My question: Were the 1950s (and early 60's) as conservative, innocent, and "cute" as the media has portrayed the era over the last 40 years? Were the 60s the result of too much innocence and "goodytwoshoes" of the fifties? Just curious..was not born until 18 years after the 50s!

That's a good question. Not being alive in the 50s, I can only state what I learned in History.

First of all, McCarthyism and the "Red Scare" was running rampent. "Are you or have you ever been..." People losing their livelyhoods because someone mentioned their names. Oh sure, you could save your job by accusing others-and losing your dignty. It was a Catch-22 situation. Damned if you did, and damned if you didn't.

Then there was the Civil Rights movement which was NOT all "innocent and cute". "Whites Only" signs everywhere in the south and "seperate but equal" was definately NOT equal. Not to mention people fighting for change were apted to get killed.


As for the 60s, being a result of "too much innocence", I think just the opposite is true. I think the Baby Boomers saw what was going on way too well and fought against the establishment. Of course the U.S. involvement with Viet Nam had a major influence on that. Most of the people who were being drafted and sent off to be killed were the poor and the young. The rich could get deferments by going to college (or if your Daddy knew someone who knew someone-you could get out of it).

So to answer your question, NO! The 50s were NOT all hunky dory as the media portrays it.




Cat

hmmm, I was born 1950. so I didn't know anything about politics or any of that stuff in the 50s
so if you were it kid, it sure seemed that way.

I totally agree with your take on the 60's Cat.
in fact I was drafted in '69.

Ok, so as a kid growing up in the 50s..(you said you were born in 50 so of course, maybe you don't have the adult point of view from the decade but you still observed as a kid)..and now that you have grown, do you think the post-McCarthyism 50's (55-60)were more innocent and than say, the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s? I can really only compare the last 3 decades. It seems as if a lot of our "modern society" was born in the 50s, and I am curious as to how it affected the next few generations.  My father was born in 1943, but he tells me the same stories about the fifties and still tells me how great life was for kids and families right around 1955. My mother was born in 1957 so she can't describe the decade.
Also about the 60s..I see what you are both saying about how sixties culture came to be..and how it is not a rebellion against the conservative 50s..so do you think had the escalation, buildup, and eventual "conflict" in Vietnam not happened, the sixties would have been different?

Ok, so as a kid growing up in the 50s..(you said you were born in 50 so of course, maybe you don't have the adult point of view from the decade but you still observed as a kid)..and now that you have grown, do you think the post-McCarthyism 50's (55-60)were more innocent and than say, the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s? I can really only compare the last 3 decades. It seems as if a lot of our "modern society" was born in the 50s, and I am curious as to how it affected the next few generations.  My father was born in 1943, but he tells me the same stories about the fifties and still tells me how great life was for kids and families right around 1955. My mother was born in 1957 so she can't describe the decade.
Also about the 60s..I see what you are both saying about how sixties culture came to be..and how it is not a rebellion against the conservative 50s..so do you think had the escalation, buildup, and eventual "conflict" in Vietnam not happened, the sixties would have been different?



I think a kid growing up in any decade sees life as innocent. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and even though Viet Nam was all over the news, in the papers, etc. I had no idea that there was a war going on. I was too worried if Santa was going to give me the lastest Barbie doll or if I could have a friend spend the night. These were important things to worry about.  ;)  However, (looking at this from a historian persective) I think the U.S. probably loss its innocence with the age of television. Everything was instintatous. Prior to that time, you didn't hear about news on the other side of the world until a few weeks later-and then it was only sketchy at most. However, if there was one incident that the U.S. really lost its innocence was on Nov. 22, 1963-the day JKF was assasinated. But even after that, you only heard about what was going on in the world for about an hour (6-7 p.m.) and again for a half hour (11 p.m.)  Today you have news 24/7.

To respond to your question if the 60s would have been different if it weren't for Viet Nam-who knows??



Cat

I think a kid growing up in any decade sees life as innocent. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and even though Viet Nam was all over the news, in the papers, etc. I had no idea that there was a war going on. I was too worried if Santa was going to give me the lastest Barbie doll or if I could have a friend spend the night. These were important things to worry about.  ;)  However, (looking at this from a historian persective) I think the U.S. probably loss its innocence with the age of television. Everything was instintatous. Prior to that time, you didn't hear about news on the other side of the world until a few weeks later-and then it was only sketchy at most. However, if there was one incident that the U.S. really lost its innocence was on Nov. 22, 1963-the day JKF was assasinated. But even after that, you only heard about what was going on in the world for about an hour (6-7 p.m.) and again for a half hour (11 p.m.)  Today you have news 24/7.

To respond to your question if the 60s would have been different if it weren't for Viet Nam-who knows??



Cat



I agree. Whatever decade you grew up in is always going to seem more innocent and carefree than it really was. I grew up in the '90s and even though they were far from innocent thats the way that I view that decade(from my personal memories). The '50s are defidently not as innocent as there often portrayed. The 1950s and early '60s was the height of the cold was, and racism ran rampart down here in the south(and really all over the country). But I suppose the pop culture of the '50s was pretty innocent(Ike, malt shops, etc.) when compared to the more rebellious '60s.

"and now that you have grown, do you think the post-McCarthyism 50's (55-60)were more innocent and than say, the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s?"

Looking back, I do still think so. At least on a community level, The world wasn't as scary. no crack , no meth , no gangs like there are today. There really are alot of bad people around now. murderers, rapists, people out to harm children. Yes, there always have been, there are just more of them now.  I think there simply are too many people. at least where I live there are.

"and now that you have grown, do you think the post-McCarthyism 50's (55-60)were more innocent and than say, the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s?"

Looking back, I do still think so. At least on a community level, The world wasn't as scary. no crack , no meth , no gangs like there are today. There really are alot of bad people around now. murderers, rapists, people out to harm children. Yes, there always have been, there are just more of them now.  I think there simply are too many people. at least where I live there are.



That is true. Crime is on the rise-or maybe it always have been but now it is more out in the open than it used to be. I don't recall hearing about senseless acts of violence when I growing up-like drive-by shootings, etc. They MAY have happened but I don't recall them. I remember running around the neighborhood all day-just as long as I was home when the street lights came on. And this was when I was about 6 or 7. If I had a kid, I wouldn't let him/her do that.



Cat

my point exactly..in the summer, we could go to a big field just down the street (it's a huge apartment complex now) where we would have flashlight wars when it got dark. no one was worried for our safety to  the degree we have to watch our children now.

Were the 50's carefree for adults? No. But you didn't worry about your kids as much. You didn't hear about childnappings unless it was local or someone like Lindburg. The national news was politics and was in your paper and radio. Local news was weather and a lot of what happened last week, not today. A lot of NEWS was filtered so as not to panic the public. LIVE TV changed how we got our news. You saw the War in Nam, You saw the Pres. get shot. You saw the marchers get hit by police and attacked by dogs AS IT HAPPENED. You didn't find out after the fact when you maybe could ignore it because it was it the past. Radio did this somewhat, but it was different seeing it for yourself, not hearing what a newscaster saw. Also in most areas of the country you knew your neighbors and their families. Most of us didn't move very often so anyone traveling through stood out and was remembered. Anything happening when a stranger was in the area, and the cops had a detailed description to go by. No interstate roads, meant it was easier to keep most crime local. Better cars, better roads, more people moving around changed a lot. If you want to get an idea of the local news at that time check out the local newspapers from then.        W

I wouldent call the 50's completely innocent and "cute".  That generation is often looked upon as being the racist generation.  But still in a way it is the "innocent and cute" decade.  When things like Rock music came, people where outraged.  People like the church called it satanic and stuff.  Heh, if they could only see whats going on today. 

Were the 50's carefree for adults? No. But you didn't worry about your kids as much. You didn't hear about childnappings unless it was local or someone like Lindburg. The national news was politics and was in your paper and radio. Local news was weather and a lot of what happened last week, not today. A lot of NEWS was filtered so as not to panic the public. LIVE TV changed how we got our news. You saw the War in Nam, You saw the Pres. get shot. You saw the marchers get hit by police and attacked by dogs AS IT HAPPENED. You didn't find out after the fact when you maybe could ignore it because it was it the past. Radio did this somewhat, but it was different seeing it for yourself, not hearing what a newscaster saw. Also in most areas of the country you knew your neighbors and their families. Most of us didn't move very often so anyone traveling through stood out and was remembered. Anything happening when a stranger was in the area, and the cops had a detailed description to go by. No interstate roads, meant it was easier to keep most crime local. Better cars, better roads, more people moving around changed a lot. If you want to get an idea of the local news at that time check out the local newspapers from then.        W


Er, you probably know that already, but J.F.K. was shot in '63, and the War in Nam really only go kick-started with the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and the controversy didn't reach fever pitch til' about 1967, or 1966 at the earliest.

But yeah, to a greater news revolved around the local community - I do think there was a greater sense of community back in the 50s than today, if it wasn't always the idyllic romp through nostalgia it is portrayed to be. To me, the 50s is a house-wife, trying to grin and look prim and proper, while holding back something. Although perhaps nothing compared to the later decades, the 50s was blackened by class/race divisions, McCarythism, the shadow of the Cold War, various international conflicts - all of which were a distant concern for most Americans and others in the western world living in their private oases of priviledge.

Yes, I know when he was shot. What I was trying to point out was that for the most part we lived in our local world and the rest took care of themselves. You didn't hear about crime unless it happened locally or to someone famous. There was national and international news on the radio and in the big papers but it was not as  important to our daily lives. If you pick up a local paper of those years you'll see some national and world news(prob. a week old) the rest was about what was happening to us locally. When most of us got TV and started watching the evening news(LIVE) things changed. We started talking and thinking about what we saw last night. It was right in our home, and we couldn't ignore it. We weren't innocent in the fifties, we had just saw what the Germans had done. But if we didn't see it where we lived it was easy to not see it at all.  W

Back in the 1950's, the world was black and white, and people didn't have sex or even go to the bathroom.  Then in 1967, the world blew up but, since the warranty was still good we got a brand-new one, only this time the world was in color.

At least that's what my older sister told me when I was little.

That is true. Crime is on the rise-or maybe it always have been but now it is more out in the open than it used to be. I don't recall hearing about senseless acts of violence when I growing up-like drive-by shootings, etc. They MAY have happened but I don't recall them. I remember running around the neighborhood all day-just as long as I was home when the street lights came on. And this was when I was about 6 or 7. If I had a kid, I wouldn't let him/her do that.

Cat


I wonder if there's more crime or if we just know more and see more about it today?  The burst of technology and media has certainly opened our living rooms to the world outside and to reporting of every crime every day so that we can't get away from it.  It's possible that kids were still molested, or stolen as they walked to school, or people died in double suicide pacts or whatever ... back in 1955 ... but unless it was in your immediately circle, you didn't know about it.

Just a ponder.

Back in the 1950's, the world was black and white, and people didn't have sex or even go to the bathroom.  Then in 1967, the world blew up but, since the warranty was still good we got a brand-new one, only this time the world was in color.

At least that's what my older sister told me when I was little.


HAHAHA that's so true.  :)

Then there was the Civil Rights movement which was NOT all "innocent and cute". "Whites Only" signs everywhere in the south and "seperate but equal" was definately NOT equal. Not to mention people fighting for change were apted to get killed.

So to answer your question, NO! The 50s were NOT all hunky dory as the media portrays it.


Cat


My parents were teenagers in the Deep south in the 50s, so I've been able to get some background from them on what life like there. I'm sure that in retrospect, they can say that they experienced racism while growing up in Louisiana. However, I don't feel that kind of behavior was so uniformly dished out across the region, has been portrayed in the years since. Maybe it's because they came from poor familes in a relatively poor part of the state, but they talk about their hometowns in a way that suggests that folks of every color got along. I don't mean to say that everything was hunky dory, but people generally respected one another. I don't know for sure, because I wasn't there.

That having been said, I can say with assurance that my dad would never want to be a teenager again....and I don't mean that in the typical angsty, woe-is-me way. I guess the 50s was a tough time for his family.

As for the McCarthy deal, he only says that it was "a weird time". Plain truth.