The 1950's - Two Cars in Every Garage

1950 January 14, 1950 - The United States recalls all consular officials from China after the seizure of the American consul eneral in !e"in # January 1$, 1950 - The %rin"s ro&&ery in %oston occurs 'hen ele(en mas"ed &andits steal )*#+ million from an armored car outside their e,-ress office# June *5, 1950 - The .orean /ar &e ins its three year conflict 'hen troo-s of 0orth .orea, &ac"ed 'ith So(iet 'ea-onry, in(ade South .orea# This act leads to U#S# in(ol(ement 'hen t'o days later, the United States Air 1orce and 0a(y are ordered &y !resident Truman to the -eninsula# 2n June 30, round forces and air stri"es are a--ro(ed a ainst 0orth .orea# !hoto a&o(e ri ht4 %om&s dro- from the lead -lane on the 150th mission in the .orean /ar of the U#S# 19th %om&er 5rou- of the 1ar 6ast Air 1orce# !hoto4 U#S# 7e-artment of 7efense# June *$, 1950 - Thirty-fi(e military ad(isors are sent to South 8ietnam to i(e military and economic aid to the anti-Communist o(ernment# 0o(em&er *9, 1950 - United 0ations forces retreat south to'ard the 3+th -arallel 'hen Chinese Communist forces o-en a counteroffensi(e in the .orean /ar# This action halted any thou ht of a :uic" resolution to the conflict# 2n 7ecem&er +, 1950, shi-ments to Communist China are &anned &y the United States# 1or the first time, the 1950 census indicated a -o-ulation in the United States o(er 150 million -eo-le# The 14; increase since the last census no' sho'ed a count of 150,99$,391# The most -o-ulous state in the United States 'as 0e' <or", no' follo'ed &y California# The eo ra-hic center of the United States -o-ulation had no' mo(ed 'est into =ichland County, >llinios, + miles north-north'est of 2lney# 1951 1e&ruary *+, 1951 - !reliminary re-ort from the Senator 6stes .efau(er in(esti ation that had &e un on ?ay 11, 1950 into or anized crime issued, statin that am&lin ta"e 'as in e,cess of )*0 &illion -er year# ?arch *9, 1951 - Julius and 6thel =osen&er 'ere found uilty of cons-iracy of 'artime es-iona e and sentenced to death# They 'ere e,ecuted June 19, 1953# ?orton So&ell 'as also con(icted of the crime and sentenced to thirty years in -rison# Se-tem&er 1, 1951 - The United States, Australia, and 0e' @ealand si n a mutual security -act, the A0@US Treaty# Se-tem&er 4, 1951 - The inau uration of trans-continental tele(ision occurs 'ith the &roadcast of !resident TrumanAs s-eech at the Ja-anese !eace Treaty Conference in San 1rancisco# The treaty 'ould &e si ned on Se-tem&er + &y the U#S#, Ja-an, and forty-se(en other nations# 7ecem&er 1*, 1951 - =ichard %uc"minster 1uller -atents the 5eodesic 7ome# The dome &uildin , under his desi n, 'ould &e utilized in many futuristic constructions, -articularly &y 1uller in 'orld e,hi&itions, such as his famous United States !a(ilion at the ?ontreal /orldAs 1air of 199$# 1952

A-ril +, 195* - !resident Truman authorizes the seizure of United States steel mills in order to a(ert a stri"e, &ut his action is ruled ille al &y the U#S# Su-reme Court on June *# 1e&ruary 14, 195* - The 195* /inter 2lym-ics ames o-en in Belsin"i, 1inland 'ith thirty -artici-atin nations# 7urin these ames, the first tri-le Cum- in fi ure s"atin history is -erformed &y 7ic" %utton, 'ho 'on one of the four old medals ained &y U#S# athletes# 0o(em&er 1, 195* - At 6ni'eto" Atoll in the !acific 2cean, the first hydro en &om&, named ?i"e, is e,-loded# 2n January $, !resident Barry S# Truman announces the de(elo-ment of the B-%om&# 0o(em&er 195* - 5eneral 7'i ht 7# 6isenho'er, a ne'comer to -olitics, &ut -o-ular due to his role in 'innin /orld /ar >> as 6uro-ean commander, ains as easy (ictory o(er 7emocratic challen er Adlai 6# Ste(enson# The 6lectoral Colle e (ote 'as 44* to +9# 1953 A-ril *5, 1953 - The descri-tion of a dou&le heli, 70A molecule is -u&lished &y %ritish -hysicist 1rancis Cric" and American scientist James 7# /atson# They, alon 'ith 0e' @ealand &orn scientist ?aurice /il"ins 'ere a'arded the 0o&el !rize in !hysiolo y or ?edicine for their disco(ery in 199*# July *$, 1953 - 1i htin ceased in the .orean /ar# 0orth .orea, South .orea, the United States, and the =e-u&lic of China si n an armistice a reement# Au ust 19, 1953 - The United States C>A assists in the o(erthro' of the o(ernment in >ran, and retains the Shah ?ohammad =eza !ahla(i to the throne# 2cto&er 30, 1953 - The Cold /ar continues in earnest 'hen !resident 7'i ht 7# 6isenho'er a--ro(es a to- secret document statin that the U#S# nuclear arsenal must &e e,-anded to com&at the communist threat around the 'orld# 7ecem&er 30, 1953 - The first color tele(isions o on sale# 1954 1e&ruary *3, 1953 - The first lar e scale (accination of children a ainst -olio &e ins in !itts&ur h, !ennsyl(ania# A-ril **, 1954 - Jose-h ?cCarthy &e ins tele(ised Senate hearin s into alle ed Communist influence in the United States Army# Dater this year, on 7ecem&er *, the U#S# Con ress (otes to condemn Senator ?cCarthy for his conduct durin the Army in(esti ation hearin s# ?ay 1$, 1954 - =acial se re ation in -u&lic schools is declared unconstitutional &y the United States Su-reme Court in %ro'n (s# the %oard of 6ducation# The rulin of the court stated that racial se re ation (iolated the 14th AmendmentAs clause that uaranteed e:ual -rotection# The ?onroe School in To-e"a, .ansas had se re ated Dinda %ro'n in its classes# Se-tem&er +, 1954 - >n %an "o", Thailand, the Southeast Asia Treaty 2r anization is formed &y the U#S#, 5reat %ritain, Australia, 0e' @ealand, 1rance, the !hili--ines, !a"istan, and Thailand, creatin a mutual defense -act# >n 1954, =ay .roc founds the idea for the ?c7onaldAs cor-oration, a reein to franchise the

idea of 7ic" and ?ac ?c7onald, 'ho had started the first ?c7onaldAs restaurant in 1940 and had ei ht restaurants &y 1954# .roc 'ould incor-orate the entity on ?arch *, 1955 and o-en his first franchise on A-ril 15 in 7es !laines, >llinois# Be 'ould &uy out the ?c7onaldAs &rothers in 1991# 1955 1e&ruary 1*, 1955 - The United States o(ernment a rees to train South 8ietnamese troo-s# ?ay 31, 1955 - The Su-reme Court of the United States orders that all -u&lic school &e inte rated 'ith Edeli&erate s-eed#E July 1$, 1955 - 7isneyland, the &rainchild of /alt 7isney, 'hose father had 'or"ed at -re(ious 'orldAs fairs and ins-ired his son to &uild the iconic ?a ic Castle and other e,hi&its, o-ens in Anaheim, California, 'ith the &ac"in of the ne' tele(ision net'or", A%C# 7isneyland California remains today as one of the reatest theme -ar" ca-itals of the 'orld and some say is second only to his second -ar" &uilt some years later on the other side of the country, 7isney /orld 1lorida# 7isney /orld 'as additionally ins-ired &y the su&se:uent 0e' <or" /orldAs 1air of 1994-5, 'ith the ori inal intention &y /alt 7isney to &uild the second -ar" on the 1lushin ?eado's site of that e(ent# 7ecem&er 1, 1955 - =osa !ar"s, an African American seamstress, refuses to i(e u- her seat on the &us to a 'hite man, -rom-tin the &oycott and 0AAC! -rotect that 'ould lead to the declaration that &us se re ation la's 'ere unconstitutional &y a federal court# 7ecem&er 5, 1955 - The t'o lar est American la&or unions, the American 1ederation of Da&or and the Con ress of >ndustrial 2r anizations, mer e to form the A1D-C>2, &oastin mem&ershi- of fifteen million# 1956 ?arch 1*, 1959 - 2ne hundred and one con ressmen from Southern states call for massi(e resistance to the Su-reme Court rulin on dese re ation# June *9, 1959 - >nterstate hi h'ay system &e ins 'ith the si nin of the 1ederal-Aid Bi h'ay Act# The interstate hi h'ay system 'ould ena&le :uic" and efficient tra(el for &usiness and leisure tra(elers and ma"e destinations li"e 7isneyland and the 0ational !ar" system more easily connected to the ur&an -o-ulation centers of the USA# Se-tem&er *5, 1959 - The first transatlantic tele-hone ca&le &e an o-eration# 2cto&er +, 1959 - 7an Darsen -itches the first no-hitter, a -erfect ame, in -ost-season &ase&all history 'hen his 0e' <or" <an"ees &est the %roo"lyn 7od ers in the 5th ame of the 1959 /orld Series# 0o(em&er 9, 1959 - A re-eat challen e in the -residential election &et'een 6isenho'er and Ste(enson ains a similar outcome, 'ith easy (ictory for the incum&ent -resident &y a 45$ to $3 mar in in the 6lectoral Colle e (ote# 1957 January *1, 195$ - !resident 7'i ht 7# 6isenho'er is inau urated for his second term in office#

?arch 13, 195$ - The 1ederal %ureau of >n(esti ation arrest la&or leader Jimmy Boffa under a &ri&ery char e# A-ril *9, 195$ - U#S# Con ress a--ro(es the first ci(il ri hts &ill since reconstruction 'ith additional -rotection of (otin ri hts# Se-tem&er 4, 195$ - 0ational 5uard called to duty &y Ar"ansas 5o(ernor 2r(al 1au&us &ar nine &lac" students from attendin -re(iously all-'hite Central Bi h School in Dittle =oc", Ar"ansas# Be 'ithdre' the troo-s on Se-tem&er *1 and the students 'ere allo'ed entrance to class t'o days later# A threat of (iolence caused !resident 6isenho'er to dis-atch federal troo-s to Dittle =oc" on Se-tem&er *4 to enforce the edict# 7ecem&er 9, 195$ - The first attem-t &y the United States to launch a satellite into s-ace fails 'hen it e,-lodes on the launch-ad# 5ordon 5ould, an American -hysicist, in(ents the laser, >t 'ould ta"e him until 19$$ to 'in a -rotracted le al &attle o(er -atent ri hts, and he did not start recei(in royalties on his 'or" until 19++# 5ould 'as elected to the 0ational >n(entors Ball of 1ame in 1991# 1958 January 31, 195+ - 6,-lorer >, the first U#S# s-ace satellite, is launched &y the Army at Ca-e Cana(eral# >t 'ould disco(er the 8an Allen radiation &elt# A-ril 1$, 195+ - The first maCor 'orldAs fair since the end of /orld /ar >> o-ens in %russels, %el ium and e(o"es a Cold /ar de&ate &et'een the -a(ilions of the So(iet Union and the United States# Their com-etin (isions of the 'orld (ie for the attention of the o(er 41 million (isitors to the e(ent, also noted for the Atomium atom molecular structure that stood as the fairAs theme# The e,-o, sanctioned &y the %ureau of >nternational 6,hi&itions, closed on 2cto&er 19, 195+# July +, 195+ - The Dituya %ay, Alas"a earth:ua"e re isters $#5 on the =ichter scale, -roducin a landslide that caused a me atsunami 'ith a 5*0 meter hi h 'a(e# 2nly t'o -eo-le 'ere "illed in the incident, due to the desolate nature of the area in(ol(ed# The 'a(e dissi-ated 'hen reachin the o-en sea# 7ecem&er 10, 195+ - Jet airline -assen er ser(ice inau urated in the United States &y 0ational Airlines 'ith a fli ht &et'een 0e' <or" City and ?iami, 1lorida# 1959 January 3, 1959 - Alas"a is admitted to the United States as the 49th state to &e follo'ed on Au ust *1 &y Ba'aii# January $, 1959 - The United States reco nizes the ne' Cu&an o(ernment under re&el leader 1idel Castro# Castro &ecomes the !remier of Cu&a on 1e&ruary 19# A-ril 9, 1959 - 0ASA selects the first se(en military -ilots to &ecome the ?ercury Se(en, first astronauts of the United States# The ?ercury Se(en included John 5lenn, Scott Car-enter, 5ordon Coo-er, 5us 5rissom, /ally Schirra, Alan She-herd, and 7e"e Slayton# A-ril *5, 1959 - The St# Da'rence Sea'ay is o-ened alon the Canada and United States &orders, allo'in increased shi- traffic &et'een the Atlantic 2cean and the 5reat Da"es#

1e&ruary **, 1959 - The 7aytona 500 stoc" car race is run for the first time 'ith Dee !etty ta"in the first chec"ered fla # Se-tem&er *9, 1959 - !resident 7'i ht 7# 6isenho'er hosts So(iet -remier 0i"ita .hrushche( at his farm in 5ettys&ur , !ennsyl(ania durin the first (isit of any So(iet Union leader to the United States# F!icture &elo'G 6isenho'er 0ational Bistoric Site, site of the .ruschche(H6isenho'er meetin s in 1959# 5ettys&ur , !ennsyl(ania#