The television was first introduced to Americans on the eve of World War II. However, the new technology was slow to catch on. In 1946, 7,000 television sets were sold nationwide. By 1950, that number had increased to 5 million sets, and about 20 percent of American homes had a television. As American purchasing power increased during the 1950s, this number grew dramatically. By 1960, 87 percent of American families owned a television. The television quickly became a source of entertainment for families, and TV shows reinforced a uniform image of the ideal American family: a white, two-parent, middle-class household in the suburbs, with minority actors or working women largely absent.