The 1950s were a prosperous decade for the United States.
What was daily life like for the average American during this era?
How did people spend their leisure time?
In 1950s America, the average family consisted of a father, mother, and several children.
The average age for marriage amongst men was 23 and 20 for women.
Married couples usually stayed together, with only about 20-25% of marriages ending in divorce.
The husband typically went to work each day while the wife stayed at home.
The family unit was important to Americans.
They ate meals together, went on outings as a group, and did other things as a family.
Parents played an active role in their children’s lives.
They nurtured and cared for them as they matured, disciplining them when necessary.
Dr. Benjamin Spock became a household name, and his book The Common Sense Book of Baby
and Child Care is one of the best-selling books of all time.
He advised parents to trust their instincts about parenting and to treat their children
as individuals.
The post-World War II economy boomed in the United States.
This meant many people were going back to work, making money, and spending it too!
The average yearly salary was $3,210 at the beginning of the decade.
This rose to $5,010 by 1959.
A minimum wage job paid $0.75 an hour, while a job in a factory might have had an hourly
wage of about $1.50.
Of course, each individual’s pay would have varied depending on their job or profession.
The price of a new home ranged from $8,000 to $12,000.
Again, the prices varied depending on how extravagant the home was and what neighborhood,
city, or state it was in.
A new car cost around $1,500 to $2,000.
A gallon of gas was about 30 cents.
A dozen eggs or a pound of coffee could each be purchased for about 79 cents.
A gallon of milk cost around 90 cents, while tomato soup was 10 cents a can.
A woman’s dress cost a little over $3.00, and a good pair of shoes about $6.00.
A men’s suit sold for $30, while a new sewing machine could be bought for $20.
Television increasingly became a part of day-to-day life in the 1950s.
At the beginning of the decade, only 9% of American homes had a television.
However, by 1959, this number had risen to 90%.
Watching television in the evening became a staple family activity.
The highest rated program of the decade was I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and her
real-life husband Desi Arnaz.
Leave it to Beaver, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, and The Honeymooners
were popular as well.
Adults were also entertained by Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, The Ed Sullivan Show,
The Lawrence Welk Show, The Milton Berle Show (also known as The Texaco Star Theatre), and
The Jack Benny Program.
Meanwhile, children found interest in Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, The Mickey Mouse Club,
and The Adventures of Superman.
Most television programming in the 1950s was targeted at middle-aged men.
As a result, westerns were quite popular.
Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Maverick, The Lone Ranger, and Have Gun—Will Travel
were all popular at some point in the decade.
Americans loved going to the movies in the 1950s, and two fads caught on during the decade.
In the early 1950s, watching movies in 3-D became all the rage.
Movie viewers were required to wear special glasses, made of cardboard and plastic, which
allowed the film to be seen in three-dimensions.
This was a short-lived craze though, with the peak years for 3-D movies being 1952-1954.
In the latter half of the decade, the drive-in theater became popular.
Viewers sat in their cars in a parking lot as the movie played on a large screen.
The sound could be heard via a small speaker next to the car.
Charlton Heston enthralled moviegoers with his performance as Moses in The Ten Commandments.
This big-budget Biblical epic became the highest grossing film of the decade, and it was nominated
for seven Academy Awards.
Heston also starred in Ben-Hur.
John Wayne continued to be a dominant force at the box office, starring in such classics
as The Flying Leathernecks, The Quiet Man, Hondo, The Searchers, and Rio Bravo.
Additionally, Alfred Hitchcock thrilled audiences with films like Vertigo and Rear Window.
Marilyn Monroe became a household name with films such as The Seven Year Itch and Some
Like it Hot while James Dean was one of the iconic heartthrobs of the decade with roles
in Giant, East of Eden, and Rebel Without a Cause.
Marlon Brando also became a sensation with A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront.
Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor also captivated American audiences.
Singin’ in the Rain, From Here to Eternity, The African Queen, Twelve Angry Men, and Bridge
on the River Kwai were amongst the best films made during the 1950s.
Meanwhile, animated films such as Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and
Peter Pan were amongst the highest grossing movies of the decade.
Americans have always loved sports, and the 1950s was no exception.
Over 15 million tickets were purchased to Major League Baseball games nearly every year
of the decade.
Those who attended witnessed some of the greatest players of all time.
Yogi Berra, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks, and Jackie Robinson were
amongst the league’s best players.
The National Football League (NFL) produced several notable players, including Raymond
Berry, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Frank Gifford, Lou Groza, Dick “Night Train” Lane, and
Jim Brown.
In college football, Coach Bud Wilkinson and the University of Oklahoma impressed the nation
with a 47 game winning streak and three national championships.
Boxing was one of the most popular sports in the 1950s.
Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta were both stars, and Rocky Marciano was the heavyweight
champion from September of 1952 to April of 1956.
The fledgling National Basketball Association (NBA) produced memorable players such as Neil
Johnston, Dolph Schayes, Bob Pettit, and George Mikan.
In music, the most popular trend was the introduction of Rock n’ Roll.
The new musical style, preferred by teenagers, created some of the most legendary performers
of the 1950s, including Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Elvis became known as “The King of Rock n’ Roll,” producing twelve #1 songs in
the decade.
American Bandstand was a successful television program which introduced the public to many
new Rock n’ Roll performers for the first time.
Singers such as Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin, and Eddie Fisher were popular
outside of the Rock n’ Roll genre.
In country music, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Gene Autry, and Chet Atkins were big names.
There were many other trends in the 1950s.
Young boys wore coonskin caps to emulate Davy Crockett (which was another popular television
program).
Girls wore knee-length skirts known as poodle skirts and short white socks known as bobby
socks.
Additionally, the Hula Hoop made its debut in 1958, and 25
million were purchased in the first four months!
It should be noted that not every family experienced the 1950s in the same way.
These are just a few of the broad trends that predominated throughout the decade.
Each family and individual had a unique situation, with their own stories, tastes, and preferences.