When I Was Young Dirt Was Still Clean
Everything look young to me these days
1940s - The 1940s were seen as a transition period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s.
The first half of the decade was dominated by World War II, the widest and most destructive armed conflict in human history. The second half marked the beginning of the East-West conflict and the Cold War.
1950s - The Fifties in the United States and much of Western Europe are generally considered conservative in contrast to the Social Revolution of the next decade. Mass suburban developments and nuclear family ideals serve as symbols of the era from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the inauguration of United States President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States played out through the entire decade. The fifties also revolutionized entertainment with the mainstream introduction of television, rapid growth of the recording industry and new genres of music, and movies targeted at teenage audiences. Due to the conservative norms of the era and the sometimes violent suppression of social movements, seeds of rebellion grew and were manifested through Rock and Roll, movies emphasizing rebelliousness, expansion of the Civil Rights Movement, the so-called Beat Generation of poets and artists. All of these played significant roles in the Social Revolution of the Sixties (1960s).
1960s - The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends which occurred roughly during the years 1958-1974 in Western countries, particularly Britain, France, the United States, Italy and West Germany. Social and political upheaval was not limited to these nations, but included such nations as Japan, Mexico, Canada, and others. The term is used descriptively by historians, journalists, and others documenting our collective past; nostalgically by those who participated in the counter-culture and social revolution; and pejoratively by those who perceive the era as one of irresponsible excess. The decade was also labeled the Swinging Sixties because of the libertine attitudes that emerged during this decade.
A Fifties Snapshot