"I'll Just Charge It."

Ubiquitous words and phrases generally associated with the 1960s —- "Don't trust anyone over thirty," "the Generation Gap," "the Establishment," "peace," and "groovy" — capture only part of the decade. One important change during these years might best be depicted by the expression that revolutionized the way Americans bought things: "I'll just charge it." The burgeoning use of credit cards simplified the idea of buying now and paying later, thereby adding fuel to the economic boom already under way. Although various kinds of charge cards had been available for nearly fifty years, the credit-card industry took off in the 1960s.

Origins.

Consumer credit in the form of installment-buying plans became prominent during the years following World War I. In order to encourage the purchasing of big-ticket items such as automobiles, washing machines, radios, and the like, companies in the...