Preview

Economics in the 1950s Essay Example

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
375 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Economics in the 1950s Essay Example
Economics

By the 1950s people were beginning to realize that the economy affects every person individually, whether they have a salary of fifty cents to ten million dollars. The security of our jobs and how much we earn doing them, the cost of the goods we buy, the price we pay to borrow money, and the interest we get by saving it are all directly related to the health of the economy. And in the 1950s the American economy was the strongest in the world. In the 1950s people were receiving jobs as large companies created more jobs and we were buying new technology such as the transistor and color television. People also began to work in white-collar jobs more than ever, and the baby boom, coupled with the GI Bill, laid the groundwork for newly developed communities and suburbs. Other economic activities were buying on credit, playing the stock market, and taking loans from banks. A nation's prosperity is measured by its national income, the value of all the goods and services it produces, and also called the gross national product (GNP). By that measure, as by many others, the United States was the unquestioned world leader after World War II. In 1950 the U.S. GNP was $284.6 billion, and by the end of the 1950s it had increased to $482.7 billion. American exports reached all-time highs as they steadily increased during the decade, and the amount by which the value of exports beats the value of imports had never been higher in peacetime. When the economy was expanded so much many new jobs were opened up offering more options to make inventions for people and new activities. McDonalds was the beginning of the fast food business, the first modern credit card was produced because of all the credit spending, and Lego also came out in the ‘50s. If not for the great expand in the economy we would be behind in all the inventions we have today. The American economy in 1950 dominated the world and gave hope to everyone that the wars were finally over and people

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    After the end of the World War II, the United States of America experienced a lot of boom in its economy. It is estimated that the period of the 1950s is when the US economy grew in more than double its original gross domestic value of $200 billion to over $500 billion. The economy general developed by 37% amid the 1950s. Toward the end of the decade, the Middle American family had 30% more acquiring power than during the starting. The expansion, which had wreaked devastation on the economy instantly after World War II, was insignificant, to some extent on account of Eisenhower's diligent endeavors to adjust the government spending plan ("The 1950S - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.Com" N.p).…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1950 vs 2013

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Opportunities was a big success for the 1950s. Jobs were all around and had free jobs for everybody. “ America in the 1950s was still considered to be a land of opportunity and the economy was growing like crazy. While jobs were growing the cost of money started to increase and minimum wage started to get lower for jobs. During that time period, just about anyone that wanted to get a job could find a job and the U.S. middle class expanded rapidly. Now day the opportunities of opening jobs are less and the minimum wage is less than anybody that could afford an apartment.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    1950's Nostalgia

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Coontz keeps a semi-formal tone throughout this essay. She begins by acknowledging the nostalgia that America feels toward the 1950s era. She continues by reminding us that there are also things that we do not miss about that time period in America. She elaborates on several points that we do specifically miss about the 1950s, such as the nuclear focus of family life and the profound wage increases. Coontz talks about how in the 1950s, employers and the government did a lot to help families prosper, including offering housing and employment assistance, as well as offering the GI Bill to armed services veterans who wanted to go back to school. Booming economic prosperity and the downturn in the economy that occurred in the 1970s, these were, she states, the real reasons behind the end of the 1950s family experiment.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    American History 1950's

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Between 1946-1960, American gross national product more than doubled. The Cold War fueled industrial production. This lead to an increase in wages and more jobs.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1950’s was a decade of progress. Cars were improving in efficiency. Everyone also had a pretty good idea of “the perfect all American family”. This family consists of a working dad who brings home the money; a stay at home mom who cooked, cleaned, took care of the children, and took care of the bills; and 2-3 children. This also created a stereotype for American families. The 1950’s was a pretty happy-go-lucky decade, and inventions such as the Mr. potato head, and the Hula-hoop showed it. 1950’s theater, film and television programs were greatly affected by the carefree activities that were happening during the 50’s.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many good consumer goods started getting produced during the 50s which was a very positive thing because Americans didn’t have to worry about losing their money again. Car registrations soared along with birth rate: from 26 million in 1945 to 40 million in 1950 to 60 million by the end of the decade. Americans can finally enjoy the…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The baby boom increased the population 30 percent. The economy grew with suburbs expanding from the cities. The 1950s was a time of new things for America including television, mobile cars, Rock ‘N’ Roll, and the economy ever growing. The baby boom began in 1946, with a record of 3.4 million born in the United States.…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Business Economics Week 5

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In order to know the limitations of Americas National income accounts and how they represent our standard of living, it is necessary to know our GNP or Gross National Product. According to Chron.com, a business expert web site, it is the total output of our economy. It is said that the production output of America is directly related to how well we are living, our economy is doing, and also how well we are prepared for any sudden disruptions in the course our economy would take.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The economic boom (the period of economic prosperity typically placed (1921-1929) was caused by an expansion in industry, which led to more jobs and an increase in disposable income. Many changes took place in the 1920's. Growth of mass production in industry, technological advances, and the increasing efficiency of labour boasted a gain in industrial production by over 60%. Because of this prosperous economy, the wealth of a typical family skyrocketed and led to the consumption of more consumer products. As a result of an improvement in three…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Roaring Twenties

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the most important factors as to why the economy boosted so drastically was technology. Everything was working together, in sync, thus benefitting all across the board. As a result of the assembly line, automobiles became one of the most important industries in the nation at that time. This booming automotive market, helped boost the economy because not only were they doing well, but was every other corporation that was involved with the production, or maintenance of a car. Industries like steel, rubber, tool companies, oil corporations, and road construction all boomed as well, providing more jobs, and a stronger economy. With mobility as common as it then became, the demands for suburb housing increased as well, thus causing another boom in the construction industry and any other industry that it was related to. Everything at this time was interrelated, affecting one another substantially. With any advancement, came a series of prosperous and profitable markets. Technology also boomed in other ares as well, like, the invention of the…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Technology was evolving in the 1950s and it was very exciting for the people who were there to enjoy it. People were closer to each other and crime was very uncommon. Religion was a big way of life. All in all, Wait Till Next Year holds a lot of information on life in the…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In my opinion, the 1950s cannot be seen as a period of prosperity for the people of Britain for a number of reasons which I will explain further on. I believe that source 1 mainly agrees with the above statement, however, there are some areas in the source which can display ways in which the source doesn’t fully agree with the above statements. Source 2 also, somewhat agrees with the above question, however, there are a greater number of aspects of the question which can imply that the statement is not 100% true. Source 3 is the source which mostly disagrees with the above question for a number of reasons.…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Until about the 1970 's the U.S. was at its economic peak. It was known as the golden age. The U.S provided dollars and products for everyone; its productive core was the best it had ever been and America spread its productivity to as many places as it could. For four long decades the U.S. was the greatest net exporter and creditor. Our…

    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the nostalgia of the 1950s is vastly strong in some people, some fail to notice the negativity and reality of it. Coontz does not believe that the fifties were the best because there were changes in values that effected racism and sexism discrimination against women. Unlike we do now, the fifties did not offer equal rights but offered less rights to people. Coontz speaks of the reality of poverty, racism, and sexism, issues now discussed in the world. It was a time of change and success in the face of all the social problems of the thirties and forties. Coontz argues that it really was a good time for a lot of Americans because the country was coming out from World War II, so people were happy about victory. There was a high level of anticipation in people to start over again. People wanted to form families; they bought their first homes quickly, and wanted to be involved in their communities. Her statement confirms the reality of the fifties. For example, well-paid jobs were much simpler for men to find because of the low fertility of previous the generation offered many jobs and companies seeking to increase production were competing for workers, therefore wages raised.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States in 1860, the county and people mainly depended on farming rather than industrializing like other nations such as Great Britain. Not only did they depend of farming but since there were not many cities, most people lived in small towns. It took the U.S. a lot longer to industrialize because at the time it was a lot more profitable to farm since there was plenty of cheap labor from slaves. Before one would know it, the United States was the greatest industrial nation. Cities began to grow rapidly because of many different reasons. From 1860-1900 many factors helped to promote America's huge industrial growth such as the abolishment of slavery, Immigrants, New technology, increase in the production of crops and the freed slaves.…

    • 848 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays