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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Arrested & Executed
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg worked at the U.S. Army Signal Corps Laboratory in New Jersey, where he had access to classified information. He and his wife, Ethel, who had both been members of the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) in the 1930s, were accused of passing secret bomb-related documents to Soviet officials and were indicted in August 1950 on charges of giving nuclear secrets to the Russians. After a trial in March 1951, they were found guilty and executed on June 19, 1953. -
Christian Influence in the U.S. - 1950s
During early Cold War years Americans professed a belief in a supreme being, and stressed importance of religion in their lives at higher rates than in any time in American history. Americans sought to differentiate themselves from godless communists through public displays of religiosity. Politicians infused government with religious symbols. The Pledge of Allegiance was altered to include the words "one nation, under God" in 1954. In God We Trust was adopted as the official motto in 1956. -
Eisenhower's National Heath Care Plan
This plan would have provided federal support for healthcare coverage across the nation without the government directly involved in regulating the healthcare industry. The proposal was defeated, just like his later proposals for education and agriculture. Achievements were limited to expanding social security; making Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) a cabinet position; passing the National Defense Education Act; and bolstering federal support to education, particularly in math and science. -
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Rock & Roll Era
The era became a source of controversy in the 1950s because of new ideas about rebellion in the minds of teenagers. Rock ‘n’ roll also opened the gate way for society to consider thoughts about sensual dancing, drugs, sex, and other subjects that challenged older generations beliefs. Teenagers were heavily influenced by the entertainment industry, specifically by musicians such as, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and the king of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley. -
Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks
On December 1, 1955, refused to surrender her seat on a Montgomery city bus and was arrested. Montgomery's public transportation system had longstanding rules requiring African American passengers to sit in the back of the bus and to give up their seats to white passengers if the buses filled. Parks was not the first to protest the policy by staying seated, but she was the first around whom Montgomery activists rallied. -
The Soviets Launch Sputnik 1
The Soviets achieve success first. On October 4, 1957 the Soviets sent sputnik one, the first human-made satellite into orbit. It was a decisive Soviet propaganda victory. In 1958, the US government created the national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) and the national advisory committee for aeronautics (NACA). -
Communist Hysteria in American Society
In 1958, radical anticommunists founded the John Birch Society, attacking liberals and civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. as communists. Although joined by Cold War Communism found themselves smeared by the red scare. The leftist American tradition was in tatters, destroyed by anticommunist hysteria. Movements for social justice, from civil rights to gay rights to feminism, were all suppressed under Cold War conformity. -
Soviet Union Space Craft Luna
The Soviet Union's Luna became the First Human-Made Object to Touch the Moon. The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union Had Just Begun. -
Alan Shepard - American on the Moon
American Astronaut Alan Shepard accomplished a suborbital flight in the Freedom 7 Capsule. President John Kennedy would use Americas losses in the “Space race“ to bolster funding for moon landing. -
Cuban Missile Crisis Begins
President Kennedy addressed the American people to alert them of found launch sits for nuclear weapons threat. The world watched horror as the United States and the Soviet Union hovered on the brink of nuclear war. Finally, on October 28, the Soviet Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba in exchange for a U.S. agreement to remove its missiles from Turkey and a formal pledge that the United States would not invade Cuba, and the crisis was resolved peacefully. -
President JFK Assassinated
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas Texas while he was riding in a convertible vehicle. He was promoting a bill for Civil Rights, which caused controversy among American citizens. -
Civil Rights Act - 1964
President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. This is considered one of the most important pieces of Civil Rights history. Ended discrimination of colored people in all public places. -
Elvis Presley - The King of Rock & Roll
Elvis Presley's career lasted throughout the 1950s & 1960s, however he became extremely popular because of his good looks, talented singing abilities and sensual dancing.
