1950s

**1950s**
__Identity:__ Times were changing in the 1950s, and civil rights movements specifically changed what it meant to be an American. Reform movements were taking place to abolish any racial discrimination, which meant to be an American was to be equal. Many immigrants were coming over to the country looking for a new beginning, which to many was what America stood for. With the countries economy on the rise, many people took risks and trie to strike it rich during this era. The country had a youthfull popoulation that was trying to recover from the war that had just ended. THe result of this in the 1950s was the development of the middle class.The 1950s brought a clear distinction between the lower, middle and upper classes in the country.

__Diversity:__ Diversity in the country was established in the 1950's from the prior years. Many imigrants from all over had come to the United States in hopes of a new beginning. The diverse range of counties represented in the United States was incredible. The country was arguably the most diverse in the world, with many immigrants coming from eastern Europe looking for refuge after world war II. A large portion of the the population in the south was african american. Unfortunately, the 1950s were a very politicaly unstable time for african americans. Thier rights were constantly under attack. All the efforts made during the forties to integrate the armed forces were abolished during the korean war. A new era of racist assasinations began to occur and african americans started to take stand against blatant racism. The 1950s were the beginning of social change as many african americans fought for equality. Brown V. the Board of Education was an example. In 1954 the Supreme Court made one of the most important decisions in its long history. It decided in the case of Brown v. Board Of Education of Topeka that it was unconstitutional for states to maintain separate schools for African American and white children.



__Culture:__ Men expected to be the breadwinners; women, even when they worked, assumed their proper place was at home. Television contributed to the homogenizing trend by providing young and old with a shared experience reflecting accepted social patterns. A number of writers, members of the so-called "beat generation," rebelled against conventional values. Stressing spontaneity and spirituality, they asserted intuition over reason, Eastern mysticism over Western institutionalized religion. Musicians and artists rebelled as well. Tennessee singer Elvis Presley popularized black music in the form of rock and roll, and shocked more staid Americans with his ducktail haircut and undulating hips. Also, big advances in the televison took place in the 1950's. During the 1950's, television became the dominant mass media as people brought television into their homes in greater numbers of hours per week than ever before. In the early fifties, the number of hours young people watched TV steadily increased, a trend which has not changed greatly since that time. What was portrayed on television became accepted as normal. media type="youtube" key="Kvlkt_UIjsw" height="344" width="425"

__Economic Transformations:__ The 1950s brought a sharp turn and uprise in the economy for the first time in 30 years. The country was recovering from world war II, and many young soldiers were coming home from the wr. The rise of soldiers returning led to a tremendous increase in college attendance. The increase in college attendance and education strengthened the economy and led to increase in the employment of the country.

Gas was 20 cents a gallon Milk was 82 cents a gallon Unemployment was 5.3% A new house cost $14,500
 * Economy Facts:**



__Religion:__ The religious upsurge that followed World War II continued into the 1950s. By all concrete measurements—membership, contributions, media attention, films, and bestselling books—interest in religion was so high in the United States that optimists talked of a new awakening, with hopes that this one would affect American culture as deeply as those of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But critics from both the right and left of the religious spectrum speculated whether religion had made its peace with the secular culture and had become just another commodity to be consumed in the American marketplace. Optimists, however, pointed to concrete achievements. By 1960 an astonishing 63.6 percent of the population was affiliated with some religious group, and 60 percent of the people said they went to weekly religious services.

__Politics and Citezenship:__ Current baby-boomer nostalgia has, for the most part, washed over—and sanitized—the political history of the 1950s. When compared to the turbulent decades that would follow and the world war that had preceded in the 1940s, the 1950s would appear from the present, popular perspective to represent a peaceful interlude in twentieth-century power politics—a kind of return to innocence from which the American people would emerge the "children of Eisenhower." Politics in the 1950s were driven by immediate fears that the American way of life was being threatened by a philosophy that ran counter to, and called for the destruction of, democracy. American's fear of communism during the 1950s is often looked back on as having been fueled by naive generalization and paranoia. American military presence in Korea provided one of the most dramatic examples of emerging U.S. cold-war policy.



__Globalization:__ The 1950s were the beginning of a reconstruction for a new global economy.World War II left the United States in a uniquely powerful position. While Europe and Asia had experienced extensive destruction and loss of life, no battles had been fought on the soil of the United States. The U.S. dollar became the world's major reserve currency. U.S. corporations assumed leading positions in many industries. Technology made it easier than ever before for companies to move people, knowledge, and goods around the world. There were new waves of innovations in transport and communications. In 1958 the first commercial jet made an Atlantic crossing. This was followed by a phenomenal increase in air traffic. These major advancements made globalization in the country much easier, and put the United States on the map as a leader in the international economy. The 1950s marked the beginning of a time period that sparked our country to work toward improvements in trade, foreign relations, global communication, and international travel.

__Questions:__
 * Essay: ** In the 1950 decade, culture played a huge role in peoples lives. Did the culture of our country or politics have a bigger affect on society?

**Multiple Choice: ** 1.) Which of the following did not make its first appearance in the 1950s? **A**. Roll-on deodorant **B**.Silly Putty™ **C.**Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes

2.) Where did __[|Ike] __ send __[|U.S. Marines] __ in July 1958, after proposing in his Eisenhower Doctrine that military and economic aid be sent to Middle Eastern nations against __[|Communist aggression] __?  **A**.[|Jordan] __ **B**. __[|Lebanon][| **C**] [|_Israel__] <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">

[|3.)] <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which key event in the black __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|civil rights movement] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> happened in 1954? **A**. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Supreme Court ends school segregation with its ruling in __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|//Brown v. Board of Education//] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. **B**.Congress passes the first civil rights bill since 1875, establishing the Civil Rights Commission and protecting voting rights. **C.** __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Rosa Parks] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> refuses to move to the back of a segregated bus in __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Montgomery, Ala] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.

[|4.)]Which year saw the publication of literary classics **A**. __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|//Dr. Zhivago//] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,**B**. __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|//On the Road//] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and **C.** __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|//The Cat in the Hat//] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">? 1955 1957 1951

5.)Which song won the first __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Grammy Award] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, in __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|1958] __<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">? **A**."Nel blu dipinto di blu," Domenico Modugno **B**."All I Have to Do Is Dream," Everly Brothers **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">C." **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Swingin' the Blues," Count Basie

__Sites__ [] [] [] [] [|http://www.enotes.com/1950-government-politics-american-decadeshttp://www.infoplease.com/quizzes/1950s/11.html]http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html http://history1900s.about.com/library/time/bltime1950.htm http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infoCentral/frameset/decade/1950.htm