Studied by 1 person
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill)
1944 act that offered educational opportunities and financial aid to veterans as they readjusted to civilian life. Known as the GI Bill, the law helped millions of veterans build new lives after the war.
Dixiecrats
Southern Democrats who created a segregationist political party in 1948 as a response to federal extensions of civil rights. Dixiecrats advocated for a state’s right to legislate segregation. The Dixiecrat Party ran Strom Thurmond in an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1948 against Truman.
Baby Boom
Sharp population increase between 1946 and 1964 as a result of the end of World War II, increased economic prosperity, improvements in healthcare, and a trend toward marriage at younger age.
Levittown
Suburban subdivision built in Long Island, New York in the 1950s in response to the postwar housing shortage. Subsequent Levittowns were built in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Sun Belt
The southern and western part of the United States to which millions of Americans moved after World War II. Migrants were drawn by the region’s climate and jobs in the defense, petroleum, and chemical industries.
William Levitt
38 year old veteran from Long Island, New York. Devised the idea of Levittown to attract home buyers to the suburbs
Dr. Jonas Salk
Developed a successful injectable vaccine against polio
Beats
A small group of young poets, writers, intellectuals, musicians, and artists who challenged mainstream American politics and culture in the 1950s.
Marilyn Monroe
Starred in the Seven Year Itch (1955). Revealed that women also had a powerful libido, though they ended up being domesticated or paid a terrible price.
Elvis Presley
Born in Tulepo, Mississippi and living in Memphis, Tennessee. created his own style out of the fashion and sensuality of black performers. Known for snarling singing and pelvic gyrations.
Chuck Berry
Black artist who popularized the sound of classic, up-tempo rock.
Frank Sinatra
Pop singer of the 1940s and early 1950s. Appealed to both adolescents and adults. Lost teenage audience after 1954 to rock n’ roll.
Betty Friedan
Wrote the Feminine Mystique. Said that women suffered from “a problem that has no name.”
Dr. Benjamin Spock
Wrote Common Sense Book of Baby and Childcare (1946) that advised mothers that their child would reach their full potential only if wives stayed at home and watched over them.
Billy Graham
Reverend from Charlotte, North Carolina who preached about the unhappiness caused by personal sin at huge outdoor crusades and large arenas.
Miles Davis
Trumpeter who experimented with more complex and textured forms of jazz music. Took it to new heights.
Allen Ginsburg
Wrote the poem Howl. Father of the Beat generation.
Jack Kerouac
Wrote the novel On the Road. Praised the individuals who pursued authentic experiences through drugs, sexual experimentation, and living in the moment.
Dr. Alfred Kinsey
Indiana University graduate who said homosexuals made up 10% of the adult population.
James Dean
Actor in Rebel Without a Cause. Portrayed a 17 year old filled with anguish about his life.
Marlon Brando
Actor in The Wild One which also populized youthful angst.
