History 479

Devine

Spring 2007

Study Questions: April 24th

Oakley, “Good Times: The American Economy in the Fifties”

1. What developments in the economy during the 1950s caused people, including many economists, to speak of the new “people’s capitalism” or a “new era of capitalism”? What distinguished the US economy of the ‘50s from that of the ‘30s?

2. What were some of the causes of ‘50s prosperity?

3. How did the expansion of the advertising industry and the expansion of easy access to credit during the ‘50s reflect the shift from a production economy to a consumption economy?

4. What were some of the major transformations in the US economy during the 1950s?

5. What was the social impact of the growth of large conglomerates? How did the emerging dominance of these giant corporations change people’s everyday lives?

6. How did the economic boom of the ‘50s affect organized labor? How did the government’s role in mediating employer-employee disputes change after World War II?

7. How did the agricultural sector of the economy fare in the 1950s? In your view, was there more change or continuity from the 1930s?

8. If you were looking to make money in the 1950s, what kinds of career paths seemed the most promising? Why?

9. With regard to its effect on the economy and on everyday life, how was the interstate highway system of the 1950s similar to the railroad system of the 1880s? How was it different? In what ways were rail and road transport similar? How did they differ?

10. Why might “poverty in the midst of plenty” be an apt phrase to describe the social situation in the US during the 1950s? Why was persistent poverty not a widespread concern during the 1950s?

11. To what extent should great disparities of wealth be of concern when the majority of the population feels that times are good?

Shelley Nickles, “More is Better: Mass Consumption, Gender, and Class Identity in Postwar America”

1. What was the significance of rosebuds? What significance did working class women attribute to them? Why does the author use this anecdote about rosebuds to open her article?

2. What factors contribute to the formulation of a class identity? What are examples of “class markers”?

3. In what specific ways did the “more is better” ethos differ from the “less is more” ethos? Why did white working class women associate themselves with the “more is better” ethos?

4. According to Nickles, why did working-class taste not only persist as blue-collar families became more prosperous but also pervade the mass market?

5. What is “Sloanism”? What is the symbolic significance of the tail fin?

6. What does the “design war” at Servel refrigerators reveal about the power of consumers to influence the market?

7. During the 1950s, the cultural critic Vance Packard accused marketers of designing status symbols like the tail fin and chrome covered refrigerator as a way of fostering status anxiety and encouraging conspicuous consumption. How does Nickles’ article call into question Packard’s notion of a conspiracy of manipulating marketers?

8. What was “motivation research”? How did it differ from more traditional and purely quantitative research? What use did marketers make of motivation research?

9. What was the difference between “middle-income” and “middle-class”? Why was it important for marketers and manufacturers of durable goods to understand this difference?

10. In what ways did working-class and middle-class women view their kitchens (and kitchen appliances) differently? How did these views shape their purchases?

11. How could looking at someone’s living room furnishings reveal what class they belonged to? What were the specific “class markers”?

12. Why might one argue that by the 1950s “taste” had become an “entrance requirement” to the middle class?

13. What would you say are the main points the author makes in this article? To what extent does the specific evidence she introduces support her points?