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1950 US census
The Seventeenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 150,697,361, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 Census. -
Korean war
The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. -
Rosenberg’s espionage trial
In one of the most sensational trials in American history, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of espionage for their role in passing atomic secrets to the Soviets during and after World War II. The husband and wife were later sentenced to death and were executed in 1953. -
First Hydrogen bomb tests
Ivy Mike was the codename given to the first test of a full-scale thermonuclear device, in which part of the explosive yield comes from nuclear fusion. It was detonated on November 1, 1952 by the United States on the island of Elugelab in Enewetak Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean, as part of Operation Ivy. -
Presidential Election of 1952
The United States presidential election of 1952 was that nation's 34th presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. -
Containment policy of communism
Containment was a United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge its communist sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam -
CIA assists overthrow of government in Iran 1954
The Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States government, overthrows the government of Premier Mohammed Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran. Iran remained a solid Cold War ally of the United States until a revolution ended the Shah’s rule in 1979. -
Polio vaccines begin
IPV is given as an injection in the leg or arm, depending on the patient's age. Polio vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines. Most people should get polio vaccine when they are children. Children get 4 doses of IPV at these ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months, and a booster dose at 4-6 years. -
McCarthy Congressional hearings looking for communists
Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charges with being “soft” on communism. These televised hearings gave the American public their first view of McCarthy in action, and his recklessness, indignant bluster, and bullying tactics quickly resulted in his fall from prominence. -
Brown V. The Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
McDonald’s company founded by Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc. Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman. He joined McDonald's in 1955 and built it into the most successful fast food corporation in the world. -
Disneyland opens
Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
By refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus in 1955, black seamstress Rosa Parks -
Southern Congressmen resist desegregation with Southern Manifesto
On this date, Howard Smith of Virginia, chairman of the House Rules Committee, introduced the Southern Manifesto in a speech on the House Floor. Formally titled the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles,” it was signed by 82 Representatives and 19 Senators— -
Federal Aid-Highway Act
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (Public Law 84-627), was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of US$25 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles (66,000 km) of the Interstate Highway System supposedly over a 10-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history through that time. -
Presidential Election of 1956
The popular incumbent President, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, successfully ran for re-election. The election was a re-match of 1952, as Eisenhower's opponent in 1956 was Adlai Stevenson, a former Illinois governor, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier. -
National Guard called to Little Rock, Arkansas Central High School
group came to be known as the Little Rock Nine. On September 2, 1957, Governor Orval Faubus announced that he would call in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the African-American students' entry to Central High, claiming this action was for the students' own protection. -
Jimmy Hoffa arrested by FBI
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa (February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975) was an American labor union leader and author who served as the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union from 1958 until 1971. He vanished in late July 1975, at age 62. -
Alaska becomes a state
Alaska, northwest of Canada, is the largest and most sparsely populated U.S. state. It's known for its diverse terrain of open spaces, mountains and forests, with abundant wildlife and many small towns. It’s a destination for outdoor activities like skiing, mountain biking and kayaking. Massive Denali National Park is home to Denali (formerly called Mount McKinley), North America’s highest peak. -
Hawaii becomes a state
Hawaii, a U.S. state, is an isolated volcanic archipelago in the Central Pacific. Its islands are renowned for their rugged landscapes of cliffs, waterfalls, tropical foliage and beaches with gold, red, black and even green sands. Of the 6 main islands, Oahu has Hawaii’s biggest city and capital, Honolulu, home to crescent Waikiki Beach and Pearl Harbor's WWII memorials. -
U.S. recognizes Fidel Castro as leader of Cuba
Just six days after the fall of the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship in Cuba, U.S. officials recognize the new provisional government of the island nation. Despite fears that Fidel Castro, whose rebel army helped to overthrow Batista, might have communist leanings, the U.S. government believed that it could work with the new regime and protect American interests in Cuba. -
U.S. government agrees to train Vietnamese soldiers in Vietnam
Following a meeting between President John F. Kennedy and South Vietnam envoy Nguyen Dinh Thuan, an agreement is reached for direct training and combat supervision of Vietnamese troops by U.S. instructors. -
U.S. government orders all public schools to be intergrated
THE STRUGGLE FOR INTEGRATED SCHOOLS has gone through a number of phases since the 1954 decision and has been shaped -- both encouraged and constrained -- by various court rulings and emotional political and public policy battles. Following Brown and Brown II (which called for desegregation with "all deliberate speed" in 1955), education became the focus of what was called the South's "massive resistance" to the Court's rulings.
