1950–1959
Lesson 6
LESSON 6
The Decade of 1950–1959
LESSON ASSIGNMENTS
You are encouraged to be very attentive while viewing the video program. Review
the video objectives and be prepared to record possible answers, in abbreviated
form, as you view the video. The topics and time periods may differ from the
chapters of the textbook your school system is using. Each video program
chronicles a wide array of events and personalities during a specific decade of the
20th century. Keep in mind that one of the overarching goals of each lesson is to
help you understand how past historical events and actions by historical
personalities did not occur in a vacuum, and that they are inextricably interwoven
in your society today.
Video:
“The Decade of 1950–1959” from the series, The Remarkable 20th Century.
Activities:
Your teacher may assign one or more activities for each lesson.
OVERVIEW
The decade of the 1940s bid farewell to World War II and the decade of the 1950s
said hello to the Korean War. Harry Truman had replaced Franklin Roosevelt as
president of the United States, and Dwight D. Eisenhower replaced Harry Truman.
Stalin (USSR) and Mao Zedong (China) were the prominent Communist leaders.
The Korean War proved to be a hot spot in the Cold War.
The free world viewed communism as the new bully on the world block, and
extremists like Senator Joseph McCarthy began his famous television witch-hunt
for communists in Hollywood, the army, and the State Department.
Racial unrest was prevalent in most sectors of American society. Rosa Parks refused
to give up her seat on a public bus in Alabama, and African American servicemen
were tired of serving their country in segregated military units. Harry Truman
championed the cause of civil rights for African Americans and declared an end to
segregated U.S. military services. Racial segregation was ruled unconstitutional in
the public schools of America.
While the 1950s was a time of conservatism and anticommunist feelings, it was also
the decade of James Dean and Elvis Presley. Rock ’n’ roll energized the music world
and its influence is still felt today throughout the world today.
Television became the dominant mass medium. Critics complained that students
spent more time watching television than they did going to school. Television shows
such as “Lassie” and “I Love Lucy” are a marked contrast with today’s television
shows.
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Teacher’s Guide
Lesson 6
1950–1959
In the field of literature, Norman Vincent Peale stressed the power of the
individual to control his fate in his The Power of Positive Thinking. While John
Kenneth Galbraith worried about the conformity of the 1950s in his The Affluent
Society.
LESSON GOALS
To become aware of the implications of the Cold War, for both the United
States and the world, in the 1950s and following decades.
To assess the significance of the growing social unrest in the United States.
VIDEO OBJECTIVES
The following objectives are designed to assist the viewer in identifying the most
significant aspects of the video segment of this lesson.You should take succinct
notes while viewing the video.
Video: “The Decade of 1950–1959”
1. Analyze the impact of the “Red Scare” on the following:
Korean War
Joseph McCarthy
Rosenbergs
Alger Hiss
NASA
MacArthur
hydrogen bomb
“black lists”
Vietnam War
Richard Nixon
2. Evaluate the implications of the civil rights movement in the United States
for the following:
Brown v. Board of Education
the Armed Services
Plessy v. Ferguson
Harry Truman
Jackie Robinson
Dwight Eisenhower
Rosa Parks
Martin Luther King Jr.
Orval Faubus
Teacher’s Guide
3. Assess the significance of the following on the world community:
Fidel Castro
Gamel Nasser
Eva Peron
Korean War
space race
Ho Chi Minh
Nikita Khrushchev
Mao Zedong
Vietnam War
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1950–1959
Lesson 6
4. Determine the importance of the following on cultural life in the U.S.:
T V dinners
rock and roll music
James Dean
computers
“baby boom”
Playboy
credit cards
Jonas Salk
Elvis Presley
television
automobiles
TIME CODES
Time Code Year
00:00
00:31
1950
Topic
Opening
Overview
02:18
02:22
1950
Title
Overview
03:01
1950-53 World Politics
08:35
1951
Entertainment
09:42
1951
US Politics
10:58
1 9 5 1 / 5 2 Entertainment
14:40
1952
15:48
1952
17:49
1953
19:57
1953
21:38
1953
22:06
22:47
23:16
1953
1953
1953
23:33
1954
25:21
1954
27:41
1954
Description
Opening
Howard K. Smith intros the
decade
Episode VI: 1950s
Baby Boom; suburbs; consumer
buying; credit
Communist Threat; Korean War –
MacArthur, Landing at Inchon,
Truman relieves MacArthur of
duty, Armistice
Sports: baseball – Yankees Win
World Series with Mantle, Giants
& Mays, boxing – Marciano &
Sugar Ray Robinson
McCarthy; The Red Scare;
Rosenbergs executed
Radio still popular; Television –
Berle, Lucy, "The Honeymooners",
Burns & Allen, Durante, Skelton,
Marx, Howdy Doody, "The Lone
Ranger"; Movies – 3D & special
effects, drive-ins, Grace Kelly
World Politics
Queen Elizabeth II ascends
throne; Eva Peron dies; Batista in
Cuba
US Politics
Truman refuses to run; Ike wins;
Nixon’s Slush Fund Speech
Discoveries & Technology H-Bomb, bomb shelters & air raid
drills; DNA
Entertainment
Movies: Marilyn Monroe, From
Here to Eternity; Playboy
Magazine
Social Issues
Church membership soars; "In
God We Trust" on currency
World Politics
Stalin dies; Khrushchev
Discoveries & Technology Mt. Everest is climbed
Entertainment
Sports: Tennis Grand Slam &
Little Mo
Social Issues
Segregation: NAACP, Brown v.
Board of Education & Thurgood
Marshall
World Politics
French Rule in Indochina ends;
Vietnam is divided; Eisenhower
offers aid to South Vietnam
US Politics
McCarthy & Senate Hearings
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Teacher’s Guide
Lesson 6
1950–1959
Time Code Year
29:00
1954
Topic
Overview
29:38
1954
Entertainment
30:52
31:37
33:06
33:41
33:57
1955
Discoveries & Technology
1955
Transportation
1955
Social Issues
1955
Entertainment
1 9 5 5 / 5 6 Social Issues
36:35
1956
World Politics
39:35
1956
US Politics
40:32
1956
Entertainment
43:43
1956
Social Issues
44:48
1957/58
Discoveries & Technology
47:09
47:26
47:59
1958/59
1958
1959
US Politics
Entertainment
Discoveries & Technology
48:29
1959
Entertainment
49:56
51:10
1959
1959
World Politics
Discoveries & Technology
52:20
1959
Overview
52:42
1959
Overview
54:16
Closing
Description
Howard K. Smith segues between
1st and 2nd half of 1950 decade;
4-minute mile; TV dinners; Legos;
credit cards
Movies: Marlon Brando, James
Dean
Polio vaccine; Nuclear submarine
7.9 million cars; 2-car families
Drive-in services, McDonald’s
Disneyland
Civil Rights & Rosa Parks & Bus
Boycott & Martin Luther King, Jr.
Britain frees Egypt; Egypt seizes
Suez Canal; Britain & France
invade Egypt; UN protests &
Egypt regains control; Hungarian
Uprising
Despite perception of Eisenhower
as poor leader, he’s re-elected
Music: Alan Freed & Rock ’n’ Roll,
Berry, Little Richard, Domino,
Bill Haley & the Comets, Holly,
Lewis, Elvis; Poetry & Music:
Beatniks – Parker, Gillespie,
Kerouac
Little Rock, Arkansas & Federal
Troops – School Integration
Sputnik; American rocket failures,
then Explorer I; NASA established
Alaska & Hawaii become states
Movies: Hitchcock
Birth Control Pill; Integrated
Circuit
Sports: golf & Arnold Palmer,
basketball & Bill Russell; Movies:
Ben-Hur
Fidel Castro & Cuba
US/Soviet space competition;
Mercury Program – first US
astronauts
End of decade – Optimism & The
New Frontier
Howard K. Smith talks about Reintegration of the South into the
Nation’s Economy
Closing Credits
WEB ACTIVITIES
Teacher’s Guide
These activities are not required unless your teacher assigns them. They are
offered as suggestions to help you learn more about the material presented in
this lesson.
Activity 1—Integration of the Armed Services
Access the following Web sites and review the historical background concerning
the desegregation of the Armed Services:
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1950–1959
Lesson 6
Chronology of the Truman Administration and the Desegregation
of the Armed Forces
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/deseg1.htm
The Desegregation of the Armed Forces Documents. Folders
1938-1957
http://www.whistlestop.org/study_collections/desegregation/large/desegregation.htm
Truman Presidential Library Digital Archive “Desegregation of the
Armed Forces”
http://www.whistlestop.org/archive.htm
Korea and the Integration of the Armed Forces
http://www.thehistorynet.com/NationalHistoryDay/2000/koreaarmed.htm
Access the following documents and review the information:
Executive Order 9981
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/9981.htm
Letter from R.L.Vann to Ernest H. Wilkins
http://www.whistlestop.org/study_collections/desegregation/large/1938_list.htm
Letter from John H. Sengstacke to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
http://www.whistlestop.org/study_collections/desegregation/large/1945_list.htm
Access the National Archives “Written Document Analysis Worksheet” at http://
www.nara.gov/education/teaching/analysis/write.html and use it as a basis for
analyzing each of the three documents listed above.
Activity 2—Political Cartoons
Access the following Web sites and review the historical background
information:
Cartoons
http://www.whistlestop.org/cartoons/cartoon_central.htm
Grolier the American Presidency
http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/side/cartoon.html
Political Cartoons: Introduction to Symbols by Mark Adams
http://www.whistlestop.org/teacher_lessons/cartoon_symbol.htm
Access Harry S. Truman Library Political Cartoons—by Roy Keeland at http://
www.whistlestop.org/qq/coverpge2.htm.
Access the links to three of the following political cartoons and answer the
questions that correlate with each political cartoon:
Teacher’s Guide
#1; #2; #3; #4; #6; #7
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Lesson 6
1950–1959
Activity 3—Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Access the following Web sites and review the historical background
information:
Thurgood Marshall
http://library.thinkquest.org/10718/marshall.htm
Brown v. Board of Education
http://www.africana.com/tt_100.htm
Brown v. Board of Education
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html
Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka
http://library.thinkquest.org/10718/body.htm
Access the following two Supreme Court decisions and review the information:
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=163&invol=537
Brown v. Board of Education 1954
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=347&invol=483
Answer the following questions:
1. What was the key issue being decided by the Supreme Court in each court
case?
2. What does the 14th Amendment state and how was it applied to each of the
court cases?
3. Who is Thurgood Marshall and what is his connection to the cases?
4. Does the time period have any impact on the court decisions?
5. Who would have been president of the U.S. when each decision was
“handed down”? What position would you expect each president to take
with reference to the court decisions and why?
6. What key historical events were occurring in the same year each court
decision was reported?
PRACTICE TEST
Teacher’s Guide
After watching the video and reviewing the objectives, you should be able to
complete the following Practice Test. When you have completed the Practice
Test, turn to the Answer Key to score your answers.
Multiple-choice
Select the single best answer. If more than one answer is required, it will be so
indicated.
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1950–1959
Lesson 6
1. President Harry Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur from
command of United Nations troops in Korea when:
A. MacArthur continued to lose crucial battles.
B. MacArthur crossed the 38th parallel and entered North Korea.
C. the Chinese entered the Korean War after MacArthur said
they would not.
D. MacArthur began to take issue publicly with presidential policies.
2. As a result of Senator McCarthy’s crusade against communist subversion
in America:
A. the FBI was shown to have had several spies working as communist
agents.
B. the United States Army was forced to give dishonorable discharges to
more than one hundred officers.
C. fifty-seven members of Congress were exposed as communists.
D. many prominent Americans had their civil rights violated.
3. The new militancy and restlessness among many members of the African
American community after 1945 was generated by:
A. the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
B. World War II.
C. the appointment of Thurgood Marshall, chief legal counsel of the NAACP,
to the Supreme Court.
D. Dwight Eisenhower’s commitment to civil rights.
4. Which one of the following is least related to the other three:
A. Orval Faubus.
B. Martin Luther King, Jr.
C. Rosa Parks.
D. Montgomery bus boycott.
Teacher’s Guide
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Lesson 6
1950–1959
5. In the epochal 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the
Supreme Court:
A. declared that the concept of “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and
whites was unconstitutional.
B. upheld its earlier decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.
C. rejected desegregation.
D. supported the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles” issued
by Congress.
6. The leader of the nationalist movement in Vietnam since World War I was:
A. Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung).
B. Ngo Dinh Diem.
C. Dienbienphu.
D. Ho Chi Minh.
7. The affluent life-style developed in America during the 1950s was stimulated
mainly by:
A. the new technology of television.
B. a return to the ethic of rugged individualism.
C. foreign investment in the United States.
D. the growth of the stock market.
8. All of the following were characteristic of the emerging new life-styles of
leisure and affluence except:
A. easy credit.
B. fast-food production.
C. new forms of recreation.
D. the maturity of radio.
Essay/Problem Questions
Teacher’s Guide
9. Why was there such strong popular support for McCarthy’s anticommunist
crusade in the early 1950s? Would you have supported his goals? His tactics?
Why or why not?
10. What personality and/or event had the most dramatic impact in the fields of
culture and technology in the 1950s in the United States? Defend your
choices.
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1950–1959
Lesson 6
ANSWER KEY
The following provides the answers and references for the practice test
questions.Video objectives are referenced using the following abbreviation:
V=Video Objective.
Multiple Choice
Essay/Problem Questions
1. D Ref.V 1; 2
9. Ref.V 1
2. D Ref.V 1
10. Ref.V 1; 4
3. B Ref. V 2
4. A Ref. V 2
5. A Ref. V 2
6. D Ref.V 3
7. A Ref. V 4
8. D Ref.V 4
Teacher’s Guide
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Teacher’s Guide
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