1950s

Events:

• Elections of Eisenhower- in 1952 and 1956- His policy was to use the threat of nuclear weapons to prevent nuclear war. His use of MAD allowed the US to feel protected against the soviets. He focused on balancing the budget and ending the war in Korea, leading to a solid agenda of plans

• Baby boom- after WWII, many veterans came home with money due to the GI bill, allowing them to start many families.

• Korean War- North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, with the war ending on Jul 27, 1953. This was supported by the UN, which sent a coalition of mostly Americans to fight in Korea for 3 years. MacArthur was in charge and almost defeated the North Koreans, but the Chinese invaded and pushed the UN forces back, and he was fired by Truman for wanting to escalate by using nuclear weapons on China. Eventually, Eisenhower successfully ended the war by returning the border to the 38th parallel, which was the same as at the beginning of the war.

• McCarthy and Lavender Trials- On February 9, 1950, he claimed to have a list of Communists working in the government, but he never gave a list. Using the House Un-American Activities Committee to prosecute people whom he called communists, including the Hollywood 10 (10 film industry members) who refused to come in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. The Lavender trials were the prosecutions of Gay people working in the government. McCarthy was in charge of picking Roy Cohn to fire gay government workers with the help of J.Edgar Hooevr, who was the Head of the FBI. Though both Hoover and Cohn turned out to be gay, with Cohn even getting Aids.
  Civil Rights Movements:

• Sit-ins- Sit-ins were a form of peaceful protest in which people of color would sit at white only restaurants to protest segregation

• The Montgomery Bus Boycott- The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement.

• Brown v. Board of Education- This case declared state-sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the separate but equal doctrine that didn’t allow African Americans to go to the same schools as whites.

• Civil Rights Act of 1957-this established the Civil Rights Commission, this commission investigated civil rights violations and created a division in the Justice Department.

• Interstate Highway System- This was created by Eisenhower to have a network of controlled-access highways that connect the major cities, areas, and industrial centers.

• Space Race- This was a series of events between the Soviets and the US that started in the late 50s. Most notable was the Sputnik launch of 1957, where the Soviet Union put a satellite into space for the first time, gaining the early advantage in this race for power in the newly discovered part of the world.

• Spy Cases- These cases include 3 different cases, with the most notable being the Rosenberg case, which was a high-profile espionage case. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage and were sentenced to execution. They were executed in 1953. This case remains controversial because there was no hard evidence that showed Ethel was responsible. The other cases, being the Alger Hiss case and the Rudolf Abel Case, ended with them also being convicted, with Hiss being executed and Rudolf being traded for an American Pilot.

• Polio Vaccine- This vaccine was created by Jonas Salk to counter the polio virus that was taking many young and new lives. This vaccine was tested in 1954 on over 1 million children and was announced highly effective. This was then put to use in April 1955 saving many children's lives.
  People:

• USA Presidents:

  • Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)- Aided South Korea in the war, as well as tried to contain communism

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)- commander of NATO, signed the Civil Rights Act, constructed the interstate highway system, and integrated schools.

• Civil rights activists:

  • Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. Won the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Rosa Parks- Bus incident

  • Thurgood Marshall- First African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Used to be a civil rights lawyer.

  • Jackie Robinson- became the first Black baseball player to play in the major league.

• Cold War figures:

  • The Hollywood 10

  • Ethel Rosenberg- Julius' wife, considered wrongfully accused of being a Spy

  • Julius Rosenberg- Ethel's husband, also a genius, and a spy. Both executed

  • Joseph Stalin- Leader of the soviet union until 1953

  • Nikita Khrushchev- Leader of the soviet union after Stalin until the 60’s.

  • Douglass MacAruther- Appointed as supreme commander during the Korean War.

  • Joseph McCarthy- Created McCarthyism, which was when people would be publicly accused of being communist with most of the time with little to no evidence.

• Medical Figures:

  • Jonas Salk- Created the Polio Vaccine in 1955

• Influential artists:

  • Elvis Presley- a good singer
    Places:

• Political importance

  • USSR- was converting the entirety of Europe to communism also started to develop nuclear weapons after the events of Hiroshima

  • Moscow- Moscow was the capital of the soviet union

  • United States- The United States came out of ww2 as a world leader and began programs like the Marshall Plan

  • Korea- The Korean War was a major event in the 1950s that did not cause any major changes in the border, but was a major cause for desegregation in the military

  • China- a communist country, provided support to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War

  • Berlin- Berlin was the center of tensions in Europe

• Economic importance

  • New York- is the financial capital of the US because of Wall Street, and it is a coastal city, making it good for trade and tourism.

  • Levittown- created a new standard in the building of American homes, making them cheaper and more available

  • Route 66- “the main street of America” was a major part of trucking and tourism, and helped Americans migrate west.

  • Detroit- most cars were made in plants in Detroit, as its location on the river made it easy for materials like steel from places like Pittsburgh to be transported there.

  • Los Angeles- because of the film industry massively expanding in the city, it is also a major destination on Route 66

  • Houston- during the 50’s, the city grew a lot because of the start of NASA and the booming oil industry

  • West Germany- post-war West Germany became strong in engineering cars and machinery
    Terms:

• Mccarthyism- This is an act of publicly accusing someone of being disloyal to America/ being a Communist. People were often accused with little to no evidence, and it was sometimes used to get back at people by accusing them of being communist.

• Mutually Assured Destruction- otherwise known as MAD, it was a cold war strategy that if one nation launched a nuclear attack on another country, it would result in the destruction of both countries.

• Communism- A system where there are no social classes and resources are mostly shared.

• Redlining- a practice that is discriminatory for rejecting African-American housing in certain areas.

• Espionage- Using spies to gain political information

• United Nations- Known as the UN, the United Nations was founded in 1945 and was initially made up of 51 countries.

• Brinkmanship- Created by Eisenhower, a strategy to escalate tensions and make it seem as if the U.S was willing to risk nuclear war to make the soviets back down