Key 1950s and 1960s American History Topics
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Federal Highway Act of 1956
This act, an accomplishment of the Eisenhower administration, authorized $25 billion for a ten-year project that built over 40,000 miles of interstate highways. This was the largest public works project in American history.
Output
The amount of something produced by a person, machine, or industry.
Buying on Credit
People would purchase things and make partial payments at set intervals (installment plans), which led to a lot of debt. The value of consumer debt tripled from 1952–1964.
The 1950s Family
- Women gave up earlier educational gains.
- Time spent by women on housework increased.
In 1960, 35% of women held all jobs.
The Cold War Continues
The U.S. and USSR raced to explore space.
The Civil Rights Movement
A movement to end segregation and gain racial equality.
Key Events and Cases:
- Mendez v. Westminster: Segregation of Mexican students violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
- 14th Amendment Key Points:
- Citizenship for African Americans.
- Repeal of the 3/5 Compromise.
- Denial of former Confederate officials from holding national or state office.
- Repudiate (reject) Confederate debts.
- Public School Integration: The New Orleans school board finally gave in to Federal demands to integrate schools; four six-year-old Black children were harassed as they walked to school the first time.
- Brown v. Board of Education: Declared that separate but equal schools for children of different races violated the Constitution.
- Montgomery Bus Boycott: In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city buses. After 11 months, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal.
- Lunch Counter Sit-Ins: African American protesters sat down at segregated lunch counters and refused to leave until they were served.
- Birmingham Demonstrations: Massive marches to end segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.
- March on Washington (1963): Held to show support for the Civil Rights Bill in Congress. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream..." speech. 250,000 people attended the rally.
- Mississippi Summer Project: Mobilized more than 100 northern Black and white volunteers to conduct voter education classes and a voter registration drive; resistance was fierce, but the movement persisted.
- Selma to Montgomery March: A response to the violence experienced by civil rights workers on a voting project in Selma, Alabama. Martin Luther King led this march, which led to Johnson asking Congress for a new Voting Rights Act.
Kennedy's Assassination
On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. The Texas Governor was wounded in the attack.