Topic+2+Final+Report

**Politics:**
- Harry Truman was president at the time (1945-1953) - Communists take over china, Moscow breaks the US nuclear monopoly(the most powerful business that no one can compete with), The western powers want cooperation because of this

**Culture:**
Culture in the early 1950’s was a conformist society. Many people decided to go with the norm. People were a lot more conventional. The men were expected to bring home all the money and women resumed their role as housewife. The Red Scare made many celebrities lose their jobs because they were named as being communists. then the second red scare took place the only difference was that the fear was intensified. There was a lot of communism verses capitol government. Also after World War 2 the Soviet Union and the United States began the cold war, this lead to an international crisis in Berlin, the Berlin Blockade. This was when the Soviet Union tried to take over western Berlin by blockading the allies from bringing in food and support for the Germans. During the 1950’s the third party of the KKK started up, so their was still some controversy about different ethnicities. in contrast to before 1949 world war 2 was still raging and most men had been enlisted into the military. therefore the women were more or less the bread winners and had jobs that supported the war. when the men came back from the war the women had to give up their jobs to come back to their man. even though they had left their job they had still had a taste of independence which was something that was new because most women back then were the care givers and housewives. Income of the average person in 1949: -minimum wage $.43 -Men $2,754 -Women $1,322 -Boys $2,346 -Girls $960 After the war when all of the fabric restrictions were taken off, the female full skirt with a tight waist was popular, and although many of these dresses were rather uncomfortable to wear they were considered highly fashionable. Also women gave up low-heeled shoes for high heels, curled their hair typically, and wore make-up when socially acceptable. During this time the majority of men were factory or office workers and had typical business suits and factory clothing, however when socially required the zoot suit was rather popular.
 * Fashion during the late 40’s **

**Entertainment:**
· AsAs a form of entertainment, people of all ages would go see movies. They were very popular during this time period. Some of the top movies included "The Heiress", "White Heat", “The Third Man”, “She wore a Yellow Ribbon”, “All the King’s Men”, and more. - The popular novel Nineteen eighty-four by George Orwell was published []

Top musicians: Fats Domino Frankie Laine The Ink Spots Vaughn Monroe Top Songs: “Ghost Riders in the Sky”- Vaughn Monroe “Mule Train”- Frankie Laine “The Lucky Old Sun”- Frankie Laine “I Can Dream, Can’t I”- The Andrews Sisters “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”- Gene Autry
 * Music:**

The Lone Ranger The Emmys (began this year) The Life of Riley Ed Sullivan Show Mama Follow that Man
 * TV:**

Hockey- Canada beats Denmark 47-0 in 1949 World hockey Championships in Stockholm Sweden Baseball- New York Giants sign their first black players- Monte Irvin and Ford Smith  -Yankees win the World Series against Brooklyn Dodgers 4-1 Football- Philadelphia Eagles beat the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 for the NFL Championship Basketball- The Basketball Association of America was renamed to the National Basketball Association (NBA)
 * Sports:**

1948 - The Frisbee - Wurlitzer Jukebox (a common type of jukebox)
 * Inventions**

1949 - The first Volkswagen beetle was sold in the US - The world's first commercially available computer: The Ferranti Mark 1, was released - The 45rpm Record was invented - Automatic Street Lights - Polaroid Camera

**Lifestyle:**

Kids separated themselves from adults. They formed their own dances such as the jitterbug. Girls usually dressed in outfits such as wide and flamboyant dresses and even while dressing casually, guys wore more formal cloths such as slacks and informal dress shirts. Not unlike modern kids and teenagers, they would often hang out with their friends, listen to music such as Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, and Lois Armstrong, or even go to clubs. Though typically small and without color, kids would watch TV just as kids do today, as TVs were a growing trend. In 1949 Americans bought about 100,000 television sets per week. Kids of this time period began to move away from the traditions that their parents had.