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Image – Saturday Afternoon Street Scene, McDowell County, West Virginia, August 24, 1946
Saturday Afternoon Street Scene, McDowell County, West Virginia, August 24, 1946 Page 879
Chapter 25
Saturday Afternoon Street Scene, McDowell County, West Virginia, August 24, 1946
This photograph of a bustling downtown in West Virginia, taken on August 24, 1946, just a few weeks before Japan officially surrendered, captures the dynamism that would characterize American society in the 1950s. In the years following America’s victory, the American economy –fueled by the “military-industrial complex”, consumer spending, low inflation, the “baby boom,” and suburbanization—grew to new heights.
Questions for Analysis
1. Examine the photograph. Many historians consider the 1950s to be the pivotal decade in the creation of an “oil culture” in the United States. Do you see evidence of this emerging culture in this 1946 photograph? Explain your answer.
2. Increased affluence helped create a new category of in American life: the teenager. During the 1950s, teenagers emerged as a distinct consumer group that shaped American culture. Do you see evidence of consumer marketing targeted to teens in this photograph? Explain your answer.