An American family in the 1950's on a normal night could be found watching primetime television, eyes glued to the TV, with dinner served in a tinfoil tray that was prepared in twenty-five minutes or less. In 1953, TV dinners became very popular due to the changing lifestyles of American families. The history of TV dinners began with the well-known company, Swanson, that's still in the frozen dinner business today. The company did the hard work of preparing the dinners and then made it easy for consumers to simply heat it up and eat within a few short minutes. Although the convenience the dinners gave to a family allowed a lot more time for other activities, it took away the tradition of home cooked family dinners. While TV dinners were the craze in history's past, today's families are torn between unhealthy drive-thru and eating home cooked meals. The 1950's began the idea of quick and easy convenience when it came to food, something are society still craves today.
Along with the introduction of TV dinners in the United States, as a country we were introducing lots of other new ideas and change to our everyday lives. When the United States ended World War II a few years prior to the 50's it started the "baby boomers" generation. Dwight D. Eisenhower began his presidential first presidential term in 1953. The 1950's was also the start to may Civil Rights and key events happened during this time, Brown vs. Board of Education and Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat. A lot was happening in the 50's, but the turn in the way TV was being viewed helped contribute to the invention of TV dinners. There were so many up and coming shows during this time era that families were glued to their TV sets during primetime most nights of the week. The idea of sitting in front of the television instead of at the table grew more and more popular. Mom's wanted to be able to join the family in the evening pastime rather than cooking a homemade dinner for hours.