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Joseph Mccarthy
In the 1950s, thousands of Americans who toiled in the government, served in the army, worked in the movie industry, or came from various walks of life had to answer that question before a congressional panel. -
Pro Football
Pro football’s popularity skyrocketed during the 1950s. Much of the nationwide interest was the result of exposure through television. -
First Game Aired
In 1951, the NFL’s championship game was televised coast-to-coast for the first time. By the middle of the decade television began broadcasting a number of regular season games -
Civil rights movement
The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. -
Republicans vs. Democrats
It seemed like Bill Clinton had everything going for him. He defeated an incumbent President and became the first Democrat to win the White House since Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford. -
Modern Feminism
Throughout the 1950s, educated middle-class women heard advice like this from the time they were born until they reached adulthood. The new suburban lifestyle prompted many women to leave college early and pursue the "cult of the housewife." Magazines such as Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping and television shows such as "Father Knows Best" and "The Donna Reed Show" reinforced this idyllic image. -
Vietnam War
The VIETNAM WAR was the longest war in United States history promises and commitments to the people and government of South Vietnam to keep communist forces from overtaking them reached back into the Truman Administration. Eisenhower placed military advisers and CIA operatives in Vietnam, and John F. Kennedy sent American soldiers to Vietnam. -
Showdown in Little Rock
Three years after the Supreme Court declared race-based segregation illegal, a military showdown took place in LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. On September 3, 1957, nine black students attempted to attend the all-white Central High School. -
The Sit-In Movement
By 1960, the Civil Rights Movement had gained strong momentum. The nonviolent measures employed by Martin Luther King Jr. helped African American activists win supporters across the country and throughout the world. -
Flower Power
These and many more became slogans for emerging youth culture — a COUNTERCULTURE — in the 1960s. The baby boom was entering its teen years, and in sheer numbers they represented a larger force than any prior generation in the history of the United States. -
The Election of 1960
The Republican insider was Richard Nixon of California, relatively young but experienced as the nation's Vice-President for 8 years under Dwight Eisenhower. The Democratic newcomer was JOHN F. KENNEDY, senator from Massachusetts, who at the age of 43 could become the youngest person ever to be elected President. -
The Antiwar Movement
When the war in Vietnam began, many Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communist aggression was in the national interest. Communism was threatening free governments across the globe. -
JFK Assassination
On November 22, 1963, a wave of shock and grief swept the United States. While visiting Dallas, President Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullet. Millions of Americans had indelible images burned into their memories. The bloodstained dress of Jacqueline Kennedy, a mournful Vice-President Johnson swearing the Presidential oath of office, and dozens and dozens of unanswered questions. -
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was a practitioner of the Black Muslim faith, which combines the religious aspects of Islam with the ideas of both black power and black nationalism. -
The Long, Hot Summers
On August 11, 1965, the atmosphere in the WATTS district of Los Angeles turned white hot. A police patrol stopped MARQUETTE FRYE, suspecting he was driving while intoxicated. A crowd assembled as Frye was asked to step out of his vehicle. When the arresting officer drew his gun, the crowd erupted in a spontaneous burst of anger. -
Black Power
On June 5, 1966, JAMES MEREDITH was shot in an ambush as he attempted to complete a peaceful march from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. Meredith had already made national headlines in 1962 by becoming the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi. -
Black Power pt2
Soon, African American students began to celebrate African American culture boldly and publicly. Colleges teemed with young blacks wearing traditional African colors and clothes. Soul singer JAMES BROWN had his audience chanting "Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud." -
Martin Luther Kung Jr
As the unquestioned leader of the peaceful Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. was at the same time one of the most beloved and one of the most hated men of his time. From his involvement in the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 until his untimely death in 1968, King's message of change through peaceful means added to the movement's numbers and gave it its moral strength. -
1968: Year of Unraveling
The turbulent 1960s reached a boiling point in 1968.
When the year began, President Johnson hoped to win the war in Vietnam and then cruise to a second term to finish building his Great Society. But events began to spiral out of his control. -
Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society"
Lyndon Baines Johnson moved quickly to establish himself in the office of the Presidency. Despite his conservative voting record in the Senate, Johnson soon reacquainted himself with his liberal roots. -
The Equal Rights Amendment
This simple sentence comprised Section 1 of the EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (ERA), which was first proposed in Congress by the National Women's Party in 1923. Feminists of the late 1960s and early 1970s saw ratification of the amendment as the only clear-cut way to eliminate all legal gender-based discrimination in the United States. -
Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China
Unlike his predecessor, RICHARD NIXON longed to be known for his expertise in FOREIGN POLICY. Although occupied with the Vietnam War, Nixon also initiated several new trends in American diplomatic relations. -
Foreign Woes
The decade began with America's longest war ending in its first decisive military defeat in its 200-year-history. Diplomacy seemed powerless to stop the economic dependence of the United States on the volatile Middle East for a steady supply of oil. -
Roe v. Wade and Its Impact
No topic related to the feminist movement has aroused such passion and controversy as much as the right to an abortion. In the 1960s, there was no federal law regulating abortions, and many states had banned the practice entirely, except when the life of the mother was endangered. -
HIv/Aids
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your body's ability to fight the organisms that cause disease. -
The 1980s
Americans enjoyed many fundamental changes in their standard of living in the 1980s. One major transformation was the new, expanded role of television. CABLE TELEVISION, although available in the 1970s, became standard for most American households. -
Toward a New Millennium
Challenges from abroad did not disappear with the end of the Cold War. The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq threatened a major percentage of the world's oil reserves. In the largest American military operation since the Vietnam War, the United States led a multinational force in the liberation of Kuwait. -
The Reagan Years
His message was clear. Government has become too big and needs to be trimmed down to size. Taxes are insanely high and need to be cut to stimulate growth and investment. -
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim. His music was played alot during the flower power movement -
Living in the Information Age
Some have begun to call it the Information Revolution. Technological changes brought dramatic new options to Americans living in the 1990s. From the beginning of the decade until the end, new forms of entertainment, commerce, research, work, and communication became commonplace in the United States.
