Tension Of The 1950s

The fifties and sixties of the twentieth century are two of the most influential decades of American history. With out the events of the fifties the vibrant and rebellious sixties would have never been possible. Political, racial, and social tensions are what pushed many of the events that happened in the sixties. From teenage conformity to loosing to the Russians and sputnik in the space race the events of the fifties were screaming for a drastic change in America.

The political struggles of the fifties did not sit well with the American government. The truce of the Korean War in the early fifties led to the desire to regain our name of one of the superpowers in the world. When our second chance to stop the spread of communism in Asia arouse we jumped at the opportunity. With out the words of Douglas MacArthur saying, “In war there is no substitute for victory” we may have never had the mentality to go into Vietnam. With a crucial lose in the space race in 1957 when sputnik was the first satellite in space the NASA and the USA felt it had to step up its game in the sixties. With minor set backs in 1961 with the first man in space and 1963 with the first woman in space the NASA was forced to step it up. In 1969 with all the tensions of the late fifties by Russia the USA was the first country to have a man walk on the moon.

In the fifties there were advancements in civil rights movements with the help of Rosa Parks. The Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 was successful in ending bus discrimination against the African Americans of the south. This fueled a lot of hatred against the blacks by many anti black Americans. Protests by the blacks in the fifties led both good and bad events. The formation of Black Panther party in 1966 in Oakland, California used the momentum of Malcolm-X and events of the fifties to form and issue black pride amongst many African American citizens. The downfall of these advancements was the proactive hatred used towards the leaders, white and black, of the civil rights movement. The assassination of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were caused by the quick progress of the movement. Both of these leaders were great threats to the Ku Klux Klan and other anti black Americans, which is why they were killed. These killings were