Ronald Oakley God's Country Analysis

Historians agree that a generation “gap” was created in the 1950s between parents and teenagers; however, it has been debatable whether the introduction of Rock N Roll was its cause. In his book, “God’s Country: America in the Fifties”, J. Ronald Oakley provides a convincing argument that teenagers were not changing their values and morals during this time, but instead were simply adapting to the growing changes, such as the end of The Great Depression and World War II, an improved economy, Dr. Spock’s child care manual, introduction of cars and televisions to American households, to list a few. Oakley’s argument is strengthened by factoring in all these changes into the equation instead of unrealistically blaming the entire dismantling of

American traditional family values and customs exclusively on one factor, the introduction of Rock ‘n’ Roll to America.
Oakley directs partial blame on “the demographic revolution of the postwar years that was increasing the influence of the young by producing so many of them in such a short period of time” who were parented under the influence of Dr. Spock, a well-known pediatrician and influential author of child care books who believed that children should be treated as individuals and parents should be more flexible and lenient. Oakley states when combining these factors with an improved economy which allowed parents to provide disposable income to their teens opened up an entire new market for business owners, who along with advertisers “geared up to promote and exploit a gigantic youth consumer market featuring products designed especially for them.” Parents blamed teenagers for purchasing Rock ‘n’ Roll music; however, they failed in noticing their contribution to the purchase.
Another factor that strongly supports Oakley’s arugment is J.D. Salinger’s 1951 publication of The Catcher in the Rye and declares it to be “one of the earliest landmarks in the history of the youth rebellion.” The book is about a rebellious 16-year-old named Holden, who through his own disillusioned point of view, reveals the “truth” to America’s youth about how the real world is very different from the image adults portrayed it to be. Teenagers identified with Holden in ways that their parents and other adults could not. Oakley argues that the popularity of the book amongst teenagers was a trigger and without a doubt influenced teenagers to rebel against adults, proclaimed as phonies and liars by Holden’s character, during this time.
Rebellion and juvenile delinquency began to rise creating panic among parents and other adults. Small localized gangs were growing larger and more widespread than ever. According to Oakley they dressed alike, spoke the same jargon, carried weapons, drank alcohol and took drugs; ultimately creating the image in adult minds nationwide of what a stereotypical juvenile delinquent looked, talked, and behaved like. The crimes committed were more numerous, violent and senseless than older generations had experienced. Oakley reminds readers that the teenage population was also larger than ever, thus statistically increasing the odds against their generation that a crime was going to be committed by one of them.
Oakley attributes the introduction of modern communication, such as newspapers and magazines, to the fear that spread across American parents resulting in adults categorizing all teenagers as delinquents and rebellious, regardless if it were true or not; but especially if that teenager fit the profile of one. Oakley’s research reveals that most teenagers were not criminal or rebellious, but that it was an exaggerated fear placed in the minds of adult by the media.
Oakley states that adults were frustrated and confused wondering what went wrong with their youth. Scared, they began pointing fingers at anything and everyone. Amid the panic, in 1955, James Dean came on the scene in Hollywood mirroring the image of a delinquent, both on and offscreen. his role in the film Rebel Without a Cause, portrayed a misunderstood and rebellious teenager, and teenagers across America created a legend and idol of him. This concerned the already baffled parents who were not able to understand why their youth idolized rebellious people from their own peer group. Oakley states that parents “wanted their children to grow up to be clean-cut, middle-class kids who went to church, obeyed their parents…In short, they wanted their children to be like Pat Boone”, and not James Dean.
Adding fuel to the fire, Elvis Pressley gyrated into the lives and hearts of every teenager across the nation in 1956.

Many adults were against the new rock ‘n’ roll that he brought to the industry, and “objected to its suggestive lyrics and claimed that it fomented rebellion against parents and other authorities, bred immorality, inflamed teenagers to riot, and was unchristian and unpatriotic” while “others objected to its racial background and content, even claiming, as many southerners did, that rock ‘n’roll was a plot jointly sponsored by the Kremlin and the NAACP…designed to tear down the barriers of segregation and bring about sexual promiscuity, intermarriage, and a decline in the morals of young whites.” Oakley states that the debate over rock ‘n’ roll continued throughout the decade, but by 1960, parents witnessed their teenagers grow into conservative adults despite listening to Rock ‘n’ Roll music; slowly they began to accept the genre of music, no longer fearing it would corrupt their

youth.
If still unconvinced that Rock ‘n’ Roll was not to blame for the shift in American family’s values, Oakley cites that “In 1957, when rock ‘n’ roll claimed seven of the top ten records of the year, the number one song was “Tammy”, recorded by both Debbie Reynolds and the Ames Brothers.

He continues that in a 1956 poll by Woman’s Home Companion, concluded that teenage boys and girls chose Como as the best male vocalist, with Presley, Boone, and Sinatra tailing behind.” If nothing else, these two surveys prove Oakley’s argument that teenagers were choosing their music selections for no other reason than what was important to them in their world at that time, love, going steady, automobiles, and high

school.
Oakley sums up his argument with the popular television show “American Bandstand” which began airing in 1952. He agrees that the show had a great deal of influence over teenagers and music at the time; however the influence was positive and parents approved. Oakley states “Clark’s good looks, neat clothing, and civilized manner helped reassure American parents that rock ‘n’ roll was not a barbarian invasion that was turning the youth into juvenile delinquents.” To solidify his argument, American Bandstand, movies starring James Dean, and books about rebellious teenagers, or singers on the radio do not display pictures; however television sets, magazines, and newspapers do. Oakley theorized that without the existence of these other forms of modern communications, neither teenagers nor their parents would have even known how a singer or actor looked, behaved, or danced. Stereotypes would have never developed without those means of communication, and Rock ‘n’ Roll would not have been blamed for so many years.