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Articles
Brown v. Board of Education
Elvis Presley
Flying saucers
I Love Lucy
Douglas MacArthur
Mercury space program
Nixon's "Checkers" speech
Organized crime
Television in Canada
3-D movies

Other Elements
Publisher's Note
Index
Table of Contents

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The Fifties in America follows the publisher’s successful The Sixties in America. The Fifties, however, has expanded coverage with 640 entries that... prove important enough to make this a priority purchase.

Booklist (starred review)  

Overall this is a terrific set.

ARBA  

Your U.S. history teachers will be happy with this purchase. Highly recommended.

Gale  

The Sixties in America
Alice's Restaurant, Altamont,
    Biafra, Flower Children, the Pill,
    & the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Seventies in America
Bellbottoms, Nixon, Fonda, Jaws
    & the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Eighties in America
Reagan, AIDS, the Challenger
    MTV, Yuppies, "Who Shot J.R.?"

The Nineties in America
The Gulf War, dot-coms, Y2K
    impeachment, grunge

The Fifties in America

Editor: John C. Super, West Virginia University
ISBN: 978-1-58765-202-8
List Price: $364

January 2005 · 3 volumes · 1,152 pages · 8"x10"

Editor's Choice - Best of '05 - Booklist
Starred Booklist Review


Includes Free Online Access Through 12/31/2011

Fifties in America
Table of Contents

A
Abstract expressionism, 1
Academy Awards, 4
Acheson, Dean, 11
Actors Studio, 12
Adams, Sherman, 14
Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The, 14
Adventures of Superman, The, 15
Advertising, 17
Affluence and the new consumerism, 24
Affluent Society, The, 27
AFL-CIO merger, 28
African Americans, 29
Agriculture in Canada, 34
Agriculture in the United States, 36
Ailey, Alvin, Jr., 40
Air pollution, 42
Aircraft design and development, 43
Alaska statehood, 45
American Bandstand, 47
American Dream, 49
Amos and Andy, 50
Andrea Doria sinking, 52
Antarctic Treaty of 1959, 53
Archaeology, 55
Architecture, 57
Armour, Richard, 62
Army-McCarthy hearings, 63
Around the World in Eighty Days, 65
Art movements, 66
Asian Americans, 68
Asian flu epidemic, 73
Astronomy, 74
Atlas Shrugged, 77
Atomic bomb, 78
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 79
Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., 80
Automobiles and auto manufacturing, 81
Avro Arrow, 84
B
B-52 bomber, 86
Baby boomers, 87
Banks, Ernie, 88
Barbie dolls, 89
Bardot, Brigitte, 90
Barkley, Alben W., 91
Baseball, 92
Baseball's exemption from antitrust laws, 97
Basketball, 97
Basketball point-shaving scandal, 100
Beat generation, 102
Belafonte, Harry, 105
Bellow, Saul, 106
Bell's swim across Lake Ontario, 107
Ben-Hur, 108
Bennington explosion, 109
Berle, Milton, 110
Bernstein, Leonard, 111
Berra, Yogi, 111
Berry, Chuck, 112
Betty Crocker cookbooks, 113
Birth control, 113
Blackboard Jungle, 116
Boeing 707, 117
Bolling v. Sharpe, 118
Bomb shelters, 118
Book publishing, 120
Boone, Pat, 123
Bowden, Don, 124
Bowles, Chester, 124
Bowling, 125
Bracero program, 126
Bradley, Omar, 127
Brando, Marlon, 128
Brinkmanship, 129
Brink's robbery, 130
British Empire Games, 130
Broadway musicals, 132
Brown, Jim, 133
Brown v. Board of Education, 134
Brubeck, Dave, 136
Bunche, Ralph, 137
Burroughs, William, 138
Business and the economy in Canada, 138
Business and the economy in the United States, 142

C
Caesar, Sid, 150
California's Alien Land Laws, 151
Campanella, Roy, 152
Canada and Great Britain, 153
Canada and U.S. investments, 156
Canada as a middle power, 158
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 160
Canadian Labour Congress, 161
Canadian regionalism, 162
Cancer, 165
Capp, Al, 168
Captain Kangaroo, 169
Captain Video, 169
Carnegie, Dale, 170
Castro, Fidel, 171
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 172
Catcher in the Rye, The, 173
Celler-Kefauver Act of 1950, 174
Censorship, 175
Central Intelligence Agency, 180
Chamberlain, Wilt, 183
"Checkers" speech. See Nixon's "Checkers" speech
Chevrolet Corvette, 184
Chiang Kai-shek, 185
China, 186
Chrysler autoworkers strike, 189
Cisco Kid, The, 190
Cities. See Urbanization
Civil defense programs, 191
Civil Rights Act of 1957, 193
Civil Rights movement, 194
Cliburn, Van, 200
Clift, Montgomery, 201
Cold War, 201
Cole, Nat King, 208
Comic books, 209
Commission on Civil Rights, 214
Communications in Canada, 215
Communications in the United States, 217
Communist Party of the U.S.A., 221
Computers, 224
Confidential, 225
Conformity, culture of, 226
Congress, U.S., 230
Congress of Racial Equality, 235
Connolly, Maureen, 236
Connolly, Olga, 237
Conservatism in U.S. politics, 238
Continentalism, 241
Cooke, Sam, 242
Corso, Gregory, 243
Corvette. See Chevrolet Corvette
Cousy, Bob, 243
Creature from the Black Lagoon, 244
Crocker, Betty. See Betty Crocker cookbooks
Cuban Revolution, 245
Culture of conformity. See Conformity, culture of
Cyclotron, 248

D
Damn Yankees, 250
Dance, popular, 250
Davis, Benjamin O., Jr., 252
Davis, Sammy, Jr., 253
Davy Crockett, 254
Day, Doris, 255
Day the Earth Stood Still, The, 256
Dean, James, 257
De Kooning, Willem, 258
Demographics of Canada, 259
Demographics of the United States, 260
Dennis v. United States, 265
Destination Moon, 266
DEW Line, 267
Diamond synthesizing, 268
Diddley, Bo, 269
Diefenbaker, John G., 270
Diggs, Charles C., Jr., 271
DiMaggio, Joe, 272
Disarmament movement, 273
Disneyland, 274
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), 276
Dodgers and Giants relocation, 278
Domino, Fats, 280
Dragnet, 281
Drive-in theaters, 281
Dulles, John Foster, 283
DuMont network, 284

E
Economic Stabilization Agency, 286
Edsel, 286
Education in Canada, 288
Education in the United States, 292
Einstein, Albert, 300
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 301
Eisenhower Doctrine, 303
Eisenhower's heart attack, 304
Elections in Canada, 305
Elections in the United States, midterm, 306
Elections in the United States, 1952, 308
Elections in the United States, 1956, 311
Eliot, T. S., 314
Elizabeth II's coronation, 315
Elizabeth II's visit to North America, 317
Emmy Awards, 318
ENIAC computer, 319
Espionage and Sabotage Act of 1954, 320
Explorer I, 321

F
Fads, 323
Fahrenheit 451, 326
Famous Artists School, 327
Farm subsidies, 328
Fashions and clothing, 329
Fast-food restaurants, 333
Father Knows Best, 335
Faubus, Orval, 336
Faulk, John Henry, 336
Federal Aviation Administration, 337
Federal Bureau of Investigation, 338
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence, 341
Film in Canada, 342
Film in the United States, 344
Fitzgerald, Ella, 351
Flying saucers, 352
Food for Peace, 353
Football, 354
Forbidden Planet, 357
Ford, Edsel. See Edsel
Ford Thunderbird, 358
Foreign policy of Canada, 359
Foreign policy of the United States, 363
Formosa Resolution, 366
FORTRAN, 367
Freberg, Stan, 367
Freed, Alan, 368
From Here to Eternity, 369
Fuller, Buckminister. See Geodesic dome

G
Gaines, William M., 370
Gallup polls, 370
General Motors, 371
Genetics, 373
Geneva Summit Conference, 374
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 376
Geodesic dome, 377
Germany's postwar occupation, 377
Getty, J. Paul, 379
G.I. Bill, 380
Giant, 381
Gibson, Althea, 382
Ginsberg, Allen, 383
Gobel, George, 385
God and Man at Yale, 385
God's Country and Mine, 386
Goldbergs, The, 387
Golden, Harry, 388
Golf, 389
Gonzáles, Pancho, 391
Goren, Charles, 391
Graham, Billy, 392
Grand Canyon airliner collision, 393
Great Books movement, 394
Greco, José, 396
Gross national product of Canada, 396
Gross national product of the United States, 398
Guatemala invasion, 400
Guggenheim Museum, 402
Gunsmoke, 403
Gunther, John, 405

H
Hairstyles, 407
Haley, Bill, 408
Harlem Globetrotters, 410
Hawaii statehood, 411
Health care systems in Canada, 412
Health care systems in the United States, 414
Health, Education, and Welfare, Department of, 418
Hearing aids, 419
Hemingway, Ernest, 420
Herblock, 421
Hernández v. Texas, 422
Hersey, John, 423
Hispanics. See Latinos
Hitchcock films, 423
Hockey, 425
Hoffa, Jimmy, 427
Hogan, Ben, 429
Holiday Inn, 429
Holly, Buddy, 430
Home appliances, 431
Home furnishings, 433
Homosexuality and gay rights, 436
Honeymooners, The, 438
Hoof-and-mouth epidemic, 440
Hoover, J. Edgar, 440
Hoover Commission, 442
Hope, Bob, 443
House Committee on Un-American Activities, 444
Housing in Canada, 446
Housing in the United States, 448
Howdy Doody Show, 453
Hudson, Rock, 454
Hula hoops, 454
Human growth hormone, 455
Hungarian revolt, 456
Hydrogen bomb, 458

I
I Led Three Lives, 460
I Love Lucy, 461
Ice hockey. See Hockey
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 463
Immigration to Canada, 464
Immigration to the United States, 466
"In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, 470
Inco strike, 470
Income and wages in Canada, 471
Income and wages in the United States, 474
Indian Act of 1951, 478
Indians, American. See Native Americans
Inflation in Canada, 479
Inflation in the United States, 480
Inherit the Wind, 481
Instant photography, 482
Institute of Pacific Relations, 484
Internal Security Act of 1950, 484
International Business Machines Corporation, 485
International Geophysical Year, 487
International trade of Canada, 488
International trade of the United States, 491
Interracial marriage laws, 494
Interstate highway system, 495
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 497
Inventions, 498
Invisible Man, 501
Isolationism, 503
Israel, 504
I've Got a Secret, 506

J
Japan, 507
Jazz, 509
Jewish Americans, 512
John Birch Society, 515
Johns, Jasper, 516
Jorgensen, Christine, 517

K
Kazan, Elia, 519
Kefauver, Estes, 520
Kefauver Committee, 522
Kelly, Grace, 523
Kennan, George F., 524
Kennedy, John F., 525
Kerouac, Jack, 527
Khrushchev's visit to the United States, 528
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 529
Kingston Trio, 531
Kinsey Report, 532
Kline, Franz, 532
Kon-Tiki, 533
Kono, Tommy, 534
Korean War, 535
Kovacs, Ernie, 544
Kramer, Jack, 545
Kroc, Ray, 545
Ku Klux Klan, 546
Kukla, Fran and Ollie, 547

L
Lady Chatterley's Lover, 548
LaLanne, Jack, 549
Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959, 549
Larsen's perfect game, 550
Lassie, 551
Latin America, 552
Latinos, 555
Leave It to Beaver, 559
Lebanon occupation, 560
Lehrer, Tom, 562
Levittown, 562
Lewis, Jerry. See Martin and Lewis
Lewis, Jerry Lee, 564
Lewis, John L., 565
Liberalism in U.S. politics, 565
Life, 567
Linkletter, Art, 568
Literature in Canada, 570
Literature in the United States, 572
Little Richard, 580
Little Rock school desegregation crisis, 581
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 583
Lolita, 584
The Lone Ranger, 585
The Lonely Crowd, 586
Long Day's Journey into Night, 586
Long-playing records, 587
Look, 588
Look Back in Anger, 589
"Louie Louie", 589
Loyalty oaths, 590

M
MacArthur, Douglas, 592
McCarthy, Joseph, 594
McCarthy, Mary, 596
McClellan Committee, 597
McDonald's restaurants, 598
Mackinac Bridge, 599
Maclean's, 600
McLuhan, Marshall, 601
MAD, 602
Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The, 603
Man with the Golden Arm, The, 604
Mantle, Mickey, 605
Marciano, Rocky, 606
Marshall, George C., 608
Martin and Lewis, 608
Marx, Groucho, 609
Mathias, Bob, 610
Maverick, 611
Mays, Willie, 612
Meany, George, 613
Medicine, 614
Mercury space program, 618
Mexico, 620
Michener, James, 624
Mickey Mouse Club, 625
Military conscription, 625
Military-industrial complex, 627
Miller, Arthur, 628
Mills, C. Wright, 629
Mindszenty, Cardinal József, 630
Minorities in Canada, 631
Miss America pageants, 634
Monroe, Marilyn, 636
Montgomery bus boycott, 638
Morse, Wayne, 639
Motels, 640
Motherwell, Robert, 642
Motorcycle gangs, 642
Mr. Potato Head, 643
Murrow, Edward R., 644
Music, 645
Mutual Broadcasting System scandal, 652
My Fair Lady, 653

N
Naked Lunch, 655
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 655
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 658
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama, 659
National Defense Education Act of 1958, 660
Native Americans, 661
Natural disasters, 664
Natural resources, 669
Nautilus, USS, 676
New York Yankees, 677
Newport Jazz Festival, 678
News magazines, 680
Newspapers in Canada, 682
Newspapers in the United States, 684
Niagara Treaty, 686
Nielsen ratings, 687
Nixon, Richard M., 689
Nixon's "Checkers" speech, 691
Nixon's "kitchen debate", 692
Nixon's Latin America tour, 693
Nobel Prizes, 693
NORAD. See North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command, 696
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 697

O
Oerter, Al, 700
Oklahoma football team, 701
Olympic Games of 1952, 702
Olympic Games of 1956, 704
On the Beach, 707
On the Road, 708
On the Waterfront, 708
Operation Wetback, 709
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 710
O'Ree, Willie, 712
Organization Man, The, 712
Organization of American States, 713
Organized crime, 714

P
Packard, Vance, 717
Paint-by-numbers movement, 717
Painters Eleven, 718
Parker, Suzy, 719
Parks, Rosa, 720
Patterson, Floyd, 721
Pauling, Linus, 721
Pay television, 723
Peale, Norman Vincent, 724
Peanuts, 724
Pearson, Drew, 725
Pearson, Lester B., 726
Perry Mason, 727
Peter Pan, 728
Peterson, Oscar, 728
Peyton Place, 729
Photography, 730
Photovoltaic cell, 732
Playboy, 732
Pledge of Allegiance, 734
Pocho, 735
Poetry, 736
Pogo, 738
Poitier, Sidney, 738
Polaris missiles, 739
Polaroid photography. See Instant photography
Polio, 740
Pollock, Jackson, 742
Postage stamps, 743
Pound, Ezra, 744
Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr., 745
Presidential elections. See Elections in the United States, 1952; Elections in the United States, 1956
Presidential press conferences, 747
Presley, Elvis, 748
Profiles in Courage, 750
Puerto Rican nationalist attack on Congress, 751
Puerto Rico as a commonwealth, 752
Pulp magazines, 754

Q

R
Racial discrimination, 758
Radio, 760
Radio Free Europe, 765
Railroad seizure, 766
Rapid eye movement (REM), 767
Rauschenberg, Robert, 767
Rayburn, Sam, 768
Reader's Digest, 769
Reagan, Ronald, 770
Rebel Without a Cause, 772
Recession of 1957-1958, 773
Red Monday, 776
Release time, 777
Religion in Canada, 778
Religion in the United States, 781
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, 786
Rexroth, Kenneth, 787
Ribonucleic acid (RNA), 787
Ridgway, Matthew B., 788
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, 790
Robinson, Jackie, 791
Robinson, Sugar Ray, 792
Rock and roll, 793
Rock Around the Clock, 800
Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, 801
Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel, 802
Roth v. United States, 804
Rowan, Carl T., 805
Roy, Gabrielle, 806

S
Sahl, Mort, 808
St. Laurent, Louis, 809
St. Lawrence Seaway, 810
San Francisco Renaissance, 812
Saturday Evening Post, 814
Savannah, 815
School desegregation, 816
Science and technology, 819
Scientology, 825
Scrabble, 826
Sea Around Us, The, 827
Seaborg, Glenn, 828
Second Sex, The, 829
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, 830
Serling, Rod, 831
Seuss, Dr., 832
Sex and sex education, 833
Sheen, Fulton J., 836
Sheppard, Samuel, 837
Shulman, Max, 838
Silly Putty, 839
Silvers, Phil, 839
Sinatra, Frank, 840
Sky King, 842
Small Business Administration, 842
Smith, Margaret Chase, 844
Smoking and tobacco, 845
Snead, Sam, 847
Snider, Duke, 848
Soccer, 849
Soil Bank Act of 1956, 851
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, 852
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 854
Southern Manifesto, 855
Space race, 856
Spillane, Mickey, 859
Sports, 860
Sports Illustrated, 864
Sputnik I, 865
Stamps. See Postage stamps
Steel mill closure, 867
Steelworkers strike, 870
Steinbeck, John, 871
Stengel, Casey, 872
Stevenson, Adlai, 873
Stravinsky, Igor, 875
Streetcar Named Desire, A, 876
Suburbs. See Urbanization
Suez Crisis, 877
Sullivan, Ed, 880
Sumac, Yma, 881
Sunset Boulevard, 881
Superconductivity research, 882
Superman. See Adventures of Superman, The
Supreme Court decisions, U.S., 883
Surfing and beach culture, 888
Sweatt v. Painter, 890

T
Taylor, Elizabeth, 892
Teamsters Union, 893
Telephones, 894
Television for children, 897
Television game shows, 899
Television in Canada, 902
Television in the United States, 904
Television soap operas, 909
Television Westerns, 911
Teller, Edward, 913
Tennis, 915
Theater in Canada, 917
Theater in the United States, 918
Thing from Another World, The, 923
Thomas, Danny, 924
Thomson, Bobby, 925
Thunderbird. See Ford thunderbird
3-D movies, 926
Tidelands oil controversy, 927
Till lynching, 928
Tonight Show, 929
Top 40 radio, 930
Tranquilizer chlorpromazine, 931
Trans-Canada Highway, 932
Transistors, 933
Tripartite Security Treaty, 935
Trop v. Dulles, 935
Truman, Harry S., 936
Truman assassination attempt, 938
Truman Doctrine, 939
Trumbo, Dalton, 940
Tupperware, 942
Turner-Stompanato scandal, 943
TV dinners, 944
TV Guide, 944
Twenty-second Amendment, 945

U
U-2 spy planes, 947
Ugly American, The, 948
Unemployment in Canada, 948
Unemployment in the United States, 950
Unionism in Canada, 953
Unionism in the United States, 956
Unitas, Johnny, 959
United Fruit Company, 960
United Nations, 961
United States Air Force Academy, 964
United States Information Agency, 965
UNIVAC computer, 966
Urbanization in Canada, 967
Urbanization in the United States, 969
Uris, Leon, 972

V
Valens, Ritchie, 974
Van Allen radiation belts, 974
Velikovsky, Immanuel, 976
Veterans organizations, 977
Vietnam, 979
Vinson, Fred M., 981
Volkswagen, 982

W
Walcott, Jersey Joe, 984
War brides, 984
War films, 986
War of the Worlds, The, 989
Warren, Earl, 989
Warsaw Pact, 991
Water pollution, 993
Watson, James D., 994
West Point honor code scandal, 995
West Side Story, 995
White Citizens' Councils, 996
Why Johnny Can't Read, 997
Wide-screen movies, 998
Wild One, The, 999
Williams, Tennessee, 1000
Wilson, Edmund, 1001
Women and the roots of the feminist movement, 1002
Wood, Ed, 1007
World Council of Churches convention, 1008
Wouk, Herman, 1008

X

Y
Yates v. United States, 1010
Yerby, Frank, 1010
Young, Loretta, 1011
Your Hit Parade, 1012
Youth culture and the generation gap, 1012

Drama: Major Films, 1017
Drama: Academy Awards, 1026
Drama: Major Broadway Plays and Awards, 1029
Drama: Most-Watched U.S. Television Shows, 1034
Drama: Emmy Awards, 1036
Legislation: Major U.S. Legislation, 1039
Legislation: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, 1046
Literature: Best-Selling U.S. Books, 1051
Literature: Major Literary Awards, 1054
Music: Popular Musicians and Their Hits, 1056
Sports: Winners of Major Events, 1068
Time Line, 1074
Bibliography, 1084
Web Sites, 1098
Glossary, 1104

List of Entries by Category, III
Personage Index, XIX
Photo Index, XXXIV
Subject Index, XXXVIII

Z



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