"What We Really Miss About the 1950's"

In "What We Really Miss About the 1950's", Stephanie Coontz explores the social, economic, and political factors that impacted life during the 1950's. She also sifts through myths and stereotypes that have shaped our views of this decade, and provides us with evidence that leads, in many respects, to the contrary.

As a result of not growing up in the 1950's, I haven't had the nostalgia that many of my parent's generation might have. When thinking about the '50's, images of Leave it to Beaver, roller skates, and a certain naivety come to my mind. However, as I talk to my parents about their experiences growing up, it seems to support a lot of what Stephanie Coontz asserts in her essay.

In my father's family, for example, his father was very much the dad who worked, read the paper, and was the authority figure in the house. They bought a home and were able to afford it, and they raised all of their children there. I found it interesting, as Coontz pointed out in her essay, that couples were able to purchase a home for a significantly low percentage of their salary, and they were also able to save for closing costs in about one day of work, as opposed to eighteen weeks in 1991. I also found it interesting that employees were very loyal to their employers, and vice-versa. My grandfather worked at the local army depot until he retired. He was treated very well and he had a pension and other benefits that caused him to want to stay. There was no desire to change jobs because they had enough money for the things they needed.

Another interesting aspect of the 1950's, as shown by Coontz, was how young these couples married and started their families. Also, the spacing between children was very close. In my mother's family, my grandparents married at a very early age and they had my mother and her twin sister a month before my grandmother's 18th birthday. The next year, they had another child, and the year after that they had another. They ended up having eight children fairly close together. They also purchased a modest home and my grandmother was the homemaker while my grandfather worked--until they divorced when my mother was a senior in high school and my grandmother had to enter the workforce. It is interesting to note that my grandmother did not have a high school diploma, but she was able to get a minimum wage job and support her large family. As Stephanie Coontz notes, "People entering the job market in the 1950's had no way of knowing that they would be the last generation to have a good shot at reaching middle-class status without the benefit of post secondary schooling."

Another message that struck me from this article was the issue of women's rights. As a woman with many privileges, it is easy to take for granted the sacrifice and struggle that many endured to create a better world for me. It is somewhat unfathomable for me to think there was a time, in the fairly recent past, where women couldn't take out a loan, get a credit card, or be on a jury. Women, in general, were expected to act a certain way, and let men have center stage. I do not consider myself a "feminist-activist", but I do appreciate the privileges and opportunities that I have from these movements. I have never heard my grandmother complain of being treated unfairly, but she has expressed admiration for the opportunities that I have had. In my family, I believe that my grandmothers were content with what they had, but were also happy with the changes they saw in their lifetimes.

This essay provided me with some greater insights into the dynamics of the 1950's. I appreciated learning about the contradictions to this "golden age", and it has helped to shape my view and question the nostalgia that seems to be present.