Suburban, Urban, and Rural life in America in the 1950s
History 102: American History since 1877
Professor Brian Webber
10 July 2015
American Military University

Suburban, Urban, and Rural life in America in the 1950s America has seen its fare shares of ups and downs throughout history. In the 1950's America was just getting back on its feet from the effect of World War II. The American economy benefited greatly by the ending of the war unlike Japan and the Europeans who were still picking up the pieces. The American economy began to sore in the 1950's from suburban build up, to the job market and financial stability. Some of the most life changing things that happened in American were the suburban, urban and rural living of Americans all across the United States. Suburban development happened to be one of the biggest economic changes America has every seen. It paved the way to many things such as the extensive roadways that were built throughout the nation and families branching out to a different type of living. Suburban living in the 1950's was defined as a “ good life emerged with exceptional distinctness a high value on consumption, a preference for suburban living, and a devotion to family and domesticity.”(Henretta, 798). Much of the suburban lifestyle was something that the working poor, elderly, and immigrants could not afford at that point in time and soon would suffer from. One of the first innovative moves that pushed American along into more of a suburban type living was a creation made by building contractor named William J. Levitt. He changed sunburn living in such a way that production was in full force and people were jumping to get out of the city and into the suburban lifestyle. Levitt was building basic four bedroom houses complete with a kitchen for a whopping seven thousand nine-hundred and ninety dollars in the late 1940's and