Title: The 1950’s American Dream - American Dream Project
Headings: The 1950’s American Dream
The 1950’s American Dream
Content: The father became the strong figure, working hard to earn for his family; whereas, the mother would stay at home, raise the children, and tend to her husband once he came home. With the G. I bill in effect, property taxes were lowered substantially, making suburbia desirable for any white family. On the surface, this idealization may have seemed perfect, but there were many shortcomings that resulted from this illusion. Women were objectified; they essentially had to be the perfect wife and mother. In the 1950’s, women could not pursue their true aspirations, whether they wanted to be CEO of a company, or even start their own business. It was absurd for a woman to become the breadwinner of the family, for this only added to the illusion of the American Dream. Women did not have the opportunity to achieve their own individual desires due to restrictions imposed on their “status” in society. In Betty Friedan’s excerpt from, American Identities, she illuminates how women suffered in the 1950’s, by stating, “Each suburban wife struggled with it alone…they learned that truly feminine women do not want careers, higher education, political rights…. ” (