Preview

Modern Life Has Improved Since the 1950's

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1093 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Modern Life Has Improved Since the 1950's
Modern life has improved since the 1950’s. This period is quite memorable for a lot of things, the more famous of which being the flared trousers Elvis Presley, the icon of rock and roll and pop music, brought into style. There were many positives and negatives of living in the 1950’s, but it is clear that modern life has been a great step forward from those times. Firstly, the general aspects of life such as money, crime, racism and drugs, were viewed very differently in the past. Secondly life today may not be as simple as the 1950’s, but huge leaps have been made in technology, medicine and education. Finally, the word ‘community’ has developed a very different definition to the past, as we have overcome the racial, religious and gender inequalities that separated us as people; modern life has improved in leaps and bounds since the 1950’s.

In the 1950’s certain aspects of life including money, crime, racism and drugs, were viewed very differently compared to the modern day. Petrol prices could be found on the McDonald’s loose change menu, and a kid could go down to the corner store, empty his pockets and buy the groceries before walking the way home safely. Drugs and smoking were regarded the same way we would a morning jog today: harmless and good for the system. Racism was just a part of life: the blacks sat at the back of the bus, the whites at the front, and that was that. Nowadays, if petrol was that cheap, the earth would be run dry and pollution levels would greatly increase due to mining and car exhaust. Crime rates may be much higher than the innocent 1950’s but along with with the higher stats the modern police force is further advanced and more successful than the past. Racism is still a part of our lives, but there is a general understanding that no matter the colour of our skin, we are equals, and opportunities for ‘blacks’ have been improved far beyond better seating positions on buses. Thank goodness times have changed - while we may not be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Since national records started in 1910 Australia’s climate has heated up, especially since 1950. Since 1910 the surface air temperature has increased by 0.9°C . Over the same period the daytime maximum temperature has increased by 0.8°C and heated up by 1.1 °C over night. During the period of 1951 to 1980 very warm months occurred just over 2 per cent over that period of time, nearly 7 per cent of the time during 1981 to 2010. Over the past 15 years it has increased by 10 per cent…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The way we never were,” tells the story of the “decline of the traditional family” as it has evolved from the 1950’s. The story deals with the many political disbeliefs that happen in our generation such as traditional family values and gender relations; and tells how the 1950s was a time of US global political and economic dominance, independence in the commercialization and industrialization, and how it relates to how the US works today. Coontz shows that the ideals of the common family have been changing due to many factors like demographics, political changes, and the economy. Coontz analyzed that the 1950s as a time of social and economic upswing as "The apparently stable families of the 1950s were the result of an economic boom--the gross national product grew by nearly 250% and…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1950 vs 2013

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Was the Crucial Decade made a better or worst of today’s life? The Crucial Decade is based in a period of time in America from 1945-1960s which impacted America and at many other places. America was at War throughout that period of time and it was a hard time for them. They were starting to create life easier for the veterans that returned home. Out of all the changes they made many were good changes like the ending of wars, the opportunities given for jobs and a life, no violence and low prices. However many are not appreciated like no internet, no social life, and it wasn’t equal for each other.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Britain as a country in the year 1951 stood as a country widely effected by the Second World War and the country reflected visible damage which the war had caused. Many young men were on the National Service, rationing was only just coming to an end and also social life in Britain felt like it was in the past. However some felt that the year 1951 was a year of change, they felt as if they were on the way to a new modern world which presented technological and social progress, Children who were born during the “baby boom” were born into a different society to which their parents grew up in. Leading up to the year 1964 there were many social tensions, changes in attitudes and significant shifts i population which can identify how Britain’s society had changed dramatically.…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world changed to a great extent during the period of time from the 1750’s to the 1900’s. These changes were due to the Scientific Revolution, Industrial Revolution and the movement of peoples. During this time frame changes occurred not only in the way people viewed the world but also how they travelled, their working and living conditions, it allowed them to make new discoveries and opened up many new doors. The Scientific Revolution led to fundamental changes to scientific ideas in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology and chemistry which transformed their views on nature and society.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Black American's faced a series of disadvantages in the early 1950's.They ranged from having to use different restrooms that white people all the way up to fearing for their lives in case the Ku Klux Klan showed up. Another problem which was a significant disadvantage was the Jim Crow laws, named after a black character in a program in that year. This rule forbids a lot of things to Negroes and blacks like white and black people swimming together or playing cards together. It forbids trivial things like black people going into restaurants. The earlier Civil War (1861-1865) had seen slavery abolished which had been the first ˜real' mark of the black's fight for Civil Rights. It was shortly after the war finished that the biggest fight the blacks…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is important to learn from our history and draw the right conclusions from our past. As George Steiner once said, “Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and archive mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement, against that past.” (Web) However, while each historical era may mirror itself on the past, we can’t assume that what we are facing today is exactly the same as what we have faced previously. One of the biggest similarities between the 1970s and the 2000’s in the United States is that our troops are overseas fighting a war. In the early 1970’s, the U.S. was at war in Vietnam and today we are at war in Afghanistan. Some people will say that these wars were both battles that the U.S. should not be involved in while others will look at the opposite side and say that we are there for good reasons. While there are similarities for each war, there are also differences, both sides of which should be examined.…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The sixties was a time in American society where the youth from the post-war baby boom era became teenagers and the young adults. The movement from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in the revolutionary ways of thinking and change in the cultural of the American way of life. With an extreme admiration of no longer being an image of their predeceasing generation, young Americans wanted and demanded change. These changes affected education, values, laws, entertainment, and the way of life for several citizens around the country. As society, it is extremely important to understand that although the valiant efforts and impact that African American’s had, particularly in the 1950’s and 1960’s, in helping restructure American culture, many of the racist views of the past still play apart in American society. The 1950’s is often described as the calm before the storm of the 1960’s. During this time period, society was very much conformed to the views of conservative living. The desire for security during this era, reinforced by McCarthyism at home and the Korean War, created was known as the cold war culture. During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under President Truman and Eisenhower. Because of extreme paranoia caused by Communism following WWII, conformity in the United States became an ideal way to distinguish American culture from the rest of the world.…

    • 3006 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Civil Rights in the 1960's

    • 1824 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Have you ever sat down and wondered to yourself, what it would be like if schools, restrooms, restaurants, and even public transportation were still segregated today? The majority of people who were born after the 1970’s take for granted how lucky we are as a country and nation to have overcome slavery and the steps against racism we have battled are way through. Slavery was ended when Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and was later ratified in December of 1865. Though this law ordered the end to slavery it did very little if nothing to stop the racism that was given towards blacks or any other minority. Until the late 1950’s not many presidents or Congressman had tried to legislate civil rights laws.…

    • 1824 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    he is a rebel, or a coward, nor that he hates society, it is that he has had many…

    • 2208 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1950s vs Today

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout history the roles of women have changed dramatically. Since the 1950’s, women have slowly but surely evolved into the individuals one sees today in public offices, law firms or even the five o’ clock news. However, this evolution did not occur over night. Although women in the 1950’s and today have dealt with similar stereotypes, today life has greatly improved because women aren’t as pressured to get married, are taken more seriously in the business world, and are even making as much or more money as men.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Public opinion was a significant barrier to racial equality in the late 60s. Although a most Americans supported the end to legal segregation, they didn’t want black people to live in their neighbourhoods. This is shown in ‘white flight’ which was…

    • 676 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Socially, economically and, politically, the 1950's were the "happy days." The 1950's were marked with many historical events, positive and negative. The decade had its downfalls, but they were nothing compared to the improvement of life in all aspects. The economy was booming, making families feel more financially stable than they had in years. There was an "explosion of science and technology"(Brinkley 803). Medical advances, at this time, included the polio vaccination. Unemployment was down, the economy was up, and family life showed the morale of the American people was much higher than it had been in many years.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The civil rights movement had been one of the largest, ongoing battles in America over equality of black civilians. Not everything had changed with the 1964 civil rights act and there is still inequality today. In 1960 there were still several problems such as the police force. The police forces were still racist and black citizens were not given the same amount of care as the white citizens were given. Also a number of the police force was members of the KKK, which means that towns and states were, ran with social inequality. However, since the 1940s lots had changed however there was still progress to be made.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America in 1950's

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1950’s was a period of economic, cultural, and technological growth. After the World War the nation found itself in the state of cold war with its rival Communist Soviet Union. Anti-communism became the unifying sentiment of the American people. Conservatives and materialism characterized this decade from 1950 to 1960. The manufacturing world was booming, and hence the people had before non-existed level of various choices on the market. This led to the booming in spending and hence economic growth. People were baying more than ever before. Just in United States were as many cars owned by the people as all together in the rest of the world. Americans had become a consumption society – they used, threw away, and bought a new updated one.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays