The 1950s – SHEP

Perhaps one of the things which most characterizes the 1950's was the strong element of conservatim and anticommunist feeling which ran throughout much of society. One of the best indicators of the conservative frame of mind was the addition of the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Religion was seen as an indicator of anti-communism. Fifties clothing was conservative. Men wore gray flannel suits and women wore dresses with pinched in waists and high heels. French fashion designers such as Dior, Channel and Givenchy were popular and copied in America. Families worked together, played together and vacationed together at family themed entertainment areas like national parks and the new Disneyland. Gender roles were strongly held, girls played with Barbie dolls and Dale Evans gear, boys with Roy Rogers and Davy Crockett paraphernalia.Drive-in movies became popular for families and teens. Cars were seen as an indicator of prosperity and cool-ness. Highways were built to take people quickly from one place to another, by-passing small towns and helping to create central marketing areas or shopping malls such as Sharpstown Mall, Gulfgate Mall and Meyerland Plaza in Houston. Fashion successes were Bill Blass and his blue jeans, poodle skirts made of felt and decorated with sequins and poodle appliques, pony tails for girls, and flat tops and crew cuts for guys. Teenagers were defined as a separate generation and were represented by James Dean who wore blue jeans in Rebel Without a Cause and created a fashion and attitude sensation. Activities we liked were flying saucer watching , and watching and dancing to Dick Clark's American Bandstand . Fad hits with kids were toys like hula hoops and Hopalong Cassidy guns and western gear, Davy Crockett coon skin hats and silly putty .

Important Historic and Cultural Events
(1950195119521953195319531954195419551955195619581959)
- President Harry Truman ( 'til 1952) approves production of the hydrogen bomb and Sends air force and navy to Korea in June. - Transcontinental television begins with a speech by Pres. Truman.- The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952 is signed, removing racial and ethnic barriers to becoming a U.S. citizen.- Dwight D. Eisenhower is President until 1961- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are electrocuted for their part in W.W.II espionage. - Fighting ends in Korea. - U. S. Senator Joseph McCarthy begins televised hearings into alleged Communists in the army. - Racial segregation is ruled unconstitutional in public schools by the U.S. Supreme Court. - Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge making the new AFL-CIO an organization with 15 million members. - The federal Highway Act is signed, marking the beginning of work on the interstate highway system. Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for polio - Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, successfully orbits the earth. December 10, 1958 - The first domestic jet-airline passenger service is begun by National Airlines between New York City and Miami. - Alaska and Hawaii become the forty-ninth and fiftieth states.

DATES

1950
India gives votes to women.


1951
The American photographer Eve Arnold is the first woman to work for the celebrated Magnum photographic agency.

1953
American aviator Jacqueline Cochrane (1910 - 1980) is the first woman to break the sound barrier.

1953
Equal pay is introduced for women teachers.

1953
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900- 1990) becomes the first woman president of the United Nations General Assembly.

1955
Barbara Mandell is the first woman to read the news on ITN.

1955
Rosa Parkes (born 1913) makes history on 1 December when she refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, in Montgomery, Alabama. This sparks off the black civil rights movement in America.

1955
On 13 July convicted murderer Ruth Ellis is the last woman to be hanged in Britain.



1956
Egypt and Tunisia give votes to women.