What were their perspectives of say 1890?

Only someone from 1950 could answer that. 

Only someone from 1950 could answer that.  


I guess I'll have to wait for someone who remembered the 50s to answer (or at least someone who has an extensive knowledge of this time period or has spoken to many people who grew up in the 50s). I've always been curious about this.

What were their perspectives of say 1890?


We who didn't live in the 50's could only guess.

I bet to people in 1950 the 1890's seemed like a bygone era. Probably to them it seemed 'innocent'. Despite the peaceful image of nostalgia we conjured up, the 50's was the first full decade of the cold war. We were scared of being bombed. Nuclear fears!! People in the 50's probably thought: "There was no nuclear bombs in the 1890's". Also with Elvis and Rock and Roll becoming popular circa mid 50's some people thought the world was going straight to hell. We had never had a star like Elvis before. It seemed dangerous to have such a sexually charged star an icon or idol.

Also with television becoming hugely affordable and popular in the 50's the 1890's probably seemed 'slow' technologically. Funny because to us in 2010/2011 the 1950's seem slow technologically! It's all about perspective I guess. Kids would probably think that the 1890's was the era of their grandparents and 'unhip' and 'out of sync' with the times. The 50's was the beginning of the coined term 'teenager'. Teens now could afford to by records, go the movies, and go out to eat with their friends/girlfriends.

This is only a guess of what people in 1950 would think 1890 was like.

Yes, that is a rather difficult question.  One thing I could say is that the 1890s were the first specific decade to be looked at nostalgically (the "Gay Nineties").  This nostalgia occurred in the 1920s and saw a large amount of romanticization about the aristocratic culture of the time, of the more simple agricultural lifestyle of many Americans, etc. 

In reality, the 1890s were home to the second worst recession in US history.  Unemployment went over 10% in 1893, peaked at 18.4% in 1894, and didn't drop below 10% until 1899.  Nostalgia has a weird way of looking over stuff like that though.

Of course, this nostalgia occurred in the 1920s, so by 1950 rolled around, that nostalgia was long gone.

Yes, that is a rather difficult question.  One thing I could say is that the 1890s were the first specific decade to be looked at nostalgically (the "Gay Nineties").  This nostalgia occurred in the 1920s and saw a large amount of romanticization about the aristocratic culture of the time, of the more simple agricultural lifestyle of many Americans, etc.  

In reality, the 1890s were home to the second worst recession in US history.  Unemployment went over 10% in 1893, peaked at 18.4% in 1894, and didn't drop below 10% until 1899.  Nostalgia has a weird way of looking over stuff like that though.

Of course, this nostalgia occurred in the 1920s, so by 1950 rolled around, that nostalgia was long gone.


Actually, since social ideals of the 1950s weren't that drastically different from the 1890s (though technology was far advanced), the Gay Nineties had a long lifespan as a nostalgic era, peaking in the late 1930s according to a Google News Archive search of the term "Gay Nineties". Lots of classic Disney material makes use of that era. The social revolution of the 1960s however put the 1890s in the history books for good as in addition to all of the new ideals, most of the remaining people who could recall that era died off around that time. This was just before rock and roll, and Tin Pan Alley music made its start in the 1880s first becoming popular in the 1890s, and much of the current pop music around 1950 was still Tin Pan Alley-styled. Overall, I'd say people then viewed that decade similar to how people view the 1950s today (quite rose-tinted and seemingly far off compared to the present, but past its nostalgic peak).

Check this link out, lots of nostalgia found here:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?as_user_ldate=1950&as_user_hdate=1950&q=%22gay+nineties%22&num=10&as_price=p0&scoring=a&hl=en&q=%22gay+nineties%22&lnav=od&btnG=Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuZgkVvyV-o

;D