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America in the 50s
America in the 1950s
Term | Definition |
---|---|
domino theory | the idea that once one nation falls to communism, the nations around it would fall. So, the US must stop any attempt to spread communism such as in Korea and Vietnam. |
interstate highway system | revolutionized travel in the United States. Increased automobile industry. Increased size and number of suburbs. |
Little Rock, Arkansas | Dwight D. Eisenhower sent troops here to enforce a court order to desegregate schools. |
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas | Supreme court decision that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. Declared segregation to be unconstitutional. |
Military Industrial Complex | President Eisenhower warned against this in his farewell address. He feared the influence of the defense industry on the American public, politicians, and Congress. |
Sputnik I | Satellite launched by the Soviet Union. Began the space race. |
baby boom | population increases of the 1950s that were a result of the end of WWII and better economic times. Resulted in increased demand for consumer goods, increased education spending, and over time as baby boomers age: an increase in social security spending |
MAD | Mutually Assured Destruction. If the Soviet Union or United States started a war that atomic bombs would guarantee the destruction of both nations. Paranoia results in the building of bomb shelters and the education of the public (Duck and Cover) |