Table of Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
Timeline of Events xxxi
Glossary xxxix
1 Domestic Life 1 (42)
Children 2 (4)
Teenagers 6 (4)
Women 10 (4)
Men 14 (3)
Marriage 17 (4)
Family 21 (4)
Sexuality 25 (3)
Rites of Passage 28 (4)
Death 32 (5)
Document: Margaret Chase Smith, 37 (6)
"Declaration of Conscience" (1950)
2 Economic Life 43 (46)
Advertising 44 (4)
Consumerism 48 (4)
Crime 52 (4)
Immigration 56 (4)
Labor 60 (3)
Race 63 (4)
Rural Life 67 (4)
Social Class 71 (3)
Suburban Life 74 (4)
Urban Life 78 (5)
Document: Brown v. Board of Education 83 (6)
(1954)
3 Intellectual Life 89 (36)
Communication 90 (3)
Cultural Critics 93 (4)
Education 97 (3)
Health and Health Care 100 (3)
Literature 103 (3)
Medical Advances 106 (3)
News Media 109 (5)
Popular Culture HI
Science 114 (5)
Document: John F. Kennedy, Speech at the
Rockefeller
Public Service Awards Luncheon (1958) 119 (6)
4 Material Life 125 (26)
Automobiles 126 (4)
Clothing 130 (4)
Food and Drink 134 (3)
Housing 137 (3)
Possessions 140 (2)
Toys 142 (4)
Document: National Interstate and Defense 146 (5)
Highways Act of 1956
5 Political Life 151 (24)
Government and Law 152 (4)
Legislation 156 (3)
Political Communications 159 (3)
Politics 162 (3)
Warfare and Weapons 165 (4)
Document: Richard Nixon, "Checkers" 169 (6)
Speech (1952)
6 Recreational Life 175 (42)
Dance 176 (4)
Exercise 180 (3)
Leisure 183 (4)
Movies 187 (3)
Music 190 (4)
Sports 194 (3)
TV 197 (4)
Theater 201 (3)
Travel 204 (3)
Visual Arts 207 (4)
Document: Burstyn v. Wilson (1952) 211 (6)
7 Religious Life 217 (26)
Ceremonies and Rituals 218 (5)
Denominations 223 (3)
Holy Days 226 (3)
Nontraditional Religious Groups 229 (3)
Religion and Secular Life 232 (4)
Document: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Address 236 (7)
to the World Council of Churches (1954)
Appendix A Slang of the 1950s 243 (4)
Appendix B Award Winners, Championships, and 247 (4)
Chart-Toppers of the 1950s
Appendix C Best-Selling Books of the 1950s 251 (4)
Appendix D Major Legislation by the U.S. 255 (4)
Congress in the 1950s
Appendix E Major Decisions by the U.S. Supreme 259 (2)
Court in the 1950s
Bibliography 261 (8)
Index 269
