The nostalgia of the 1950s would have us believe it was a simple, happy time. In fact, it was a decade of contrasts. Americans’ greatest fear was communism and nuclear war during the Cold War. Most Americans experienced prosperity, leading white middle-class Americans to move away from cities into suburbs. Pop culture, including television, encouraged conformity, but some groups challenged the practices of American society, especially discrimination against African Americans.

Task: Your task is to research the decade by investigating items from five of the 1950s categories in a research project.

WRITTEN COMPONENT: Focus on the following questions in your written report:

• How or why did you choose the five categories?
• Why did you choose each item from the category?
• How did each item contribute to the overall attitude of the 1950s?
• What is the lasting effect of each item on society?

VISUAL COMPONENT: Create a visual to represent your look at the 1950s. Your visual cannot be larger than standard-sized poster board or smaller than standard-sized paper.

ARTIFACT: Collect an authentic artifact from the 1950s.

PRESENTATION: Present your research to the class in an entertaining manner.

The Categories

You must include items from five of the following categories in your research project.     Each section of topics will have different links relating to the '50s. 

Research Strategy:   1950s Links. For a quick look at a personality, go to the Biography Resource.  

Search Tools:  Use directories and metasearch engines to locate information on your selected topics.

Desegregation of Public Schools:  (Civil Rights site)   

• Marshall, Thurgood

• Warren, Earl

• Wilkins, Roy

• Supreme Court (school bussing)

• Eisenhower, Dwight David

• American Civil Liberties Union

• Blacks in the Americas

• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

• Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

• Civil Rights Movement in the United States

Suburbs Attract Families (Rise of Suburbia)

• City Planning

• Levittown   (link)

The Cold War  (Links)  ( McCarthyism)

• Civil Defense: Fallout Shelters

• Eisenhower, Dwight David

• McCarthy, Joseph

• Nixon, Richard

• Truman, Harry S.

• Berlin

• Space exploration

• Arms control, international

• Arms race

• Balance of Power

• Blacklist

• Central Intelligence Agency

• Propaganda

• Sputnik

Interstate highway system  

• Transportation (freeway)

• Road (highway)

The Korean War  (Links)  

• Korea, North 

• Korea, South

• MacArthur, Douglas   

Victory Over Polio 

• Sabin, Albert Bruce

• Salk, Jonas Edward

• Poliomyelitis    (Under events and technology)

Transistor Radio Created

• Bardeen, John

• Brattain, Walter Houser

• Shockley, William Bradford

• Transistor Radio

• Antenna

• BBC World Service

• Morita Akio

Computers for Business (UNIVAC)

• Hopper, Grace Murray (Resource Center)

• Computer (UNIVAC)

• Eckert, John Presper Jr.

Commercial Jet Aircraft

• Boeing, William Edward

• Airplane

• Jet Propulsion

• Air Transport Industry

• Boeing Company, The

• Titanium

• Transportation

U.S. launches satellites

• Space exploration

Advances In Surgery

• Heart

• Barnard, Christiaan Neethling

• Surgery

Rock’n’ Roll  (Excellent Link!) Also, click on Music at the American Cultural site of the 1950s.

• Holly, Buddy

• Valens, Ritchie

• Berry, Chuck

• Little Richard

• Presley, Elvis

• Les Paul Custom Guitar

• Solid-Body Electric Guitar in Music

• Popular Music

• Rock Music

• Anka, Paul

• The Everly Brothers

• The Shirelles

Fads and fashions   (Go to most of the 1950s links on the US History page and you should find all kinds of good information)

• Hula hoops

• 3-D movies

• Dr. Seuss—Theodore Geisel

• Science Fiction—Asimov, Isaac

• Abstract expressionism in art

• de Kooning, Willem

• New York School

• Greased hair

• Poodle skirts

• Bobby sox

• I Love Lucy

• Ball, Lucielle

• Brando, Marla

• Kazan, Elia

• Saint, Eva Marie

• Monroe, Marilyn

• Wood, Natalie

• Taylor, Elizabeth

• Dean, James

• Sullivan, Ed

Baseball  (see Sports on the American Cultural page) (MLB History)

• Yankees vs. Dodgers

• Mantle, Micky Charles

• Stengel, Casey

• World Series

• Campanella, Roy

• Giants vs. Dodgers

• Mays, Willie

• Robinson, Jackie

Boxing

• Marciano, Rocky

"Little Mo"

• Connolly, Maureen

Stock Car Racing (NASCAR History)

• Andretti, Mario Gabriel

• Automobile Racing

• Petty, Richard Lee

• Unser, Bobby

Tail Fins and Chrome  

Automobiles     

General Motors Corporation