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World in Uncertain Times: 1950 -- Present

Toward a Post-Industrial World: Living in a Global Age

U.S. Technology

Development of Computers

IBM website’s description and links about IBM’s major advances in computers for decade: 1950-60

http://www-1.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/decade_1950.html

“IBM’s Empire Takes Hold; Flashback 1953” on CNN’s Computer World Flashback webpages, provides information and links about IBM’s early dominance in the computer field:

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9904/30/1953.idg/

Environment, Natural Resources

U.S. Dept. of the Interior website Energy Resources Program website, with information on oil and gas reserves in U.S. (click on “National Oil and Gas Resource Assessment” and other energy source topics):

http://energy.usgs.gov/

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Water for Kids” webpages, with links to numerous websites with information about water resources, quality and conservation:

http://www.epa.gov/ow/kids/waterforkids.html

Containment and Consensus: 1945 -- 1960

Containment of Communism

Eisenhower—Brief description of his foreign policies, with links, on PBS’ American Experience: “The Presidents” companion website:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/nf/record/eisen/eisenfp.html

Eisenhower’s “Aggressive Foreign Policies” described in webpages relating to PBS’ American Experience: “The Presidents”:

http://www.americanpresident.org/kotrain/courses/DE/DE_In_Brief.htm

Hungarian Revolution (against Soviet control), 1956 – Brief description, at OnWar.com webpages of Dupuy Institute:

http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/hotel/hungary1956.htm

NASA website’s Sputnik pages: Description of how the launch of this first earth-orbiting satellite by the USSR started the “space race”, with links to background documents and materials:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/

Castro’s Revolution in Cuba (1956-1959)

Brief description, at OnWar.com webpages of Dupuy Institute:

http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr55/fcuba1956.htm

Civil Rights for African-Americans: Court cases and Civil Disobedience:

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) -- U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Kansas and other states’ laws requiring segregated (separate) public schools for Negro children, as a violation of Equal Protection of the Law under the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

CompuLEGAL analysis of Brown case on Project LEGAL webpages:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/brown.html

Text of official Brown Court Opinion, on Cornell University’s LII website (scroll down list of names to “B”—Brown and click on 1954 case name and “Syllabus” (short summary) or “Decision”):

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/name.htm

PBS “American Experience” companion webpages: “On the Front Lines with the Little Rock 9” describe the 1957 integration of one southern high school:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kids/civilrights/features_school.html

Civil Rights Act of 1957, establishing the Commission on Civil Rights -- Text of the Act on MultiEducator, Inc. website:

http://www.multied.com/documents/CivilRigths57.html

“By Popular Demand-- Jackie Robinson and other Baseball Highlights,” links to timeline and documents in Library of Congress’ “American Memory” collection:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/jrhtml/jrhome.html

People, Prosperity, and Movement

“Modern Era” section of “American’s Story” on Library of Congress website, includes description of major events during the 1950’s and links to other information about important events and people on this site:

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/modern

Photos of Levittown homes and businesses, on Library of Congress’ “American Memories” Collection (type in “Levittown” in search box, then view photos, items 4—17):

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mdbquery.html

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Syracuse, NY

December, 2002