Keds from 1951 (the 1950's)

Origin: The Keds basketball shoe originated from the from the upstart of new manufacturing after World War II. The Keds shoe company in Rockford, Michigan benefited from this and in 1951, they created the Keds basketball shoe.On the outside of the shoe, it is relatively the same as the shoes from the 1940's. However, the Keds basketball shoe is different on the inside. This shoe was made in the made by the Ked's shoe company in Rockford, Michigan in 1951 from the boom in manufacturing. Keds started making basketball shoes because of the manufacturing boom after the war and these shoes became the primary shoe of the 50's.

Purpose: The Ked's basketball shoe is relatively the same on the outside of the basketball shoes from the 40's. The shoe has an underside with rubber and the upper part with canvas. The patch is no longer advertised to protect the ankle because it has been proven not to. The one part that has been changed in this to compared to the others in the inside. There is an additional layer for where the foot goes to create comfort for the foot. His is relatively new for basketball shoes because they wanted to keep basketball shoes light. This layer, however, did not add much weight and it was quite comfortable.This shoe was made by the shoe company because there was in increase in demand for basketball shoes because of the increase in popularity of basketball. There was also a need for a more comfortable basketball shoe and that is when the Keds came in.

Value: The Keds basketball shoe is an expression of this time period because it is an expression of the manufacturing boom caused by the war in the 50's. Keds was a shoe company for normal footwear and the company stayed relatively small until the boom in the 1950's. It then created the Keds for the basketball shoe demand. It represents the values of this time in which it shows that this time was about working for the country and this shoe is a product of that work. This is the best expression of the time because it is a symbol of the manufacturing increase in the 50's.

Limitations: This item cannot tell us about anything about what was happening in terms of the Cold War with the U.S and Russia in the 1950's. It has nothing to do with the nuclear weapon crisis or anything that was happening n Berlin. There were voices about representing the country well to resist the policy of communism and this shoe did not symbolize anything about this subject. Overall, the Keds shoe was quite mainstream with other basketball shoe with the usual basketball shoe structure. Voices and perspectives that were not seen in this item include voices from anything related to the Cold War.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/348458-the-history-of-the-basketball-shoe/