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Baby Boom
, 4, 5, children in familes now when before there was usually one or two. Served as a greater stimulant to the consumer goods industries. -
Levittown
William Levitt anounces plans to build rental homes on Long Island. The development would later contain 17,000 homes and becaome known as "Fertility Valley." Young couples eager to start their own families bought the cheap houses, which sold for less than $10,000 -
Truman Orders end to segregation in armed forces
The navy and air force quickly complied with Truman's desegregation rules but the army resisted until the personnel needs of the Korean War finally overccame the militarys objections. -
Minimum Wage Increases
Minimum wage raised from 40 to 75 cents an hour. Workers labored fewer than 40 hours a week and didn't work on Saturdays. They enjoyed two-week paid vacations a year. -
The Lonely Crowd
David Riesman publishes his book, which set the tone for intellectual commentary about suburbia for the rest of the decade. Thought that there was a decline in individualism because of consumerism, leading to a bland society lacking creativity and a sense of adventure -
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Eisenhower creates HEW, consolidating the administration of welfare programs. Oveta Culp Hobby headed the new department -
Brown v. BOE
Supreme Court case that overturned the previous Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. Ruled segregation unconstiutional. -
Mongomery Bus Boycott
African Americans begin the boycott sparked by Rosa Parks arrest from refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. Blacks chose not to ride the buses and so the companies lost money -
The Organization Man
William H. Whyte published his book, based on a study of a Chicago suburb. Perceived a change from the old Protestant ethic to a new ethic centered on "the team" -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bu. The event led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Highway Act of 1956
Highway Act passed, creating the interstate highway system. Built over 20 years, the system provided jobs in construction, shortened travel times, and increased dependence on the automobile while weakening the railroads -
Southern Manifesto
101 representatives and senators signed a document that denounced the Brown decions as an abuse of judicial power -
Election of 1956
Republican Eisenhower defeats Democrat Stevenson in a landslide -
SCLC Founded
MLK Jr. founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to direct the crusade against segregation. -
Russians Launch Sputnik
The Russians launched the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth. This forced Eisenhower to increase defense spending and accelerate America's space program, NASA. -
On the Road
Jack Kerouac publishes his novel "On the Road." The book set the tone for the new beat movement -
Little Rock Nine
9 black students registered to attend a public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Faubus sent the national guard to prevent the integration of the schoool. Eisenhower sent 1000 paratroopers to ensure the rights of the Little Rock Nine, and the students finished the school year under armed guard -
African American College Students stage Sit Ins
African American students state sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. Four blacks sat down at a dime store lunch counter and refused to move after being denied service. Led to other sit-ins in the South. -
SNCC Founded
Fueled by the sit-in movement that was rapidly gaining strength, the Student Noviolent Coordinating Committee was founded. They replaced the NAACP as the forefront of the civil rights movement -
Civil Rights Act Passes
Signed July 2 by President Lyndon Johnson. The act prohibited discrimination in public places such as schools, pools, and theaters. It made employment discrimination illegal along with creating an Equal Opportunity Commission to lessen racial discrimination in employment.
