Historical events in the U.S from 1945 – 1960

The United States has gone through a numerous amount of historical changes. Some events that will be forever remembered and some forever forgotten, but the most important is that these events are what has made the United States what it is today.

August 6, 1945—U.S. drops atomic bomb on Japan; World War II ends 8 days later

     

Surely the most famous image of the war, reproduced in many forms - a victory stamp and the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, to name two. In one of the bloodiest campaigns of the American drive through the Central Pacific, the Marinese captured Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. When they raised the flag on Mount Suribachi, 

1946-63—Baby Boom—record amount of births in a period of economic growth and increased consumerism leads to the most dominant and self-conscious generation in American history.

1946- The Supreme Court declared segregation on buses that crossed state borders was illegal. President Truman established a Committee on Civil Rights.

1948- Discrimination in the armed forces was banned.

1949—Creation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

1950-53—Korean War

                                     

Throughout the summer of 1950, the U.S. and the other involved United Nations' states scrambled to contain North Korea's fast-moving army.

1951—U.S. tests hydrogen bomb

1952- This was the first year since 1881 without a lynching of black Americans

1953—Hugh Hefner launches Playboy magazine

                

In December 1953, 27-year-old Hugh Hefner published the very first Playboy magazine. This first edition of Playboy was 44-pages long and had no date on its cover because Hefner wasn't sure there would be a second edition. In that first run, Hefner sold 54,175 copies of Playboy magazine at 50 cents each. The first edition sold so well because Marilyn Monroe was the "Sweetheart of the Month" 

1954—Television becomes increasingly common

1954- The Supreme Court declared segregation in schools to be unconstitutional.

The last all-black units in the armed forces were disbanded.

1955- Montgomery Bus Boycott began after the arrest of Rosa Parks

                     

The Montgomery Bus Boycott officially started on December 1, 1955. That was the day when the blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded.

1956—Elvis Presley becomes international star, rock and roll becomes music of America’s youth

1957—Federal court orders Little Rock to desegregate schools, violence results and forces federal government to intervene.

1957- Dr Martin Luther King became President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The Little Rock High School clash occurs and Eisenhower had to use 1958 Federal troops to enforce the law. Civil Rights Act passed.

1960—Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pill for general use

1960- First student sit-ins against segregation at lunch counters occur.

SNCC formed - Student Nonviolent Co-Ordinating Committee.

Elijah Muhammad called for the creation of a separate state for blacks

References:

Cozzens, L. (1997). The Montgomery Bus Boycott. http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/montbus.html

Rosenberg, J. The First Playboy Magazine: The First Edition of Playboy Featured Marilyn Monroe. Retrieved by website: http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/qt/Playboy.htm

Sherman, S. (2011). World War Two. Retrieved by website: http://acepilots.com/ww2/pictures.html

The Korean War, June 1950 - July 1953: Introductory Overview and Special Image Selection. Retrieved from website: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/kowar/kowar.htm