Technology In The 1950's

1950s Technology

“The 1950s is a key decade in the 20th Century. Each year has a distinctive flavour.” ( - Sara Sheridan) The 1950s was a key decade and had many technological achievements. These advancements would shape the outcome of the historical, political, and social events of the decade and the many decades that followed soon after.

In the 1950s society possessed a feeling of prosperity and fear. The economy was prospering from the successes of World War II but at the same time the United States was involved in a Cold War and fearing the spread of communism. People believed that communists could destroy American society and wanted to prevent that. This caused America to become involved in two wars The Korean War (1950-1953) and The

Vietnam War (1955-1975) (“1950s”). At the same time the United States became involved in the space race with Russia. Which led to the creation of NASA. In 1957 Russia launched Sputnik I and later Sputnik II which carried Laika the dog the first living organism in space. This caused an uproar in the American public fearing that Russia could be able to attack the United States from space (Virginia and Hugh pg. 19-20). While the Cold War conflicts were going on with Russia the United States was still segregated and the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to make its mark. For a long time civil rights for african americans was put to the side but the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown V. Board of Education brought the issue back into the limelight. The Supreme Court declared the “separate educational facilities for black children were inherently unequal.” Then in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her city bus seat to a white person. These events caused an outcry from african americans and started the modern Civil Rights Movement (“1950s”).

Due to the booming economy at the time the 1950s was also a period filled with great inventions and technology.

This prospering economy led to more wealth in the United States. This put more money in the pockets in the average everyday Americans. Since people had more money to spend they bought more things. One of these was the television becoming a household item in the lives of many Americans. The military during the time of the 1950s was also prospering due to the economy and was trying to invent a military superweapon which late became known as the hydrogen bomb. Although research started in 1949 the project became known as the Manhattan Project and the hydrogen bomb was finally invented and tested on November 1st 1952 (Shmoop Editorial Team). Another prevalent technological advancement of the 1950s was the advancement of rocket science leading to the launch of America’s first satellite Explorer I on February 1st 1958. After this NASA was created on July 29th 1958 which led to even more technological advancements that would be made in the next decade (Virginia and Hugh pg.

19-20).

The technological inventions of the 1950s had a profound effect on the decade.

The expansion of the television in the 1950s brought civil rights to the attention of americans. From the media coverage of the Rosa Parks incident to the first ever TV show hosted by an African American in 1950 were the first sparks of a movement that would catch fire in the 1960s (“1950s”). Another prominent technological invention of the 1950s was the hydrogen bomb invented on November 1st 1952. After the United States invented the hydrogen bomb in less than a year, on August 12th 1953 the Soviet Union detonated their first hydrogen bomb. Throughout the 1950s the Cold War was going on between the United States and the Soviet Union and the invention of the hydrogen bomb started an arms race to see who could make the most bombs in the shortest amount of time. This technology further escalated the Cold War and brought it to a tipping point in the next decade (Shmoop Editorial Team). Another technology that intensified the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was the launch of the first satellites Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 by the Soviet Union which started the space race. The launch of Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 caused a massive uproar in the american public which lead to the launch of America’s first satellite Explorer 1 on February 1st 1958 and the creation of NASA on July 29th 1958 a year after Sputnik 1 and 2 in 1957 (Virginia and Hugh pg. 19-20). All these technological

inventions shaped the 1950s and the many more decades that followed after it.

1950s technology in many ways shaped life as we know it. The advancement of space technology that occurred, the advancement of the hydrogen bomb, and the expansion of media were all important to the 1950s and shaped the decade as a whole. In the end it is clearly prevalent that the 1950s was an important decade in the 20th century and was cornerstone for the many decades that came after it.