Decades Project

1950s
by Thieah Williams and Mckennah Goree

Social Changes: Fashion

Fashion of the 1950s consisted of many trends.

Trending in body type was to have a tiny waist, bigger hips, and a very defined bust.
Most of the clothing was very similar for women. The look for the common housewife
was poofy skirts always below the knee.
Other clothing such as the pin-up or the woman greaser look would consist of
tighter fitting clothes.
Men had a more wide variety when it came to fashion. There were the preps that
consisted of a clean fresh look.
There was also the classic greaser that wore the well known white t-shirt, leather
jackets, and of course the famous greased slicked hair.

Social Changes: Games/Activities

Some of the most popular games and leisurely activities of the 1950s are still very
popular today.
Television became very popular during this time. Shows such as Howdy Doody and
I Love Lucy were classic hits and still remembered today!
Popular toys were Mr. Potato head, frisbee, hula hoop, play-doh, and silly putty.
Barbie also came out during this time, and she is still a popular toy for girls around the
world today.

Social Changes: Movies and Music

People began to turn away from the big screen because of how popular T.V. had
become
Companies lured people back into theaters with big screens and 3D movies
Movies still remembered today are PEter Pan (1953), Some Like It Hot (1959), and
Cinderella (1950).
Music of this decade is generally known as Elvis music. Parents didnt like him
because they worried it would turn their children into rebels. Doo-wop was also
popular during this time.

Political Changes: Civil Rights Movement

Brown vs. Board of Education case: Supreme court decided that separate but equal is
unconstitutional. (1954)
December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man, sparking the
Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Martin Luther King helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to
fight for civil rights. (1957)
Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed.

Political Changes: Amendments

Social Security.
Railroad Retirement Act.
National Health Survey Act.
Temporary Unemployment Compensation Act.
Federal Employees Health Benefits Act.

Political Changes: Voting rights

During the 1950s, there were many peaceful protests happening, most met with
violence.
The African Americans could not vote, or had to pay a fee for voting, even though
they have the full constitutional right.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed this.

Historical Events: Presidents

January 21st, 1957, Eisenhower was sworn into his second term of presidency.
September 24th, 1957, Eisenhower orders the 101st airborne division to protect the
Little Rock Nine.

Historical Events: Bombs

May 15th, 1957 Britain explodes the first hydrogen bomb.

September 19th, United States conducts its first underground nuclear test.

Historical Events: Europe

On June 3rd, 1957, The United States joins the Baghdad Pact to contain communist
expansion in the Middle East.
Everyone, even in other parts of the world did not want communist takeover.

Important People: Movie Stars

Marilyn Monroe
Lucille Ball
Elizabeth Taylor
John Wayne
Frank Sinatra
Bing Crosby

Important People: McCarthyism

Joseph McCarthy was a senator in the 1950s who spurred McCarthyism.

He called out anyone who disagreed with him and said they were a communist, so no
one wanted to argue against him.
The Supreme Court eventually called him out and said his behavior was harmful. He
remained in the senate but was quiet.

Important People: Women

Rosa Parks - Mother of the civil rights movement.

Althea Gibson - First woman to play in the U.S. Nationals.
Jacqueline Cochran - first woman to break the sound barrier.

Science and Technology: Innovations

Sputnik was the first man-made satellite in space.

It was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, at 7:28 P.M.
The 1950s were the dawn of the computer age. The UNIVAC computer was 14x7x9
feet, and computers started to become smaller.

Science and Technology: Vaccines

Jonas Salk found the vaccine for polio.

It worked by injecting a killed Polio virus into a person, so their body could build up
and immunity towards it.
Unfortunately, the vaccine was discovered in 1955, just ten years after Franklin
Delano Roosevelt died from it while still in office as president.

Science and Technology: Scientists

Pugwash Conferences were meetings of scientists trying to overcome political

differences.
Joseph Rotblat, a founder, won a Nobel Prize for reducing the dangers of a nuclear
war.