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Rise of suburbia/Levittown, PA
Levittown gets its name from its builder, the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc. founded by Abraham Levitt on August 2, 1929, which built the district as a planned community between 1947 and 1951. Levittown was the first truly mass-produced suburb and is widely regarded as the archetype for postwar suburbs throughout the country. -
Book burning in Nazi Germany
On May 10, 1933, university students in 34 university towns across Germany burned over 25,000 books. These included books written by Jewish, pacifist, classical liberal, anarchist, socialist, and communist authors, among others. -
Development of new technologies (color television, computers, etc)
NBC (owned by RCA) made its first field test of color television on February 20, 1941. CBS began daily color field tests on June 1, 1941.These color systems were not compatible with existing black-and-white television sets, and as no color television sets were available to the public at this time, viewing of the color field tests was restricted to RCA and CBS engineers and the invited press. -
Developments and incidents involving the atomic bomb
Steam explosion and reactor fire. The device was checked for a possible heavy water leak. During the inspection, air leaked in, igniting the uranium powder inside. The burning uranium boiled the water jacket, generating enough steam pressure to blow the reactor apart. Burning uranium powder scattered throughout the lab causing a larger fire at the facility -
Peace Treaty ending WWII
The peace treaties allowed Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland to resume their responsibilities as sovereign states in international affairs and to qualify for membership in the United Nations. -
The Cold War
The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc and powers in the Eastern Bloc. -
Blacklisting in the entertainment industry
The first systematic Hollywood blacklist was instituted on November 25, 1947, the day after ten writers and directors were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify to the House Committee on Un-American Activities. A group of studio executives fired the artists. -
The Hiss Affair
In the conclusion to one of the most spectacular trials in U.S. history, former State Department official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury. He was convicted of having perjured himself in regards to testimony about his alleged involvement in a Soviet spy ring before and during World War II. Hiss served nearly four years in jail, but steadfastly protested his innocence during and after his incarceration. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of America fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union. The war arose from the division of Korea at the end of World War II and from the global tensions of the Cold War that developed immediately afterwards. -
Loyalty Oath Controversy at University of California
The loyalty oath controversy began in 1949 and continued until the last suit for back wages was won by a non-signer, and until the American Association of University Professors lifted its censure of the administration. The loss brought about by the controversy is incalculable to the students, and will grow every year without these men, a loss as incalculable as the loss to the faculty members themselves. -
Brown vs. Board of Education, 1951
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, (1954), 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. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation, insofar as it applied to public education. -
The McCarthy Hearings
Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charges with being “soft” on communism. The 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. -
Comic book bans in the 1950s
The Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) was formed in September 1954 in response to a widespread public concern over gory and horrific comic-book content
