Life In The 1960s Essay

There is a huge difference between life in the United States as it is today and in the 1950s/1960s. The greatest change is the way in which people lived back then verses how they live today and there are many things that influence these changes. For example, after World War II ended, there was a large increase in childbirth throughout the United States. As a result of this, many Americans moved to the suburbs in hopes of a better life. This would create not only more job opportunities, but some leisure as well. There also has been a significant change in the roles that both men and women played in society in the 1950s/1960s verses today. For instance, women are no longer looked upon as just a “House Wife”. Back in the 1950s/1960s, after a woman started a family her main job was to take care of the household while the men

work to provide for their family. There has been a drastic change in the lifestyle and culture in which people lived in the 1950s/1960s and today. With this paper, I’ll illustrate the comparison between the two.
During the 1950s, America’s population was on a rapid rise like never before.

The popular television culture both reflected and influenced the nation’s lifestyle. America, as a nation also believed that it was on the nuclear war edge. Americans were happy that they overcame the Second World War and put it behind them. In 1950, there were about twenty-four million children in America and by the 1960s that number had risen to thirty-five million. The increase in the rate of childbirth hyped the need for more houses, as larger families desired spacious residence. Most preferred the spacious residence as it provided enough room for their children to play in. In 1950, about 1.5 million new residences were established in America with most of them being located in the suburbs. Most people wanted to live in the suburbs as they thought there were better schools than in the city. Americans of today still prefer living in the suburbs verse city living. The major difference of today is the fact that city living now offers some of the same qualities you would have gotten in the suburbs. Such as spacious apartments for bigger families, better jobs and

schools.
Subsequently, the years after the Second World War, brought in a new prosperity age in the United States with a big number of returning soldiers marrying quickly and beginning families in the country’s suburban areas. Men were communally viewed as the sole family providers while the women stayed home and cared for their children. As the head of the household, men had a significant amount of power at home contributing to the male superiority feelings. Although in today’s society men are still viewed the same way. There are now stay at home dads whereas in the 1950s/1960s this would have been something that was unheard of. It was the duty of the man to have a career to fulfill the family needs and protect it from poverty. Today, more women are employed in a variety of fields, compared to back then in the 1950s where a woman’s best employment chance was being accepted in positions such as teaching, nursing, and secretarial jobs. It was uncommon for a married woman to work and most took on the housework and childcare while their husbands worked. In the 1950s, it was unlikely for a woman to take a garbage collecting job because the culture and society insisted that this was a masculine job.
Similarly, children back in the 1950s lived a very different life compared to the children of today. One of the biggest changes is that kids no longer have to work since the law has been passed putting an end to child labor. Back then, many of them left school very early, with most starting work at the age of fourteen and few of them having the chance to go further their education. At this time, the Second World War after effects were still ongoing. For instance, most goods were still on ration until 1953 with meat only coming off the ration after a year. The ordinary family had little money to spare for holiday trips and cinema treats. Before televisions were in most homes, people spent most of their leisure time reading newspapers, listening to the radio and playing board games. Doing house chores was more difficult as people washed by hand compared to today where people use machines. There were refrigerators, therefore frozen food was bought on a daily basis.
For today’s children, trying to imagine life as a 1950s kids having fun may prove a difficult task since there were no such things as video games to add on the children’s television programming that was being operated at a bare minimum. Games including marbles, chess, and checkers and also card games, such as the “old maid “or “go-fish” kept the children amused in their spare time. Although parents instilled discipline, the children enjoyed a larger amount of their personal freedom during their leisure time compared to today. There were only a few cars on the road leaving the children free to roam on foot. Women and men spent most of their free time watching television as they regarded urban public places with suspicion.
All in all, there has been a lot of changes that can be observed in the current United States as compared to the United States in the 1950s to 1960s. Changes like women participation in politics, their presentation in the society and family. The nature of employment among men and women in the 1950s/1960s and today as well as the social view on family and marriage have equally changed throughout the two periods. The development of technology has contributed a great deal to the change in social life, entertainment and lifestyle in the United States between then and now.