The 1950s were often depicted as the Happy Days era of modern America. How much of this is true?

In many ways,
the answer to this depends on whose perspective we look at the 1950s from.

From many peoples perspectives, the 1950s were a great time.  This was particularly
true for white males who held orthodox political opinions.  The 1950s were a time of economic
boom.  America was the richest country in the world and Americans could now have material goods
that had never before been available on such a wide scale (if at all).  This was a good time,
particularly after decades of depression and war.

However, for many other
people, this was not such a good time.  People who held leftist views were persecuted.  Women
had very little in the way of life opportunities.  They were largely limited to acting as wives
and mothers, which led to a great deal of frustration for many women after the opportunities and
independence and their contributions to the economy during WWII.  For African Americans and
other minorities, it is very hard to say that these were happy days.  This was still a time of
very strict segregation in the South.  It was a time when discrimination was still widespread
and legal.  This was the decade in which Emmett Till was killed, a fourteen-year-old
African-American boy who was brutally murdered for speaking to a white female shopkeeper.  Thus,
for many people, the 1950s were not a golden age.  However, for many white men in particular, it
could be seen in this way.