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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 -
State of the Union Addresss
Truman gives his address. It stressed traditional New Deal goals, such as expanded Social Security and an increase for minimum wage. It also advocated new areas of reform, later called the "Fair Deal" -
The Social Security Act of 1950
Part of the Fair Deal. Extended Social Security to 10 million more Americans -
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 -
Power Elite
C. Wright Mills described the enw middle class in his book, villainizing the corporation and caliming that the modern office was a dehumanizing workplace -
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. -
Midterm Elections
Democrats regained control of both houses in the midterm houses. The president had to rely on two Texas Democrats for legislative action -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks violated a city ordinance by refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a city bus. Her action and ensuing arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott -
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" -
Southern Manifesto
101 representatives and senators signed a document that denounced the Brown decions as an abuse of judicial power -
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 -
Election of 1956
Republican Eisenhower defeats Democrat Stevenson in a landslide -
Montgomery Bus Boycott Ends
The boycott ended in victory when the Supreme Court ruled the Alabama segregated seating law unconstitutional. -
On the Road
Jack Kerouac publishes his novel "On the Road." The book set the tone for the new beat movement -
SCLC Founded
MLK Jr. founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to direct the crusade against segregation. -
Prayer Pilgrimage
MLK Jr. led a Prayer Pilgrimage to Washington on the 3rd anniversary of the Brown decision. 30,000 people were in the crowd to hear his speech -
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 -
The Split Level Trap
Max Gunter and Richard and Katherine Gordon's published their book, lamenting the psychological toll of suburban life. Labeled the new lifestyle "Disturbia" -
First Sit-In
Four black students sat down at a dime-store lunch counter and refused to move after being refused to students. Some 50,000 people desgregated public facilities in over a hundred southern cities by the end of the year -
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
