The election of Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 ushered in one ofthe most prosperous eras in American history. The shortages of the war were a distant memory as consumers rushed to spend their wartime savings on the new homes, cars and appliances that were now abundant. The nuclear family as the haven from political and atomic anxiety depended on rigid gender roles and consumption, and television provided the images of themselves that Americans wanted to see. But beneath the complacency of the era lurked the indicators of a society waiting to rebel, and the realities of a nation divided by racial and class conflicts. This episode examines the "Happy Days" of the 1950s and the major events of those years such as the Baby Boom, suburbanization, the advent of television, Civil Rights, Brown v. Board of Education, youth rebellions and the fears of a society enmeshed in a cold war.