The 1950's were wonderful. Every family was happy, there was no crime, and all families stayed together in happy bliss. If only we could return to those wonderful times. Well, not exactly. Popular culture paints a false portrait of the 1950's as a morally pure utopia. The image comes mainly from corny T.V. shows, since any honest look at the 50's shows the decade was plagued by a myriad of problems. Some facts about the 50's that may cause some to wig out include: Crime: In looking for crime statistics on the 50's I found this article. I then checked the original sources and found they were quoted correctly. For those who don't want to read the whole article here are some highlights:
The Colliers 1961 Yearbook (which discusses crime statistics for 1959) noted on page 173: "Crime registered a new all-time high in 1959, some 69% higher than a decade earlier and 128% greater than the rate in 1940."
According to FBI information, the crime rate continues to outpace population growth at a rate of 4 to 1, and serious crime increased 11% over last year’s figures for the first nine months of 1960.
The author of this section, Donald J. Newman, while discussing the numerous murders, forcible rapes, and aggravated assaults recorded in 1959, writes on page 174: “Little wonder our world reputation is as notorious for crime as it is famous for technology.” Interesting that America has a reputation for crime in 1959.
In the 1962 edition (which discussed the statistics from 1960), Newman wrote that the rate of crime increased 13% over 1959 and 24% over 1955. The reported robbery rate had increased 24% since 1955, while burglary increased 29% over the same period. “No crime decreased during this time” (p. 172).
In his article for the 1961 edition of the Colliers Yearbook, Donald Newman observed on p. 179:
"The immediate outlook for crime and delinquency prevention is discouraging. There is every reason to believe that crime rates of all kinds will continue to increase during the sixties and that in many areas major crises of a nature now only dimly perceived will occur... Certain problems such as heroin and morphine addiction have every possibility of reaching epidemic state... Youth gangs show no inclination to lessen, and we have yet to develop generally satisfactory methods of focusing their activities in law-abiding directions." Notice the inclusion of heroin and morphine addiction as socail problems.
Teen Pregnancy: This issue is a serious one and is often used to show how our society has morally collapsed. However, before using it as an example of today's depravity it is interesting to note that teen pregnancy was higher in the 50's than it is today!!
Minorities and Women: In the 50's nonwhites were segregated from whites and subjected to frequent violence. Women were confined to the home to raise children. Next tie you hear someone talking about how great the 50's were, I can guarantee you that person will be a white male.
Freedom: In the 1950s, birth control was a crime in some states. Historic Supreme Court rulings in the 1965 and 1973 finally gave people the right to use contraceptives. Also witch-hunting congressional committees ruined many lives by persecuting people whose political beliefs were considered unorthodox or "un-american" . As far as gays are concerned, they were often imprisoned for being themselves. More about "freedom" in the 50's can be read here.
It seems that people many people forget these facts when talking about the "good old days."
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