To what extent does the 1950s deserve its reputation as a decade of calm, conformity and consensus?

Question

i have to write a persuasive essay on that... i need help!! im so stuck !!! if someone could just help me get strat that would be greatly appreciated! (im in 11th grade and the class is U.S History 2 if that matters)

Answer 1

I would say the Brown v Board of Education decision would blow consensus out of your essay.

The witch hunts of Senator Joseph McCarthy (began 1950) would also blow your statement up completely.

The 29,557 service members who died in the Korean War would probably also deny the validity of your statement.

Finally the hysteria over the cold war was at its height in the 1950s when students were taught to "duck and cover" to escape the effect of an atom bomb blast. (Duck meant to get on the ground under some cover – such as a table, or at least next to a wall – and assume fetal position, lying face down and covering their heads with their hands.)

"

Answer 2

The decade of Senator McCarthy,
The Cold War,
Nuclear tests,
The Korean war,
Sputnik 1...

Yes, it was also the decade of boom, the American dream of the new suburban house, consumer goods and cars with big fins (and new versions every year!)

I'd go for a decade of contrasts!

Answer 3

It wasn't. Happy Days and Pleasantville are a lie.

Read "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, there was plenty of sex, drugs and discontent in the 50s.

People were no more "moral" in the olden days, just less willing to talk about it.

Joe

Answer 4

As long as people conformed to a conservative governmnet, then things remained calm.