An interlude: About the 1950s and a family tree

The 1950s is often synonymous with house wives in big skirts, an explosion of cars and new gadgets. It's also the Korean war (50-53), the start of the Vietnam war (55-75) and an ever growing international tension. So what does this mean for gameplay?

The Korean War: 

1,8 million Americans took part of the Korean war, of those 1,5 million were drafted men between the ages of 18-25 while 300 000 were a mix of those already in the military career and volunteers. With men between 18-25 making out roughly 10% of the population, or 15 million, that meant that 10% of those signing up for the draft were actually drafted. In comparison to WWIIs 45% far fewer were affected by the Korean war, and as far as the game goes, only Arthur is eligible for a draft. 

Arthur would have to register for the draft immediately after aging up, then there would be a lottery after the Korean war broke out, and if he's selected he'd have to go for medical examinations to see if he was fit for service. There were four groups: 

1. Fit for service (you were sent)
2. Student (you could apply for a deferral but there was a chance you needed to go anyway, especially if you had just started your studies)
3. Provider (you could apply for a deferral if you were the sole provider for your family, but again it might not be granted)
4. Unfit for service due to medical conditions 

For Arthur he fits in the 1st category as he has yet to start his studies and so I am sending him off to war. 

Once in the Korean War there was about a 2% risk of dying, or he will return home with some negative trait. We'll see what happens. 

The Vietnam War: 

In 1955 it was just getting started, and the US-role was mainly that of advisory. There were no men drafted to the war this early, and as my sole military in game Harold, is deployed in Europe, the development in Vietnam won't affect gameplay during the 1950s. 

Civil Rights Movement: 

1950s also saw the birth of the civil rights movement. In game, creating segregation and everything that goes with it is next to impossible as the townie generation works the way it does, so I have for that purpose mostly been ignoring it (apart from the issues with Harold and his then girlfriend and their inability to get married and have it legally recognised in his home state), but I will try to incorporate it in some way in my game somehow. School desegregation will happen about the same time that baby Michael is set to start to school so perhaps there will be some possibility to do something with that. Or at least mention it. I will need to think more about how and what to do to work it into the game in a suitable way. 

Conservatism: 

In many ways the 1950s were more conservative than the 1940s. With men being back from the war women returned to the homes, and women who worked were fewer. Women also married young, with the average marital age for women being around 20 years old, which was a drop with a few years compared to the decade before. The marital age for men also decreased during the same time and the 1950s saw the lowest average marital ages for both men and women in the 20th century. Pressure to marry was high, and only 5-10% of people stayed single, which is the lowest number in the 20th century (and a good portion of the 19th century too). People also had more children, with 3-4 per family being the norm. The peak came in 1957 with 3,7 children per woman. 

Other development: 

There were a great many inventions during WWII that found civilian use in the 1950s, as well as several new and semi-new inventions that found their way into people's homes. 

• TVs, while having been around earlier, exploded in the 1950s. In the US many bought a TV to watch the election debates of 1953. In England it was the coronation of the queen that made people buy a TV and in Sweden the world cup of 1952. 
• House hold appliances became a thing, vacuum cleaners, coffeemakers, many housewives even got a washer of their own, and some even had dryers, although that was much more rare. 
• The first microwave came, although few had them this early. Same goes for dishwashers. 
• The electrical stove, the freezer-fridge combo and lots of small appliances. Kitchens started to look like they do today. 
• With toys, we saw the birth of Legos, play dough and future cubes. In 1959 the Barbie was invented. 
• Hamsters and small pets became popular. 
• New open careers would be scientists (in October 1957 Sputnik was launched into space) and secret agent and covert operator in the military career (CIA was created in 1948)
• High school proms were made popular in the 1950s. 
• This was in many ways the decade of the teenager. They got own sense of fashion, their own music that was highly disliked by the parent generation (Elvis, rock'n roll), their own books (Catcher in the Rye) their own movies (Wild one, Rebel without a cause) 

Family tree: 

The family tree (based on Abigail's descendants) as it is at the start of 1950: