May3

How many television sets were sold in 1950? How did television change America? What other factors changed America in the 50s?

In 1950, 4 millions sets were sold as a new source of visual entertainment. It opened doors to get information fast and also drastically changed advertising.
People started to revolve their lives around cars. They moved to suburbs (gotten there by cars) and drove down super highways as a way to get to their destination faster.

What three important novels were published in the 50s? What did they do or promote?
1.    Naked and the Dead: presented a different and uncomfortable picture of the American GI in combat.
2.    Catcher in the Rye: Captured the alienation of youth.
3.    On the Road:

What was the Iron Curtain?

The separation between the soviet satellite states. The Soviets and the Europeans become separated.

What was the Truman Doctrine about?

Truman helps Greece and Turkey from becoming communist countries.

What were the “witch hunts” of the 1950s? Why did this happen?

Anti-communist frenzy in the U.S.


Who was Klaus Fuchs? Describe the Rosenberg case?

He gave away atom bomb information to the communists. He was a spy, who worked the Manhattan Project


What was the Korean War about? Why was MacArthur removed from service?

North Korea invaded South Korea. The U.S. supported South Korea while the North was supported by the communist Soviets. MacArthur was removed because he thought if the U.S. was going to contain communism that we needed to kill China. Truman disagreed with him.

What was important about Brown v. Board of Education? How did Eisenhower have to enforce it’s ruling in Little Rock?

It was the time in which black people were not allowed in school with whites.

Discuss the importance of the Montgomery Bus Strike.

A black woman tried to sit in the front of the bus and was told to get off. She was arrested and then Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood up and asked his people to boycott Montgomery’s transportation.

Discuss the beginning of the space race.

The Soviets launched Sputnik, man’s first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957. It meant that the Soviets had taken the lead in development of the intercontinental ballistic missile, thereby fundamentally altering the balance of power between them and the U.S. The response to Sputnik was a total overhaul of American education, mainly in the field of rocketry. Then it was a race to see who could get to the moon first.