A booming economy and the growth of suburbs highlight the decade of the 1950s. Homes became more affordable and the number of automobiles produced annually quadrupled between 1946 and 1955. A housing boom fueled the expansion. Large shopping centers moved into the suburbs. The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 was the largest public works expenditure in U.S. history.
Much of America was still segregated in the 1950s. In 1948, President Truman issued an executive order barring discrimination in federal employment and ordered equal treatment in the armed forces. The last military restrictions in the U.S. military ended during the Korean War. Jim Crow laws were still common. In 1954 the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling stated that “separate facilities are inherently unequal,” and the “separate but equal” doctrine could no longer be used in public schools. President Eisenhower ordered the desegregation of Washington, D.C., schools, and in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas, National Guardsmen were sent to enforce integration of a high school. In 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., Rosa Parks sat in the front of a bus in a section reserved for whites and was arrested. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., organized a boycott of the bus system. The Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional. Many states had found ways through a poll tax or literacy test to circumvent the 15^th Amendment. Eisenhower, working with Senate majority leader Lyndon B. Johnson, lent support to the Civil Rights Act of 1957 authorizing federal intervention where blacks were denied the right to vote. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 provided stiffer penalties.
World events and espionage scandals led to the Red Scare and McCarthyism. This included speeches and investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy, the Hollywood Blacklist, hearings conducted by the House Un-American Activities, and anti-communist activities of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. In 1949 the Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb. In 1950 Truman authorized development of a hydrogen weapon. People began building underground bomb shelters and bomb drills were held in schools.
The Cold War was the most important issue in foreign affairs. The Korean War was fought from 1950 to 1953. There was the Suez Crisis for control over the Suez Canal in 1956. Latin America was a center of conflict. The CIA orchestrated the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1952. In 1957, the military dictatorship of Venezuela was overthrown. In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the Batista regime in Cuba and created the first communist government in the western hemisphere.
The structure of DNA was discovered in 1953. The first polio vaccine was introduced in 1955, and the first organ transplant took place in 1954.
Sputnik 1 was launched in 1957. The U.S. launched Explorer 1 three months later. This was the beginning of the space race. NASA was organized July 29, 1958.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association began in 1950. Disneyland opened in 1955.
The Beatnik culture and Beat Generation began with the book On the Road on by Jack Kerouac. Science fiction books were popular. Keds, Converse sneakers and the poodle skirt entered the fashion scene.
Popular singers included Chet Atkins, Pearl Bailey, Tony Bennett, Patsy Cline, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Eddie Fisher, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Frankie Lane, Dean Martin, Bill Monroe, Patti Page, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, and groups such as the Ink Spots.
Jazz and blues singers included Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan.
Elvis Presley was the superstar with the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, electric blues and doo-wop. Others were Chuck Berry, Pat Boone, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, Bobby Darin, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, B.B. King, Brenda Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Carl Perkins, Conway Twitty, Ritchie Valens, Bobby Vee, Muddy Waters, Jackie Wilson and the Everly Brothers, the Platters, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Coasters and the Drifters. Harry Belafonte was the “King of Calypso” and the Kingston Trio launched the folk music revival.
Musicals were popular, such as Oklahoma!, the King and I, South Pacific, Porgy and Bess and Guys and Dolls.Popular films included The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, the War of the Worlds, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Godzilla. Teen films began with actors James Dean, Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee. The Walt Disney Studios produced Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp Sleeping Beauty, Old Yeller and the Shaggy Dog. Some popular actors and actresses were Brigitte Bardot, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Tony Curtis, Bette Davis, James Dean, Cary Grant, Alec Guinness, Charlton Heston, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly, Jack Lemmon, Sophia Loren ,Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Gregory Peck and John Wayne, with movies such as Some Like It Hot, High Noon, the Searchers, the Bridge on the River Kwai, Singin’ in the Rain, White Christmas, All About Eve, North by Northwest, On the Waterfront, the Wild One and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Charles Schulz began the Peanuts comic strip Oct. 2, 1950. Humor magazine MAD was founded in 1952.
Popular television programs included I Love Lucy with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, Life of Riley, The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, Leave It to Beaver, Dragnet with Jack Webb and westerns, such as Gunsmoke with James Arness and Amanda Blake, Maverick with James Garner, Cheyenne with Clint Walker, The Roy Rogers Show, Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Have Gun – Will Travel, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Bonanza, The Virginian, Wagon Train, The Big Valley, The High Chaparral, Zane Grey Theatre and Death Valley Days.
In 1957, American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark debuted. Comedy stars included Abbott and Costello, Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Martin and Lewis, Groucho Marx and Red Skelton. Lawrence Welk had a popular musical variety show, along with other music stars. The Ed Sullivan Show began. Game shows started with The $64,000 Question, What’s My Line?, I’ve Got a Secret, The Price Is Right, Beat the Clock, Truth or Consequences, Queen for a Day, and Name That Tune. The first talk shows were NBC‘s Today with Dave Garroway and The Tonight Show with Steve Allen. One of the most popular shows was Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. Children’s programs included Adventures of Superman, Captain Kangaroo, Disneyland, Fury, Heckle and Jeckle, Howdy Doody, Lassie, The Mickey Mouse Club, Mighty Mouse, Romper Room and Sky King. Bozo the Clown was the best-known clown character. NBC’s Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, and CBS’ Walter Cronkite pioneered news programming.
Schwinn bicycles and Radio Flyer wagons were popular. Other toys included the Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Betsy Wetsy, Daisy BB guns, Lincoln logs, Matchbox vehicles, View-Masters, Silly Putty, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Crockett’s ‘coonskin cap,’ and board games such as Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. The fashion doll Barbie was first produced in 1959.
Television brought sports into homes. Baseball and boxing were the most popular sports on television. On Oct. 3, 1951, the first baseball game was broadcast. New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson hit a home run known as the “Shot Heard ’round the World.” Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Ted Williams became national heroes.
In September 1955, more than 400,000 people watched Rocky Marciano defend his heavyweight boxing championship. Marciano and Floyd Patterson became boxing superstars.
The game of golf, with Ben Hogan as a golf star, was growing in popularity, as was hockey.
Football became increasingly popular following the televising of the 1958 NFL championship game. Jim Brown was one of the most noted football players in the decade. Chuck Cooper was the first black player to enter the National Basketball Association in 1950. Bob Cousy and Elgin Baylor were two popular NBA players. College football and basketball were more popular than professional ball in the 1950s.
Formula One racing began in 1950. NASCAR was founded in 1948 at Daytona, Fla. In February 1959, Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500.
Bob Mathias in the decathlon and Dick Button in figure skating became famous after the 1952 Olympics. The 1956 Winter Olympics in Italy was the first Olympics games to be televised internationally.
The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine was published Aug. 16, 1954.

The Korean War

1950s in Henderson County