211 lessons. Many families adorned their homes with modern furniture, automatic appliances, and a variety of products deemed the latest and greatest things. With over two decades of experience, Roundpeg is an Indianapolis-based digital marketing agency specializing in local SEO, website design, and content development. Networks divided viewers into target audiences and advertisers spent large sums to promote their products. New technologies such as Consumerism of the 1920s -1950s The suitable increase in goods expenditure in an economically desirable way is known as consumerism. It became based on the idea of single-family ownership of a home filled with convenience items like. Historian Elained Tyler Maybelieves that the federal government and the American people saw the new consumerism as a way to deemphasize class differences while stressing traditional gender roles. The 1950s are most often remembered as a quiet decade, a decade of conformity, stability, and normalcy. At war's end, the items people most desired included televisions, cars, washing machines, refrigerators, toasters, and vacuum cleaners: the machines that would help them modernizetheir lives. When Was the Red Scare? While some of these examples are so absurd theyve become funny to us now, others are nothing short of horrifying. Official toys and games were marketed alongside childrens programs and television serials. Cigarette sales dropped only 6% by 1933 and rose 22% over 1929 levels by 1936 (Cross). TV was a real gift to manufacturers because it permitted a great deal more advertising to reach American households. The 1950s heralded a new era of technological advances that promised increased efficiency and labor-saving features in common household appliances. Radio's golden age in the 1940s and TV's golden age in the 1950s both took place when advertisers were creating or heavily involved with the production of most of the programs. Bill of Rights, allowed many young families to purchase their own homes, often located in rapidly expanding suburbs. Create your account. Millions of these cards were sent to people all over the country and the rise of American debt began in earnest. As more American families began to move into single-family suburban homes, consumption of convenience goods escalated, with families outfitting their new environments with automobiles, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines. In the 1960s, women on average made around $8,000 (adjusted for inflation) per year, compared to nearly $40,000 in 2014. Another new service industry, the motel chain, was inspired by a summer driving trip. Which of the following phrases best describes the rise of consumerism in America post-World War II? The 1920s and the 1950s were times of substantial growth and economic prosperity. All this was to make your gas fill-up even more desirable and memorable. She is certified in Middle Grades Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, and Math, and has 9 years of teaching experience in these fields. Your email address will not be published. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. That had required a massive outpouring of industrial production, true to Roosevelt's promise to make America an 'Arsenal for Democracy.' The system of planned obsolescence also accelerated consumption by making goods more affordable while manufacturers made them less durable, ensuring that they would have to be replaced with regular use. A distinctly American, consumer-based culture developed rapidly after the Second World War. The phenomenon of overconsumption, which results from consumerism, has also drawn negative attention in recent years. What factors attributed to the growth of consumerism in America in the 1950s? Some charged extra for children. The advertising industry pushed celebrity endorsements; Loretta Young inconspicuously promoted detergent, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz smoked their sponsor's cigarettes, and Frank Sinatra sang about shampoo. Popular destinations included the multitude of drive-in movie theaters and carhop restaurants that appeared almost overnight. Measures of the G.I. | Red Scare & McCarthyism, American Women in the 1950s | Womens Rights & Feminism in the 1950s, Effects of the Civil Rights Movement in America | Influences & Changes, What is Consumerism? The end of World War. These advertisements used animated mascots and celebrity endorsements to highlight the appeal of an array of mass-produced goods, as well as television programs such as Leave it to Beaver that portrayed the idealized American family. Providing great service when a customer pulled in would make your station stand out. By the 1950s, the average American family had at least one car and that car was a large gas guzzling source of pride. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. An All-Consuming Century. A major drawback was the advertising cost; sponsors were spending between $10,000 to $20,000 for 1-minute spots 10 times more than for radio ads, according to William H. Young in his book "The 1950s". How was Consumerism Encouraged in the 1950s? As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 The 1950s were sometimes referred to as "the advertiser's dream decade." With the end of the war came a new desire for Americans to spend money. Americans did not mind this lack of goods because it was all for the good of the war effort but it often left them with more money than they could spend. All rights reserved. Cars and TVs Television and automobile sales skyrocketed in the 1950s. After the end of World War II in 1945, American society, exhausted by half a decade of wartime rations and restrictions, was ripe for a change. 1003 E 106th St, Carmel, IN 46280|317.569.1396. A sponsor could refuse to let a competing auto manufacturer's car appear in a scene or allow an actor to smoke cigars if the sponsor sold cigarettes. These years would influence the years to come, especially the role of television in consumption. While the decades were similar in heightened . They singled out underconsumption as a root cause of the Great Depression, they called for the construction a consumerist political economy and pronounced America to be entering into new era defined economically by consumption and driven politically by the might of organized consumers (Glickman). Consumer needs were constantly changing due to wars, shifts in the economy, advancements in technology and various other factors. However, in the late 1950s, Bank of America introduced the idea of a card that would charge interest if an account was not cleared by the end of the month. A cost-of-living index measures differences in the price of goods and services over time. Consumers felt closer to the American Dream than in the previous decades. Required fields are marked *. Consumerism on TV: Popular Media from the 1950s to the Present. Christmas and Consumerism, a Brief History. One of the most significant shifts in American business took place in the last decades of the nineteenth century with the emergence of the "modern corporation," which sought to attract and retain consumers through new forms of packaging, marketing, and advertising. Home-front workers found their wallets and purses full, many for the first time in a decade. Advertising volume expanded along with the booming economy, and, perhaps more crucially, advertisers employed the new medium of television to reach their audiences. During the 1950's in people were concerned with the idea of consumerism which meant that society was constantly looking for the next best product to come on the market. But income inequality persisted, and people questioned whether the government should intervene to balance the scales. Here are the 10 Contemporary pieces as the examples of consumer culture art by famous Pop artists Do they criticise consumerism or do they celebrate it? The consumer movement shows that far from a nascent neo-liberal agenda, on offer was a negotiation with the market recognizing both its dynamism and iniquities and crafting . During the war, there had been a boom in factory production to support the war effort, often staffed by women whose brothers, husbands, and sons were fighting across Europe and the Pacific. In 1955, cartoon characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop jumped around and sang about the joys of eating Rice Krispies. Bill, the Marshall Plan (the European Recovery Program, commonly nicknamed after its developer, United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall) provided a boost to economic development by offering financial aid to the recovering countries of Europe to restore industry, infrastructure, and international trade. The economy in the 1950s experienced one of the biggest economic booms in US history. The only way to find out was to go from one motel to the next. Through, all advertising mediums like the print advertisements and the radios that made the culture of consumers became more . var googletag = googletag || {}; As the population of the United States soared during the 1950s, median family income doubled and the gross national product grew by more than $200 billion. Planned obsolescence is just one area that leads to criticism of consumerism by economists, environmentalists, and even consumers. There are, obviously, some standard modes of practice that are tried and true. Today, there are Holiday Inns in every state and more than 50 countries. Many people downsized, because of necessity. The American government intended this plan to be a method for preventing the resurgence of fascism and the spread of communism from the Soviet Union. As soon as the war ended, consumption increased exponentially. The production and selling of goods judge the economy. With the war ending and families being reunited, a huge increase in population erupted: The Baby Boom. The purchase of many types of goods went up such as food, clothing, cars, and electric appliances. Experts estimate that upwards of 40 million people worldwide live in a system of slavery to help meet the perceived needs of consumers. Cars and TVs With the things that defined "the good life" within economic reach, working-class people could achieve the upward mobility they craved. Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America. The station featured rows of shiny new pumps and girls on roller skates who skated around to collect money. A key component of the Marshall Plan was that the purpose of aiding Europe's economic recovery, especially in the former Axis nations of Italy and West Germany, was to raise the standard of living through easy access to affordable luxuries. After the devastation of the Great Depression and World War II, many Americans sought to build a peaceful and prosperous society. Bill (the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944), which provided soldiers with a no-cost college education and affordable home loans. 1950s American culture was characterized by a boom in consumerism, which bolstered the economy and left cultural impacts as well. . He has since founded his own financial advice firm, Newton Analytical. Discount retailing emerged in 1912, but this niche did not begin to draw attention until 1950s in New England (Huddleston). Animated figures such as Speedy Alka-Seltzer, Gillette's Sharpie the parrot, Mr. Clean and the Jolly Green Giant entertained TV viewers in later ads. The sexism of 1950s advertising is infamous, and for good reason. There was little use for massive bombers and armored tanks now that the country was, at least for the time being, at peace. Americans spent their money on cars, televisions and other modern appliance, Library of Congress, Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! Consumerism Introduction . Advertising We'll write a high-quality original custom paper on Consumerism in the 1950's just for you with a 15% discount for the 1st order Use a Discount Use a Discount. Pent-up consumer . The television was a source for family programming, dramas, sitcoms. By the end of the decade, advertisers were relegated to buying airtime. JFK Foreign Policy & the Cold War | What were JFK's Cold War Policies? 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