1950: Sen. McCarthy advises Pres. Truman that State Dept is riddled with Communists & Communist sympathisers; Truman instructs US Atomic Energy Commission to develop hydrogen bomb; Congress passes McCarran Act of severe restrictions against Communists & for registration of all Communist organisations & individuals; assassination attempt on Truman by two Puerto Rican nationalists; cool jazz develops from bebop; songs: “Goodnight Irene”; world record crowd of 199,854 attend soccer game (Brazil vs Uruguay) in Rio de Janeiro;
1951: films: “The African Queen”; “A streetcar named Desire”;
1952: Truman announces H-bomb tests in Pacific; Dwight D Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Commander in Europe & is elected President of US; Agatha Christie's “The Mousetrap”; films: “High Noon”;
1953: Arthur Miller's “The crucible”; tornadoes in Texas, Michigan & Mass. kill 350; all price controls removed;
1954: Supreme Court rules segregation by colour in public schools violates 14th amendment;
Potomac Charter; US & Canada agree to build radar warning stations across northern Canada to warn of approaching aircraft or missiles; Golding's “Lord of the flies”; Billy Graham's evangelistic crusades; films: “Rear Window”; songs: “Mister Sandman”;
1955: Peron resigns as Argentinian President; Pres. Eisenhower suffers heart attack; films: “The Seven Year Itch”, “Richard III”; songs: “The yellow rose of Texas”, “Rock around the clock”;
1956: Martin Luther King emerges as leader of campaign for desegregation; Fidel Castro lands in Cuba with small armed force intent on the overthrow of the dictator Batista; Elvis Presley gains popularity with “Blue suede shoes” & “Hound dog”; rock & roll dance in vogue;
1957: Dr Seuss “The Cat in the Hat”; musical: “West Side Story”; tidal wave follows hurricane Audrey into coasts of Texas & Louisiana killing 530; “Beat Generation” - beatniks;
1958: Castro begins “total war” against Batista govt of Cuba; Uris' “Exodus”; films: “Cat on a hot tin roof”; cha cha cha dance; songs: “Chanson d'amour”; US unemployment reaches 5.2m;
1959: Batista flees to Dominican Republic; Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba & expropiates US-owned sugar mills; Hawaii becomes 50th state of US; Wesker's “Roots”; films: “Ben Hur”; songs: “He's got the whole world in his hands”, “Tom Dooley”, “Mack the Knife”, “The sound of music”; US automobile accident deaths now tally 1.25m - more than have died in all US wars combined;
1960: historic TV debates b/n J.F.Kennedy & R.M.Nixon; Bolt's “A man for all seasons”; Lee's “To kill a mockingbird”; films: “Psycho”, “Exodus”, “The Entertainer”; songs: “Let's do the twist”;
1961: US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba; J.F.Kennedy inaugurated as 35th President US, est. Peace Corps; US-trained Cuban exiled rebels attempt unsuccessful invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs for which JFK accepted responsibility for the fiasco; Stone's “The agony & the ecstacy”; Heller's “Catch-22”; songs: “Moon river”, “Exodus”;
1962: Cuban missile crisis: USSR agrees to send arms to Cuba & est. base for fishing fleet & missile base there; USSR offers to withdraw missile base from cuba if US withdraws its base from Turkey - offer rejected & JFK announces USSR will dismantle bases in Cuba & withdraw bombers resulting in end to blockade;
Albee's “Whose afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; Kesey's “One flew over the cuckoo's nest”; films: “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Cleopatra”
Marilyn Monroe dies; songs: “Blowin' in the wind”;
1963: Castro visits Moscow; US & USSR agree to “hot line” from Kremlin to White House; JFK assassinated; Andy Warhol's pop art shown; films: “Dr Strangelove”; Joan Baez & Bob Dylan lead popularity as singers; US unemployment reaches 6.1%; 300 spectators die in riots at soccer match in Lima; 4,000 die in Cuba & Haiti in a hurricane;
1964: 24th amendment abolishes poll tax; Alaskan earthquake kills 114; Cassius Clay wins world heavy weight boxing championship;
1965: L.B.Johnson inaugurated as 36th President US; Medicare bill becomes law; Malcolm X, black muslim leader shot in NY; Martin Luther King leads 4,000 civil rights demonstrators in Alabama to deliver Negro petition; US anti-Vietnam war demonstrations; new US immigration law based on family condition, refugee status & skills, replacing 1921 law based on nationality; “Op” art becomes the rage; films: “Dr Zhivago”; earthquake shakes Chile;
1966: Susan's “Valley of the Dolls”; bishops rule than US Catholics need no longer abstain from eating meat on Fridays except during Lent; films: “Modesty Blaise”; songs: “Born Free”, “Strangers in the night”; mini-skirts come into fashion; colour TV becomes popular;
1967: 700,000 people march in NY in support of soldiers fighting in Vietnam; 50,000 demonstrate in Washington, D.C. against Vietnam war; Martin Luther King leads anti-war march in NY; films: “Bonnie & Clyde”; Brit. model “Twiggy” Dunne takes US fashion by storm; Billie Jean King stars in tennis;
1968: Martin Luther King is assassinated; Sen. Robert F. Kennedy assassinated after his victory speech; R. Nixon, promising to end Vietnam war, narrowly wins Pres. election; films: “The Odd Couple”, “2001, A Space Odyssey”; songs: “Congratulations”, “Mrs Robinson”; the “midi” fails to replace the “mini” skirt;
1969: more anti-war protests; Puzo's “The Godfather”; films: “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid”, Woodstock pop festival; Manson murders; songs: “Hair”, “Aquarius”;
1970: films: “Catch-22”, “Paint your wagon”; 30,000 die in earthquakes, floods & landslides in Peru;
1971: Nixon freezes wages/prices for 90 days as inflation rises; films: “A Clockwork Orange”, “The French Connection”; cigarette ads banned from US TV; US devalues dollar; LA earthquake kills 60;
1972: Nixon visits China & USSR; Watergate scandal; Nixon re-elected as President of US; Nicaragua earthquake kills 10,000; oil shortage and high petrol prices, further fuelling inflation; “Fiddler on the roof” - longest running Broadway show in history closes; US courts effectively prohibit capital punishment; films: “Cabaret”, “The Godfather”; strict anti-hijack measures instituted at US airports; DJ hits 1,000 for 1st time;
1973: Watergate hearings; US devalues dollar a 2nd time; Bahamas granted independence; films: “Last tango in Paris”;
1974: DJ falls to 663, the lowest level since 1970 recession; all price controls end; Peron dies; Nixon resigns after Watergate investigations reveal his involvement; Vice President Ford becomes 39th US President; Ford grants Nixon pardon & limited amnesty to Vietnam War draft evaders & military deserters; Gallup Poll: 40% adults attend church, Catholic church attendance 55% (down from 71% in 1963); Patricia Hearst, kidnapped heiress, announces she has decided to join her captors, the Symbionese Liberation Army; “streaking” becomes a fad;