How did the 1950s create social and political turbulence in the 1960s?The postwar era witnessed tremendous economic growth, social contentment, and...

The 1950s helped to create social and political turbulence
by creating a culture of materialism and conformity against which people rebelled in the
1960s.

The 1950s were a time of rising affluence in the
United States.  The US was the richest country in the world.  The middle class, helped
by such things as the GI Bill, was increasing in numbers and in wealth.  People who had
grown up with the stress of the Depression and WWII were buckling down and trying to
make secure lives for themselves and their families.  They were trying to get material
security and they were trying to get psychological security as well by being just like
everyone else.

The children of this generation, however,
rebelled.  They thought their parents were too materialistic and conformist.  They
thought their parents had no real lives, just these dull existences that were centered
around money.  Because of this, they rebelled.  This was the rebellion that led to the
social strife of the '60s.  It led to the hippie movement and to the condemnation of
things like the Vietnam War and the whole
"establishment."

So, the '50s led to the turbulence of the
'60s because the conformity and materialism of the '50s made the youth of the '60s want
to rebel.