Were people happier in the 50s? Or is it a dystopian memory based on old TV shows? In the 50s - We had polio, lead paint, McCarthyism, Jim Crow laws, domestic violence wasn't illegal, no air conditioning, no freeways (is that a plus or minus?), asbestos was a common household material, no clear air or clean water acts (rivers caught fire), atomic bomb drills (duck and cover). I could go on, but I'm glad I didn't have to live in the 50s.