Nifty Fifties

By:Tyler Breshears and Abigail

Anderson

Fashion in the 50s

Womens fashion in the fifties
mostly consisted of; form fitting
below the knee dresses, kitten
heels, fitted high waisted pants and
blouses, and modest tight fitting one
piece bathing suits.
Mens fashion in the fifties contained
a lot of suits, pleated pants, and
wide leg trousers, prints and
patterns(such as argyle) were very
common for shirts, and they wore
nice dress shoes.

Movies

Movies were a huge pastime in the 50s. With the invention

of the television, 3D movies, and surround sound, people
were enamored with cinema. Musicals, romances,
comedies, and science fiction were the most popular
movies genres of the time. Some of the most famous are;
Singing in the Rain, The Day the Earth Stood Still,
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Rebel Without a Cause.

Songs of the 50s

Out of the 50s came many beloved
songs. Rock n Roll, Pop, Country, and
Jazz were all very popular musical
genres of the time. Some of the biggest
musicians of the time were Elvis Presley,
Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly,
Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Many
songs were to come from this decade
here are a few prime examples; I Walk
the Line, Blue Suede Shoes, My
Funny Valentine, Hound Dog, and
Sway.

TV Shows of the 50s

The 50s is when Television really
took off and started to become a
huge American pastime. Advertising
agencies needed a platform to show
their commercials and found it in
Television and the TV shows they
funded. Some of the most popular
shows of the era were; I Love
Lucy, The Ed Sullivan Show,
Lassie, Adventures of
Superman, and Leave it to
Beaver. Americans were enamored
with the TV then and the obsession
is very much alive today.

Dwight Eisenhower Becomes

President
On January 20, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower became President of the
United States of America. It was the beginning of two extremely
successful terms as president. Eisenhower was very influential
overseas; he deposed of the leader of Iran, used nuclear threats to
end the Korean War with China, prevented Chinese communists from
attacking Chinese nationalists, and forced Israel, England, and
France to end their invasion of Egypt. Not to say that he didnt do
plenty on the home front as well; he commissioned the Interstate
Highway System, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), and passed both the National Defense Education Act and
the Atomic Energy Act. He also did a lot to help end segregation and
showed his support for African Americans.

Segregation Declared
Unconstitutional

In 1954 Segregation was ruled illegal in the United States. Back in

1896 Plessy v Ferguson the Supreme Court ruled that separate but
equal was constitutional. However on May 17, 1954 the Supreme
Court changed the law, in the decision of Brown v Board of
Education. They ruled that segregation was inherently unequal. The
decision was specific to education, but it had a huge impact and
started the end of segregation throughout the whole country.

Rosa Parks, Bus Segregation

On December 1, 1955 a seamstress from
Montgomery, Alabama refused to give her
bus seat to a white passenger. As most of
America knows, this woman was Rosa
Parks. She was arrested and fined for her
act of defiance, but it sparked a revolution
across the U.S. Throughout America
passengers started a bus boycott, some
of these passengers were known as
Freedom Riders. Which led to the official
end of bus segregation in Alabama, on
November 13, 1956.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

A few years prior to the enacting of
this law many people, especially in
the South had been uncooperative
with ending segregation. Mobs of
people were not allowing African
Americans to enter desegregated
schools and governors were
refusing to comply with the law of
desegregation. To help ensure that
African Americans were able to vote
the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was
passed by Congress. The act
increased African American voting
exponentially over the years.

The Korean War

The Korean War was fought from June

25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. It was fought
between North Korea, which was
supported by China and Russia, and
South Korea which was supported by the
United Nations, including America. North
Korea had a communist government and
invaded South Korea, the United Nations
then came to South Koreas defense.
The United States provided the bulk of
soldiers and equipment for South
Koreas defense. The conflict ended with
an armistice that maintained both
countries borders. The fighting was a
proxy conflict between The United States
and Russia, and communism versus
democracy.

Immigration and Nationality Act of

1952
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 restricted immigration into the
U.S. It made the number of people who were allowed to immigrate to
America per year fewer, along with providing stricter guidelines for who
could enter the country. The act did abolish racial restrictions going back to
the Naturalization Act of 1790. President Truman did not support the act
and called it un-American and discriminatory. However he was overridden
by the House and Senates votes.

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956

President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway
Act of 1956 on June 29, 1956. At that time it was the
largest public works project in Americas history. Initially
the project was given 25 billion dollars to create 41,000
miles of freeway over ten years. Eisenhower was
supportive of the idea because, when he was in the army
he saw just how damaged Americas highways were. He
participated in Americas first Transcontinental Motor
Convoy, which drove on the first road across America,
Lincoln Highway. This act is very important because it
gave birth to the freeway system which is a huge part of
American culture today. The opening of the highway
created new industries and therefore hundreds of
thousands of new jobs. It was a huge success and is a
vital part of American history.

Alaska and Hawaii Became States!

Alaska had been a territory of the U.S. since 1912, Alaskans had wanted to become a
state for many years, but the country felt it was too far away and the citizens not true
Americans. After World War Two ended, Alaskans started asking for statehood again.
President Eisenhower granted it to them on January 3, 1959, making Alaska the 49th
state. Hawaii had formerly been its own republic, but became an American territory in
1900. The American Naval Base of Pearl Harbor, which the Japanese attacked during
World War Two was located in Hawaii. In August of 1959, Hawaii became the 50th
state of America.

IMPORTANT PEOPLE
The King of Rock and Roll
In the 50s Elvis made his name very
clear to the public, along with his music
as he put dozens of his songs on the top
carts.
Achievements:
- Estimated over one billion records sold.
-150 different albums/singles released.
- 18 songs went number one on the
charts
- 10 albums made it to number one on the
Born: January 8, 1935
charts.

ELVIS PRESLEY

Died: August 16, 1977(age 42)

IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Lucy was one of the most popular and
influential stars in the United States, during
her lifetime. Lucy was mostly known from
her hit T.V. show I Love Lucy. She
became one of the first widely known
female actresses.
Achievements:
- Nominated for 13 Emmy Awards.
- Won 4 Emmy Awards
- First recipient of a Golden Globe

Lucille Ball

Born: August 6, 1911

Died: April 26, 1989(age 77)

IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Martin was an American pastor, activist,
humanitarian, and one of the main leaders of the
Civil Rights Movement. Martin only operated out
of his Christian beliefs, he believed that peace
and nonviolence were the only ways for African
Americans to gain the civil rights they wanted.
Achievements:
- Led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Helped found the SCLC in 1957
- The most widely known Civil rights activist
- Helped organize the 1963 March on
Washington and delivered the I Have A Dream
Speech

Martin Luther King Jr.

Born: January 15, 1929
Died: April 4, 1968(age 39)

IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Truman succeeded Roosevelt, after he died
from health problems. Truman was able to
put an end to the second World War.
Truman also assisted in the founding of the
United Nations and issued the Truman
Doctrine to contain communism.
Achievements:
- Became a U.S. Senator
- Was a U.S. President
- Passed Marshall Plan

Harry S. Truman
In Office: April 12, 1945
Out Office: January 20, 1953

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The polio vaccine was first tested on
April 12, 1955. People were able to
start using the vaccine in 1957 and it
was able to save many lives. Albert
Sabin created it through oral drops
which allowed easy and quick
treatments. Depending on what type
of symptoms a person presented from
polio, the vaccine would attack the
infection and weaken it to the fullest
extent.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Colored televisions came out in the early 50s.
Television at that time, started out as a small
pastime, but turned into a multi billion dollar
industry that everyone wanted to be apart of
due to its popularity. Colored T.V. was built
upon hype from the NBC Network
broadcasting their sports programs in color.
The only problem was that no one had
colored T.Vs yet to watch the programs.
Colored T.Vs werent sold in large quantities
until the mid 60s, because there wasnt
enough colored networks out yet. This
change took almost 10 years to come into full
effect.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Hydrogen bomb was first tested on
November 1, 1952. The first hydrogen
bomb was code-named Mike. This
hydrogen bomb was equivalent to 10
million tons of TNT and was 700 times
more explosive than the fission bomb
America dropped on Hiroshima.
Thermonuclear weapons can be chained
together in "stages", with the detonation
of each stage providing the energy to
ignite the next stage.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY