The Impact of the Automobile On the 1950s

You live in Omaha

What kind of a vehicle would you need here?

Why would you buy a car like this when you live in an area like Nebraska?

In the 1950s people followed the same ideas.

Impact on the Suburbs

• Why do people move to the suburbs?– Cars allowed them to live further away from

their jobs.– Money from the GI bill after the war gave

people more money to buy houses– Baby boom caused people to be family

oriented– Park Forest, IL. Case study

The Effect on Omaha

• Millard before 1950– 400 people lived in Millard– 7 teachers worked in the Millard district– The district was confined to a 4 square miles– Millard was its own town

• Millard today– Millard is no longer its own town. It is apart of

Omaha– There are over 21,000 students that now

attend Millard’s 32 different schools

Problems With the Suburbs then and Now

• Suburbs in the 1950s– Predominantly white

• Developers catered to white WWII veterans with families

• Integration of the suburbs didn’t start to happen until the late 1950s

The Suburbs Then and Now

• Suburbs in the 1950s– Traffic issues

• With the growth of the suburbs the infrastructure couldn’t keep up with the growth

– Getting places was not easy– Couldn’t build roads fast enough

• Cars gave you freedom but people were always stuck in traffic

The Suburbs Then and Now

• The suburbs since 1950s– Development of the interstate system

• Eisenhower Interstate System was made– People were displaced to build the interstate– People that were displaced the most were from the poor

neighborhoods

• Primary Sources– Many cities developed new system of travel

• Buses • Trains/subways

Impact of the Automobile on Social Life

• What new activities did the automobile allow people to participate in?– Teenagers have more social freedom– Drive-in movies– Car-hops– Allowed people more leisure time– Auto racing

Impact on Travel and Mobility

• Questions for discussion– Where is the best vacation you have ever

taken and why?– How do most people go on vacation today?– How would people have gone on vacation in

the 1950s?

Affect On Other Industries• How did the increase in travel effect other

industries?– Increase the need for car related businesses

• Gas stations• Tires

– Increase in businesses that cater to the needs of travelers

• Fast food (McDonald’s and other franchises started in the 1950s)

• Hotels• Etc

– Increase in Travel destinations• Camping sites• Attractions• Amusement parks (Disneyland opened in 1955)