-
Period: to
The Postwar Years at Home
-
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to play major league baseball.
-
Harry Truman becomes the first president to address the nation from the white house via television
On this day for the first time in history, Harry S. Truman addressed the nation over the television. Granted a select number of people saw this because televisions were first coming out and there were only about 44,000 of them in U.S. homes. But everyone else who didn't have a television set listened from their radios. -
The transistor is invented
Scientists create the very first transitory in history which massively spurs the growth of computers. -
Allied forces stop occupying Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power. The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, marked the end of the Allied occupation, and after it came into force on this day, Japan was once again an independent country. -
"The Catcher in the Rye" is published
The book "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger is published on this day. The book is a novel that was originally published for adults; it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than 65 million books. -
Death of Joseph Stalin
-
The words "Under God" are added to the pledge of alligence.
President Eisenhower and Congress modify and make a small change to the pledge adding the words "Under God". And this has not been the first time that the pledge has been changed. This change was one four changes made to the original pledge of allegiance. -
Polio vaccine announced to the world
On this day the cure for polio was announced worldwide by Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Thomas Francis. This was a giant relief for everyone in America. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus to a white man
This was the day that made Rosa Louise McCauley Parks famous. And when she refused to give up her seat to a white man she showed what a powerful and strong person she was. This also was the start of The Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Sputnik is lunched into space
This was the day that the space module named "Sputnik" was launched into the Earth's orbit. This space module was launched by the Soviet Union and this action instilled fear into every heart of the American public. People were so paranoid that the Soviet Union was planning on bombing the United States from space that they built bomb shelters in hopes that they would be enough to withstand a bombing from the Soviet Union. -
The first nuclear power plant goes online in the U.S.
This was the first ever nuclear power plant to be made and set up in the United States. This power plant was constructed in the town of Shippingport PA. -
NASA is formed and established
The main reason that NASA was established was because of Sputnik. The American forces and scientists needed to keep up and participate in what the Soviet Union had started which was the "space age".
