<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> There was a large - scale expansion of the middle class in the 1950s . Unions were strong, comprising almost half the American work force . Politics tended to be moderate, with extremist positions being out of favor . </P> <P> The need to always have more and better goods emerged rapidly in the West during the 1950s . Consumerism became a key component of Western society . People bought big houses in the new suburbs and bought new time - saving household appliances . This buying trend was influenced by many American cultural and economic aspects such as advertising; television; cars; new offerings from banks (loans and credit); immediately being able to have what one wanted; and achieving a perceived better life . </P> <P> The US federal government authorized the Interstate Highway Act in June 1956, and construction had begun by the fall of that same year . The originally planned set of highways took decades to complete . </P>

What was going on in the 1950's in america