Few postwar developments had a greater impact on American society and politics than the advent of television. The three major television networks—the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)—offered programs nationwide that appealed to mainstream tastes while occasionally challenging the public with serious drama, music, and documentaries. During the 1950s, television networks began to feature presidential campaign coverage, from the national nominating conventions to election-day vote tallies, and political advertisements began to fill the airwaves.

If many Americans recall the 1950s as a time of innocence, they have in mind television shows aimed at children, such as Howdy Doody, Superman, Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid, and The Lone Ranger. In the course of a half hour, the shows pitted good versus evil; honesty and decency inevitably triumphed. These youth-oriented television programs showcased a simple world of moral absolutes.

In similar fashion, adults enjoyed evening television shows that depicted old-fashioned families entertaining themselves, mediating quarrels peacefully, and relying on the wisdom of parents. In The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, the Nelsons raised two clean-cut sons. In Father Knows Best, the Andersons—a father and mother and their three children—lived a tranquil life in the suburbs, and the father solved whatever dilemmas arose. The same held true for the Cleaver family on Leave It to Beaver. Television portrayed working-class families in grittier fashion on shows such as The Life of Riley, whose lead character worked at a factory, and The Honeymooners, whose male protagonists were a bus driver and a sewer worker. Nevertheless, like their middle-class counterparts, these families stayed together and worked out their problems despite their more challenging financial circumstances.

By contrast, African American families received little attention on television. Black female actors usually appeared as maids, and the one show that featured an all-black cast, The Amos ’n’ Andy Show, highlighted the racial stereotypes of the period. American Indians faced similar difficulties. Few appeared on television, and those who did served mainly as targets for “heroic” cowboys defending the West from “savage” Indians. One exception was Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s sidekick. Played by Jay Silverheels, a Canadian Mohawk, he challenged the image of the hostile Indian by showing his loyalty to his white partner and his commitment to the code of “civilized” justice.