The Century: America's Time

Reporter Peter Jennings hosts this important series that chronicles the events and experiences of America in the twentieth century, the century that Henry Luce dubbed

Episode 9, Happy Days

The election of Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 ushered in one of the most prosperous eras in American history. The shortages of the war were a distant memory as consumers rushed to spend their wartime savings on the new homes, cars and appliances that were now abundant. The nuclear family as the haven from political and atomic anxiety depended on rigid gender roles and consumption, and television provided the images of themselves that Americans wanted to see. But beneath the complacency of the era lurked the indicators of a society waiting to rebel, and the realties of a nation divided by racial and class conflicts. This episode examines the

Discussion Questions

  1. Dwight David Eisenhower enjoyed immense popularity when he was president between 1953 and 1961. What was Ike¹s appeal? Why was he so popular?

  2. The 1950s witnessed the most prosperous economy in American history. How did this prosperity transform the country?

  3. Discuss gender roles in the 1950s. Why were these roles so rigid? How have these roles changed? How have they remained similar?

  4. Television became part of almost every American home in the 1950s. What was the impact of television on 1950s culture?

  5. Why was television so popular? How has the role of television in American society changed? How has it remained the same?

  6. Rock-n-roll debuted in the 1950s and caused consternation among some of the older generation. Why were traditionalists so concerned about the effects of rock-n-roll?

  7. Discuss the impact of Elvis Presley on American culture and American music.

  8. Discuss the impact of the Baby Boom. How did this boom fuel rock-n-roll and the youth culture of the 1950s?

  9. What is an icon? Discuss the impact of some of the icons of the 1950s.

  10. African-Americans chose the 1950s as the decade to change the system of segregation. How did Martin Luther King, Jr. become the leader of this Civil Rights Movement?

  11. Discuss the events that happened at Central High School in Arkansas. What was the impact for the rest of the nation?
Extended Activities

  1. The 1950s ushered in the era of television advertising. Create a storyboard for a 1950s commercial.

  2. Create a poster urging people to join the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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