-
The U.S. grants independene to the Philippines
The mid to late-40s gave way to a new type of journalism, Yellow Journalism. The granting of freedom to the Philippines started a new wave of revolutionary type writing. -
Period: to
Major U.S. Events of the Contemporary Period
-
Supreme Court rules public school segregation unconstitutional
Around this time, segragation and racism were heavily debated topics. The fact that public school segregation was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court created an uproar within white American groups, leading to new works of writings by those who agreed and disagreed with the decision. -
Rosa Parks refuses to sit at the back of a public bus
By refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, Rosa Parks influenced writing by giving black authors the motivation to write about their oppression. -
Castro rises to power in Cuba, breaking ties with the U.S.
Communism produced great amounts of fear in the lives of Americans. When Castro rose to power in Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crisis began, American authors wrote about Communism and how it affected their lives. -
JFK is assassinated
JFK's assassination produced mass disconsolation in the lives of many Americans. Writers began to write biographies about the late presidnt's life and novels about raising our nation's hopes. -
Thurgood Marshall sworn in as first black Supreme Court justice
Marshall's swearing in gave way to new forms of writing by black Americans. They wrote about how they were slowly making progress in fighting racial segregation, but needed to still continue their efforts. -
MLK Jr. is mudered in Memphis
The murder of Martin Luther KIng Jr. created anger in the lives of African Americans. After this, people began to write about their anger. -
Neil Armstrong is the first man to step on the moon
The exploration of space created a sense of wonder in Americans. They began to write about space exploaration itself, and other things that they believed were astounding. -
Nixon announces his resignation
Americans were "fed up" by Nixons lies involving the Watergate tapes. Americans once again began to write about their anger. -
Mysterious disease strikes American Legion convention in Philadelphia, eventually claiming 29 lives
This mysterious disease led to a new fear for American families. Americans began to write about this fear, creating types of writing
about mystery and medical mystery. -
Nuclear accident at Three Mile Island
Tne nuclear accident at Three Mile Island led to a new wave of writing involving nuclear accidents and the aftermath of such events. -
US shuttle joins Russian space station
After the events of the Cold War, the joining of the US and Russian space station created a new sense of peace between the two countries. This period of peace with Russia led Americans to write about it. -
Terrorist attacks on the U.S.
This event created fear in all Americans. The fear created new types of writing about the nation and about it's security. -
Death of Osama Bin Laden
Bin Ladens death created a sense of pride in the military, and the nation as a whole. Because of this, Americans wrote about nationalism and their pride in their counrty.
