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Increase of Minimum Wage
Minimum Wage is increased from 75 cents per hour, to one dollar per hour. -
Stock Market Suffers
As a result of the President's heart attack, the stock market suffers. The market that had seen stocks triple on Wall Street in the previous seven years went into a tailspin, the Dow Jones plummeting over 6 percent and losing $14 billion in value by the end of what would prove to be the worst single day for markets since the start of World War II. -
Rosa Parks Begins the Montgomery Bus Boycott
It was the first example of the economic clout that the community had because eventually, the bus company had to desegregate their buses or face serious financial difficulties as very many black Americans used the buses. Without their economic input via fares, the bus company of Montgomery faced probable bankruptcy. -
Eisenhower Doctrine
Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance/aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. This kept countries economically independent and free from communism. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The goal of the 1957 Civil Rights Act was to ensure that all Americans could exercise their right to vote. The U.S. Congress approves the first civil rights bill since reconstruction with additional protection of voting rights. This affected the economy because it was another step in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Space Race Begins with Russian "Sputnik"
Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite. This affected the U.S. economy because there was a new emphasis on science and technology in American schools. -
Fall of Stock Market
The stock market was falling and unemployment still hovered at 7%. This showed instability in America’s economy. It was thought that there was a rapid growth of loans and bank credit. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was responsible for a heavy strain on the financial resources of the US economy. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Junior
Martain Luther King Jr. was always working to form a coalition of poor Americans–black and white alike–to address such issues as poverty and unemployment. Ames Earl Ray ended up shooting Martin Luther King Jr. This was important because many blacks saw King’s assassination as a rejection of their vigorous pursuit of equality through the nonviolent resistance he had championed.