SECTION 4: Dissent and Discontent
▼ Claude Brown, author of Manchild in the Promised Land
WITNESS HISTORY 
AUDIO
Troubles in the Promised Land
In the twentieth century, millions of African Americans left the rural South and migrated to cities in the North and West. Yet, many of these migrants were disappointed. Claude Brown, who grew up in Harlem, wrote about their disillusionment in his novel Manchild in the Promised Land.
“The children of these disillusioned colored pioneers inherited the total lot of their parents— their disappointments, the anger. To add to their misery, they had little hope of deliverance. For where does one run to when he’s already in the Promised Land?”
—Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land
Objectives
- Summarize the arguments made by critics who rejected the culture of the fifties.
- Describe the causes and effects of urban and rural poverty.
- Explain the problems that many minority group members faced in the postwar era.
Terms and People
- beatnik
- inner city
- urban renewal
- termination policy
NoteTaking
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas Record the main ideas and supporting details.
Why It Matters Despite the prosperity of the 1950s, not all people benefited. Some, such as Claude Brown, were left out and had little hope of deliverance. Others, who had benefited, wondered whether all of the material things they acquired had actually led to a better life. The discontents of the 1950s would manifest the first signs of the dissent that would dominate the 1960s. Section Focus Question: Why were some groups of Americans dissatisfied with conditions in post-war America?
Critics Reject the Fifties Culture
The failure of society to provide equal opportunities to minorities was one source of discontent during the postwar era. Another was the belief that while material conditions were better in the 1950s, the quality of life had not improved. Many intellectuals and artists did not consider homes in the suburbs, shopping centers, and an unending supply of new gadgets as representing a better life.
Objecting to Conformity
Many social critics complained about an emphasis on conformity. In a book called The Lonely Crowd, sociologists David Riesman and Nathan Glazer lamented that Americans had sacrificed their individualism in order to fit into the larger community. They also criticized the power of advertising to mold public tastes. The theme of alienation, or the feeling of being cut off from mainstream society, dominated a number of the most popular novels of the era. The bestseller The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan
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