Consumerism
After the Second World War, USA provided many European countries with loans, this was called the “Marshall plan”. By accepting these loans, the European countries would then have to buy American products like Ferguson tractors to modernize their agriculture to maximize the harvest etc. This lead to a very positive American economy through-out the 1940’s and 1950’s where there was plenty of jobs for everyone. This resulted in a remarkably bigger spending power within the American families.
The American families started buying items that could modernize their homes and make it easier to live, for example: cars, washing machines, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. Between 1945 and 1949, Americans purchased 20 million refrigerators, 21.4 million cars, and 5.5 million stoves, a trend that continued well into the 1950s.
Because of the high number of new suburbs it became more and more necessary to own a car to get from the suburbs to the city - and because of the rise in spending power it was possible for most families to buy one. The car became a new American status symbol: the bigger and the more flashy the better.
Sources:
This clip is a short cartoon about the American consumerism in the 1950’s. It shows how people become willing to spend their money on small gadgets but also more expensive status symbols as cars for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwppBm43eb8:
Ford advertisement from the 50s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7t9YlMxWoE:
This commercial shows the mentality of the consumers in America in the 1950’s. The commercial is strongly influenced by the positive economy, “Why have one car, when you can have two” The consumers in USA had a lot of spending power which companies like Ford took advantage of.