1950's Happy Day Era

There are many decades that I have thought about being a fly on the way, the 1950’s is one of that eras. I might have even dreamed of being a part of the “Happy Days” of our nation’s history. Some of the highlights of the “happy days” were more babies were being born, the economy grew including the creations of the “middle class” and there were strides made in the fight for equality. However, with progress there is always setbacks. Some of the not so happy parts of the “1950’s happy day” era included the atomic bomb being tests on American soil, environmental degradation, and the fact that discrimination was still in America (728, 753-54).
Americans were back from war and got married followed up by having children (748). People married early …show more content…
Which is not something the adults in this era had ever seen. Due to the growth in economy and money in people pocket, they would buy new to buy new not because they needed it (753). In Jan of 1951 the United States decided to test the atomic bomb on US soil (729). Thus, causing animals to die and people to developed cancer (729-730). The fact that atomic bomb was tested on American soil for the first time in the 1950’s, so if you were a citizen of Nevada there is a sure chance that you were affected by the atomic bomb especially if you lived by Las Vegas, NV (728-729). Although waste and the testing of bombs on American soil does not sound fun, in my option, the worst of the cons of this era was discrimination. There was discrimination against poor, against women and against culture. In A Nation & A People, Norton and authors assert “one in five Americans lived in poverty. One-fifth of the poor were people of color” and many of the household were ran by single women(754). In this era the poor were ignored and there were even programs that created to support the middle class that caused more devastation for the poor (754). For example, slums were rebuilt into luxury homes for the middle and upper class which left no room for the poor. Women were discriminated in their homes, in their jobs and in their communities. At home, there were to cook and clean and even though they took a part time job to provide “the extras” for their …show more content…
If not then life would have been difficult for you. I believe that every era has it up and down, it good times and bad. The positive aspect is the American made it through some pretty rough times before the 1950’s and we are glad that our economy rose and we are still a nation to this day. I believe that even though the people of this era did not make all the correct choice we owe them respect that they kept it