The 1950s were a decade of great change and progress in the United States. The country was still reeling from the effects of World War II, but the economy was booming and the future looked bright. The decade saw the rise of the civil rights movement, the dawn of the Cold War, and the beginning of the space race. The baby boom was in full swing, and the suburbs were growing rapidly. The decade was also marked by great conflict, as the country struggled with issues of race, gender, and class.
The post-World War II boom was a defining feature of the 1950s. The economy was growing rapidly, and the gross national product more than doubled between 1945 and 1960. The construction of interstate highways and schools, the distribution of veterans benefits, and the increase in military spending all contributed to the decades economic growth. Rates of unemployment and inflation were low, and wages were high. Middle-class people had more money to spend than ever before, and the variety and availability of consumer goods expanded along with the economy.
The baby boom and the suburban boom went hand in hand. Developers began to buy land on the outskirts of cities and use mass production techniques to build modest, inexpensive tract houses there. The G.I. Bill subsidized low-cost mortgages for many returning soldiers, which meant that it was often cheaper to buy one of these suburban houses than it was to rent an apartment in the city. These houses were perfect for young familiesthey had informal family rooms, open floor plans, and backyardsand so suburban developments earned nicknames like Fertility Valley and The Rabbit Hutch.
The 1950s were also an era of great conflict. The nascent civil rights movement and the crusade against communism at home and abroad in the Korean War exposed underlying divisions in American society. The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for blacks to gain equal rights under the law in the United States. The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. Between 1955 and 1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil