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In 1954 a book was realeased called ‘1,000,000 Deliquents’, which calculated that 1 million young people would get into trouble. The word ‘teenager’ also came into common usage around this time. Describe what people thought of ‘teenagers and ‘juvenile delinquents’ in the 1950s.



-In the 1950s time period, Teenagers began to rebel against their parents wishes. A drinking strong drinking culture began and youths were getting out of control. Many adults began to worry that teenagers could not take responsibility for their actions and would grow up to be an irresponsible, immature generation.

- Teenagers were not only independent in the things they bought but also independent in the type of music they listened to, no more listening to what their parents liked, teenagers embraced the new genre of the age.. rock and roll.


-Clothing in the 1950s also changed from being very conservative to moderately conservative. Teenager girls began to show cleavage and their legs, this had never occurred before. This was seen as outrageous to the public.

-Fights also began to occur more often between rebelling teenagers. In the movie ‘Rebel without a cause’ we see a good example of this when James Dean and a boy who does not like him steal two cars and play ‘chicken’

-Overall, fashion, music, fighting, and alcohol were the main points to teenagers rebelling in the 1950s.

-The word Teenager was made in the 1950’s because young people started gaining more independence and freedom. Teenagers were able to buy more things like food, clothes and music because of an increase in disposable income.

-Growing up after World War II, teenagers were expected to be serious just like their parents where Males were expected to join the army or go out and get a job ito make money to provide for their families. Females were taught how to take care of the household and prepare themselves to look after their family and children marriage and duty to the family was seen as more important than an education and a career. However, in the 1950’s, expectations changed for the teenager.

-The economy started booming and families experienced a great deal of economic power, freedom and independence, including teenagers. New medians were created like television and AM radio that attracted teenagers. Also they were able to attend high school dances, create clothing trends, dance fads, and hairstyles to name a few.