-
Book Burning in Nazi Germany
Students from the Wilhelm Humboldt University transported books from their university library and from other collections to the Franz Joseph Platz; adjacent to the university. Accompanying their actions with declaimed denunciations of the authors, they proceeded to toss thousands of titles, by writers famous and obscure, foreign and native, into the flames of an already ignited bonfire. The egregiously primitive act lasted for hours. -
Comic Book Bans
The Comics Code Authority was formed by the Comics Magazine Association of America, to allow the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States but its code, commonly called "the Comics Code," was ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century. It was formed as an alternative to government regulation. Many have linked the CCA's formation to the publication of Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent. -
Developments and Incidents Involving the Atomic Bomb
The development of the Atomic bomb was impressive because it was an accumulation of decades of physics and chemistry. Before anyone ever thought or expressed ideas about mass production of atomic bombs, scientific groundwork had to be established. Forty years prior to the making of the Atomic bomb scientists were developing ideas that would later become the backbone of the Manhattan Project. Advances in physics and chemistry had to occur before the bomb could be produced. -
Peace Treaty Ending WWII
Aboard the battleship USS Missouri, the Japanese signed the formal surrender document, watched by thousands of Allied representatives and the crew. MacArthur presided over the signing, accompanied by his former subordinate General Wainwright and General Percival. -
Developments of New Technologies
The first computer was called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). The contract to make it was signed on June 5, 1943, and the first one manufactured was on February 14, 1946. It was designed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania. -
The Cold War
The Cold War was a sustained state of political and military tension between powers in the Western Bloc, dominated by the United States with NATO among its allies, and powers in the Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact. This began after the success of their temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the USSR and the US as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences. -
Blacklisting in the Entertainment Industry
The Hollywood Blacklist was a list of professionals who were not allowed to participate in the entertainment industry due to their suspected or confirmed political beliefs. This largely unofficial blacklist ended the careers of many entertainment professionals, and seriously damaged the reputations of many more. -
The Hiss Affair
Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member, testified under subpoena before the HUAC that Hiss had secretly been a Communist while in federal service. Chambers had previously testified under oath that Hiss had never been a Communist or a spy, and Chambers would admit, under oath, to other instances where he had committed perjury under oath. Hiss categorically denied the charge. When Chambers repeated his claim on nationwidradio, Hiss filed a defamation lawsuit against him. -
Loyalty Oath Controversy at UC
the Board of Regents of the University of California imposed a requirement that all University employees sign an oath affirming not only loyalty to the state constitution, but a denial of membership or belief in organizations advocating overthrow of the United States government. Many faculty, students, and employees resisted the oath for violating principles of shared governance, academic freedom, and tenure. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between South Korea and North Korea. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan in September 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel. -
Rise of Suburbia / Levittown, PA
The brainchild of developer William J. Levitt, Levittown, Pennsylvania was the largest planned community constructed by a single builder in the United States. By the time it was completed in 1958, the development occupied over 5500 acres in lower Bucks County and included churches, schools, swimming pools, shopping centers and 17,311 single-family homes. -
The McCarthy Hearings
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 Versus Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education, now acknowledged as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century, unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the decision did not succeed in fully desegregating public education in the United States, it put the Constitution on the side of racial equality and galvanized the nascent civil rights movement into a full revolution.
