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Political climate in the 1950's
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The United States’ Social and Political Climate: 1950s v. 1960s The social and political climate of the United States had many similarities and many differences between the 1950s and the 1960s. Each of the two decades dealt with the evolution of civil rights within the nation, or the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality. Moreover, as the nation’s economy continued to flourish, the United States was expected to resolve numerous issues and to maintain prosperity. Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy are both regarded as great presidents for the ways in which they handled the situations the United States encountered. The 1950s marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Earl Warren’s Court decisions furthering racial equality were the catalyst …show more content…
Warren’s Brown v. the Board of Education case of 1954 serves as one of the most controversial Supreme Court cases of the 1950s, as it declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The Court ruled that the concept of “separate but equal” had “no place” in American life or jurisprudence, in effect, nullifying the legality of segregation that had been established in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. Many southern states and southern individuals opposed and protested against this decision. For instance, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas defied the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central High School. In result, President Eisenhower issued members of the United States Army to escort black students to class, ending Faubus’ protest. In 1962, President Kennedy followed in the footsteps of Eisenhower, as he sent Federal troops to escort a black student by the name of James Meredith on the campus of “Ole Miss” University.
The sixties was a decade filled with major political debates that affected the entire country. By the time the sixties came around we were in the most turbulent part of the Cold War, an era of military and political tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. As Dwight Eisenhower brought the fifties to a close it was time for a new president to take hold of the reigns. As the country closed in on one of the closest elections in history it was up to Democratic candidate, John F. Kennedy to compete agains...
The 1950s created an environment and culture that allowed for the beginning of a wide-scale civil rights movement because of prominent leaders in the black community, the death of Emmett Till, and the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
The United States in the 1950s was quite different from the modern world we live in. There was a time where it was against the law for an African American to ride in the front of a bus or to be in the same school as a white child. Thankfully today our world is more accepting than that and we have the Civil Rights movement to thank for that. The Civil Rights Movement and its participants are responsible for shaping the country we now see today.
From the outside, the 1950’s was a great time for America. Society revolved around the idea of America being a middle-class nation. Americans worshipped conformity, and materialism satisfied the need to conform. However, the prosperity of materialistic America hid the growing, numerous problems. Dissent in any way was not tolerated; all injustice was stifled by a fear of difference. In “Fifties Society,” Alan Brinkley discusses the truth of the era; that the fear of nonconformity was hidden by the seemingly prosperous middle-class nation. Brinkley argues the Beat movement and “feminine mystique” show that the people who did not fit in reveal the true colors of 1950’s society.
President Eisenhower wrote a speech in response to the events that were taking place in Little Rock, Arkansas. The intended audience for this speech is the citizens of the United States, the people in Little Rock, Arkansas but most important the powers of the world, waiting to see how the United States would handle the situation. The events in Arkansas would have a very huge impact on future Supreme Court Decisions and the Executive powers of the President. Governor Orville Faubus used his executive powers as Governor of Arkansas to call out in the National Guard to stop the Supreme Court decision of allowing nine African American from integrating Central High School in Little Rock. President Eisenhower at this time had the entire world waiting to see what he would do in order to Board of Education case of Topeka, Kansas in 1954 was a unanimous Supreme Court decision that overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson case of 1896.
America in the 1950s is often characterized with many important social, political, cultural, and economic events. Many aspects of life changed in the 1950s with the ending of World War Two causing veterans to return home, but also the country continued some of its long time traditions. As veterans returned home, men returned to their job, the economy began to boom, and large families began to move to the suburbs. Socially, culturally, economically and politically America in the 1950s challenged, more than embraced the status quo.
The 1950s was a great success for the civil rights movement; there were a number of developments which greatly improved the lives of black people in America and really started the civil rights movement, as black people became more confident and willing to fight for their cause. The first big development of the ‘50s came almost immediately at the turn of the decade, when the Supreme Court essentially overturned the verdict reached in the Plessy vs. Ferguson trial of 1896. Thanks to the NAACP lawyers, the Supreme Court made three decisions regarding civil rights which not only showed that at times the government was on the black side, but also almost completely overturned the ‘separate but equal’ idea that had been followed for 54 years. The next big step in the civil rights movement came in 1954, with the BROWN vs. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA case, where Thurgood Marshall, representing Brown, argued that segregation was against the 4th Amendment of the American constitution.
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” (Kennedy 916). With these words, John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1961 described the 1960’s decade. This era in American history encapsulated a belief in the power of young people to change the world, a desire to help others globally and accept their differences, and a war that would eventually destroy all that America stood for. It was a time for new ideas in all aspects of life. This shift in thinking is apparent when looking at the happenings in society, the younger generation, and the media. The sixties were the beginning of many great revolutions in society.
In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision set that “separate” facilities for blacks, and whites was constitutional. With the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Plessy was overturned along with the separate but equal implementation. The Brown v. Board of Education case all started with African American children who were denied acceptance in white schools. In a PBS Article the author discusses how a case was filed against the Topeka Kansas school board by Oliver Brown. Alexander McBride states “Brown v. Board of Education was filed against the Topeka, Kansas school board by representative-plaintiff Oliver Brown, parent of one of the children denied access to Topeka 's white schools. Brow...
Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of these things. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fight against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.
In the United States in the late 20th century, there were liberals and conservatives. Liberals generally favored government intervention to help needy and conservatives generally favored allowing the free market, private organizations, and individuals to do that. During the 1960s and 1970s, democrats and Republicans began having different agendas as compared to the 1940s and 1950s when the two parties had aimed for both containing communism. During the 1970s events such as the Iran hostage crisis and oil crisis and Watergate weakened the public’s faith in the federal government . During the 1970s, conservatives felt as though the Great Society had made the problem of poverty worse.
Oliver Brown, father of Linda Brown decided that his third grade daughter should not have to walk one mile through a railroad switchyard just to get to the bus stop before she could even get to the separate Negro school for her area. He attempted to enroll her in the white public school only three blocks from their home, but her enrollment was denied due to her race. The browns believed this was a violation of their rights, and took their case to the courts. This wasn’t the first time that blacks found their constitutional rights violated. After the civil war, laws were passed to continue the separation of blacks and whites throughout the southern states, starting with the Jim Crow laws which officially segregated the whites from the black. It wasn’t until 1896 in Plessy vs. Ferguson that black people even began to see equality as an option. Nothing changed in the world until 1954 when the historical ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education that anything changed. Until then, all stores, restaurants, schools and public places were deemed ‘separate but equal’ through the Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling in 1896. Many cases just like the Brown vs. Board of Education were taken to the Supreme Court together in a class action suite. The world changed when nine justices made the decision to deem segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
The final result of the Brown v. Board of Education case caused turbulence in the South. In the mid-fifties, congressmen from the ex-Confederate states issued a Southern Manifesto; this was their way of defying integration in a “lawful” way. In Arkansas, nine African American students were supposed to assimilate into the all-white Central High School. The governor at the time, Orval Faubus, overstepped his boundaries and chose not to adhere to the court order. The nine African American students were chased away by a mob of belligerent white people. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was made aware of the mob violence in Arkansas by watching the horrific televised scenes. He decided to take action, and Executive Order 10730 was created. It stated that no one, no matter how powerful he or she was, could interfere with the integration of Central High School. To help enforce the order, President Eisenhower deployed many military men at the high school to escort the nine students to and from
The 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time that eternally changed the culture and humanity of America. It was a time widely known for peace and love when in reality; many minorities were struggling to gain a modicum of equality and freedom. It was a time, in which a younger generation rebelled against the conventional norms, questioning power and government, and insisting on more freedoms for minorities. In addition, an enormous movement began rising in opposition to the Vietnam War. It was a time of brutal altercations, with the civil rights movement and the youth culture demanding equality and the war in Vietnam put public loyalty to the test. Countless African-Americans, Native-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, women, and college students became frustrated, angry, and disillusioned by the turmoil around them.