Happy+Days

That's a great question, don't you think? We will answer it in class on Thursday in a (hopefully) fun activity, but to prepare, we should do a little background reading and watching. R**ead "The Fifties" in __Creating America__ (28-3, pp. 800-803), read over the ABC-CLIO links posted below, and w****atch the videos below.** 
 * FOR HOMEWORK, CREATE A LIST (IN YOUR ONLINE NOTEBOOK) OF POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES CONCERNING LIFE IN THE FIFTIES FOR CLASS ON THURSDAY. WE WILL USE IT TO WRITE SOME DIALOGUE ...**

[|The Cold War at Home] / [|The Economy Booms] / [|The Sky is the Limit] / [|Boom-Time for Babies and Houses]

=POSITIVES =

=NEGATIVES =
 * Social Security was increased along with minimum wage
 * The Department of Health Education, and Welfare was created
 * Americans felt more prosperous
 * Many suburbs sprouted up and jobs were created
 * The suburbs were the American dream with affordable houses, good schools and a safe place to raise their children
 * American industry produced many goods for consumers to buy
 * Nine out of ten households held a TV
 * Rock 'n' roll music swept the nation
 * Industry took of at a furious pace
 * Many technological advances
 * Automobiles were a very hot product, 4 million were built in 1952
 * Many life threatening diseases were cured with antibiotics
 * Nearly one out of every five Americans were in poverty
 * Minorities were affected by urban decay because they couldn't afford houses in the suburbs
 * Many illegal immigrants entered
 * The immigrants from Mexico, who immigrated legally were given low wages and bad working conditions
 * Cities held the nations poorest while richer families moved out to the suburbs
 * Women felt bored and isolated being a "stay at home" mom
 * The "blacklist" ruined many Americans work
 * Leads to "social upheaval"
 * Polio burst out in epidemics
 * Many Americans feared the fact that the Soviet Union had technology to launch a missile and that they also had nuclear weapons