were discharged and returned home from the battlefields, hoping to find work and to get on with their lives. Marriage rates increased dramatically after the war.
The era of the 1950s was an iconic era in American history. The American dream of freedom, self empowerment, and success was growing. After world war 1, the ideals of american culture changed. The country saw the aftermath of the war in the countries of western Europe where communism was beginning to take hold, and the U.S tried to be the opposite. Marriage was propagated to be the opposite of the war torn families across the world, where women were working in factories and children fending for themselves with no home. The American “nuclear family” strived to be one where the father supported his family, the wife stayed home and provided for her children. Family became a national priority, and women were taught that a happy marriage and home
The 1950s seemed to have brought families of all different kinds together and spend quality time with each other. Fathers were the head of the home out working all day to supply money for his family while the children were at school and his wife was at home. The children were gone all day just like their father but they were learning and obtaining a good education from school. The mother was a stay at home housewife doing all different chores, maintenances around the house, and preparing food for the
After many years of battling for equality among the sexes, people today have no idea of the trails that women went through so that women of future generations could have the same privileges and treatment as men. Several generations have come since the women’s rights movement and the women of these generations have different opportunities in family life, religion, government, employment, and education that women fought for. The Women’s Rights Movement began with a small group of people that questioned why human lives, especially those of women, were unfairly confined. Many women, like Sojourner Truth and Fanny Fern, worked consciously to create a better world by bringing awareness to these inequalities. Sojourner Truth, prominent slave and advocate
World War II had just ended. Women that were working because their husbands were out fighting in the war came back home when the war ended. The 1940’s ended and it was time for a new decade. The 1950’s were looked as a state of mind or a way of living instead of another time in American history. The 1950’s were the most influential decade in American history because the civil rights act began, fashion was completely new and trendy there were more much advancement in entertainment and medicine, and suburban life was much more functional than any other decade in America.
As gender roles were enhanced, the nuclear family was birthed. This ideal family, mainly portrayed in popular culture, had a working father, homemaking mother, and children. Television shows depicting this type of household, Leave it to Beaver, and I Love Lucy, were not representative of the reality of America. Not all of Americans were white, and not all women were happy living as housewives (Boyer 101). Although most did not fit the mold
...he influence for a better status for slavery was changing; new reforms were made that make the difference to a better life for slaves. And along with the change of the reform for the government the women make themselves presence and that set the start of change for women’s rights. The change took time but little by little they were making decisions that make their life better, like when they had access to education and were able to teach at schools. The most interesting aspect of history for me was when the women start looking for their rights. I believe that if those women had not fought for their rights and kept quiet, in today’s society would still be treating as property. For example, women couldn’t access to education and be able to work like we do today. I really proud of those women that fought for our right and make our generations enjoy what we have today.
My last point is the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Women could not vote because they were considered mentally and physically inferior. Their contribution to WWII challenged the notion of these ideas. They campaigned and argued for their rights until eventually the 19th amendment was passed. They still have to fight for their rights because they are still treated differently. A good example of this is how they are represented in the media. Women are on camera 32% of the time, report 37% of stories, and write 42% of the
The civil rights movement influenced the women’s liberation movement in four key ways. First, it provided women with a model for success on how a successful movement should organize itself. Second, the civil rights movement broadened the concept of leadership to include women. Third, by fighting for equality, the civil rights movement changed the culture of advocacy and made social justice a legitimate cause. Finally, by eventually excluding women, the civil rights movement spurred women to organize their own movement. Without the civil rights movement, the women’s movement likely would never taken off on its own.
The 1950s was a time when American life seemed to be in an ideal model for what family should be. People were portrayed as being happy and content with their lives by the meadia. Women and children were seen as being kind and courteous to the other members of society while when the day ended they were all there to support the man of the house. All of this was just a mirage for what was happening under the surface in the minds of everyone during that time as seen through the women, children, and men of this time struggled to fit into the mold that society had made for them.
During the years between 1920 and 1960, America saw change in many aspects of life. The United States was a part of two major wars and a crash of the banking system that crippled the economy greater than ever seen in this country’s history. Also the country had new insecurities to tackle such as immigration and poor treatment of workers. These events led to the change of America lives socially, economically, and politically. The people of America changed their ideas of what the country’s place in the world should be. The issues challenging America led the country to change from isolation to war, depression to prosperity, and social change. The threats to American way of life, foreign and domestic, were the changing forces to the country in the twenties to the sixties.
In the mid nineteenth century America was going through an age of reform. The person who would be the center of these reforms would be the women in society. Women soon realized that in order to make sure that all the reforms went through they would need more power and influence in society. The oppression and discrimination the women felt in this era launched the women into create the women’s right movement. The women fought so zealously for their rights it would be impossible for them not to achieve their goals. The sacrifices, suffering, and criticism that the women activist made would be so that the future generations would benefit the future generations.
The first reason why the 1960’s is the decade of change is because of the political history. Some major political events included in the 60's, the decade of change is the civil rights movement, space race, and the Bay of Pigs. In the 1900's there was allot of bad stuff happening between blacks and whites. When the civil rights movement was passed it made major changes in the 1960's. The civil rights "movement began peacefully, with Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael leading sit-ins and peaceful protests, joined by whites, particularly Jews. Malcolm X preached about Black Nationalism. After his assassination, the Black Panthers were formed to continue his mission. In 1965, the Watts riots broke out in Los Angeles. The term "blacks" became socially acceptable, replacing Negroes"(Goodwin 4). MLK or Martin Luther King w...
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
During the early 19th century women were expected to wear long, heavy skirts and tight corsets, which often made breathing strenuous. Those who rejected these styles found themselves the center of public humiliation. Gerrit Smith, a top United States politician and abolonist declared, “Women could not hope to be accepted by men as equals until they began to dress more practically.” (George Sullivan) Gerrit Smith’s ideas sparked an idea in his daughter, Elizabeth Smith Miller’s mind. Elizabeth thought of wearing a pair of ballooning pants under a skirt at knee level. This impressed Elizabeth’s cousin Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was an American social activist and was extremely influential in the Women’s right movement. Elizabeth loved her cousin, Elizabeth Smith...