The 50's was the beginning of a new life after WWII. Since WWII had gotten us out of the depression our economy had begun to boom. Large corporations created new jobs, and new technologies such as the transistor and the color television transformed the way people lived. People also began to work in white-collar jobs more than ever, and the baby boom coupled with the GI Bill laid the groundwork for newly developed communities and suburbs. Plus, the end of WWII and growing consumer finances led to the ability for people to buy more things that they wanted, but couldn't get during WWII. The fifties was also the beginning of the great space race with the launching of the Sputnik and the beginning of the Cold War.
Some of the ways the fifties are still with us today lie in its long lasting effects. These include the aforementioned launching of the Sputnik, which caused a boost in funding for the space program that led to the landing on the moon in 1969.
President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Martin Luth...
The first page of the Voting Rights Act.
The last page of the Voting Rights Act.Also, experiments in space still continue today. The fast food industry started in the 50's with the origin of Ray Kroc's McDonald's restaurant. The Civil Rights Movement with the desegregation of schools, the NAACP, and the famous Rosa Parks incident also paved the way for the rights of black Americans everywhere. Because of the Red Scare, there was Senator Joseph McCarthy and HUAC. Their communist accusations made many people's lives ruined whether they were true or not. That is why the main theme of theme of the 50's was a new life for America after WWII and a changing country during the Cold War.
The 60's were a kind of "New Frontier" for the country. The youth and ambition of president Kennedy coming into office in 1960...