Taking a Look at the Influential Fifties

1310 Words3 Pages

The Influential Fifties

The half century from 1900 to 1959 was very eventful for the history of the United States of America. It began with the introduction of contemporary life itself, followed closely by the beginning of the First World War. World War I ended in 1918, and with its end came a great new generation of living. Rations were removed and spending was increased drastically, until the spending reached a point of no return, causing the stock market to crash and the infamous Great Depression to ensue. The Great Depression came to a close with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, but ended with a bang when World War II broke out. The decade after the Second World War is by far the most cheerful, as well as the most important to contemporary life in America. These years brought the US to fruition through new ideas and progressive socio-economic values.

The culture and society of the 1950’s was a raucous function with larger groups of people being integrated into society, and with the war just ending, the people were crawling with paranoia and fear of what could come next. Communism was still an imminent danger, lurking around every corner, feeding on the fear of America and continuing to thrive in the darkness. Senator Joseph McCarthy, a failing Republican Senator from Wisconsin, took this idea into account when he attempted to up his chances of reelection by accusing Communism of taking over the government. McCarthy’s reign as a terrorist ended in 1954, when he was the center of a large, nationally televised Senate investigation, in which it was shown as proof that his accusations were all empty. The investigation ended ultimately in McCarthy’s crash, where he became “Censured by his Senate colleagues, o...

... middle of paper ...

...S. PBS, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: "Radio and Television Address to the American People on Science in National Security.," November 7, 1957. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=10946.

"Mrs. America: Women's Roles in the 1950s." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Oxford, Tamsin. "5 Technologies to Thank the 1950s for." TechRadar. N.p., 5 Aug. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

Special Senate Investigation on Charges and Countercharges Involving: Secretary of the Army Robert T. Stevens, John G. Admas, H. Struve hensel, and Senator Joe McCarthy, Roy M. Cohn, and Francis P. Carr. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1954). Online facsimile at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1501

"Wikia." Ultimate I Love Lucy Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

Open Document