Year In Time 1956 The Fifties example essay topic

A Year in Time 1956 THE FIFTIES: A period of time between 1948 and 1964. The fifties are more a state of mind than an actual span of years. THE FIFTIES: A time when men were men, and women were women. THE FIFTIES: A time when everyone knew who they were. A time when you went to school, graduated, (or dropped out) got a job, got married and had kids, in that order. THE FIFTIES: A time before the Beatles, hippies, riots in the streets and Vietnam.

A time when cars were works of art, and each model year was anxiously awaited. THE FIFTIES: A time when the music and the cars were a Lifestyle. A time when Drive-in's were either a movie or a fast food place. A time before shopping malls and drive-by shootings. The fifty's were good times for all people.

Especially the year 1956 were the military stronghold was at its highest of the decade. On January 16th, Secretary of state, John Foster Dull expressed that the united states has been on the brink of war for the last 3 years. The United states was in conflict with the following: Korea, Indochina, and Taiwan. In explaining his diplomatic policies, Dull said", You have to take chances for peace, just as you must take chances in war". There were plenty of wars and debates fought, but the biggest one during this time was The Suez War. Which was over the Suez canal.

The Suez War Followed the Israeli War of Independence. The British, Americans and French, by mutual agreement, did not supply either the Israelis or the Arabs with significant quantities of armaments. In October 1955, Egypt signed an arms deal with Czechoslovakia, which provided Egypt with very significant quantities of weaponry. The arms deal, combined with continued fedayeen (armed terrorist) raids in southern Israel, convinced Israeli leaders that steps would have to be taken to alleviate the situation and that this would have to be done before Egyptian forces were able to achieve strategic predominance in the area.

On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. This gave the British and French -- who had already been selling Israel advanced weapons -- a significant motive for cooperating with an Israeli attack on Nasser. On October 29, 1956, the Israeli Defense Forces attacked Egyptian forces in the Sinai. Israel rapidly defeated the Egyptians, with a loss of just 180 men. The Egyptians suffered over 1,000 fatalities, and more than 6,000 Egyptians were captured as prisoners of war. The Israeli forces halted 10 miles short of the canal, allowing the British and French troops to intervene to protect the canal.

The British and French forces then attacked and occupied the canal zone. Sustained American pressure, backed up by Russian threats, forced the British and French to withdraw. The Israelis were similarly pressured. Ultimately, Israel was forced to withdraw from the Sinai and Gaza Strip.

In return, the Straits of Tiran were opened for Israeli shipping, and a U.N. force was placed in the Sinai and Gaza Strip as a buffer. 1956 The United States condemned Great Britain, France and Israel for their collective attack on Egypt. Israel, responding to terrorist attacks, seized the Sinai, while Britain and France colluded to seize the Suez Canal, which had earlier been seized by the Egyptians. All sides were forced to withdraw due to US pressure.

Also in 1956, The Cold war was conducted through means short of direct military conflict, between the United States and the Soviet Union since World War II. After a century of friendship, Americans and Russians became rivals over the development of Manchuria. Russia, unable to compete industrially, sought to close off and colonize parts of East Asia, while Americans demanded open competition. The Soviets feared that the United States, as the most powerful capitalist nation, sought to overthrow their communist system. The communists's uc cess in consolidating power, their confiscation of U.S. property, and the possibility that their revolution would spread to Europe, Asia, and perhaps even the Western Hemisphere created deep American fears. Diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union did not exist between 1917 and 1933.

They became allies only after both were attacked by the Axis in 1941. In 1956 politics were a big thing for the American people. After a long and hard decision several candidates lost the presidential election to Dwight D. Eisenhower. On of Eisenhower's biggest was Gov ener Adlai Stevenson. Stevenson still rallied for the American people. He gave speeches to clear his party's campaign deficit and took a five-month world tour, speaking in 30 countries.

He opened a law firm and spent time at his farm in Libertyville, Illinois. But he was far from through with politics and declared himself a candidate for the presidency in November 1955. Stevenson's major opponents at the 1956 Democratic Convention were Averill Harriman, governor of New York, and Estes Kefauver, a senator from Tennesee. The critical issues of the time were civil rights and school integration, and the Stevenson-Kefauver debate on these topics during the primaries was the first one aired on national television.

In the this year, our president, Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the process of vetoing the natural gas bill saying", I am unable to approve H.R. 6645, to amend the Natural gas Act as amended. this you will regret because I amen accord with its basic object". Dwight was always thinking on is feet. In New York City, Eliza Dolittle was reborn in the hit show "My Fair lady", one of the wittiest and best shows ever preformed on stage. In the 50's, Broadway was a really good time to relieved the stresses of modern living.

Just step in side and let the music work its magic. Also something that was just as good as Broadway but a little closer to home was drive in theater. By march of 56, there were more then 7,000 Drive in movie theaters. Almost like Broadway, drive-ins were also a place people of the 50's went to relax and re leave there selves of the stresses.

The automobile played a big part in drive-ins and a part of the 50's because 11% of all cars in America were station wagons. There movie experience were comfortable and more enjoyable for a tough crowd. During the winter, most people did not go to the movies because of the price. 2$ for a drive-in in New York and in California, it was up to a whopping 1.50$. Some good movies to see at the drive in includes Bus Stop, Giant, The Ten Commandments, and Invasion of the body snatchers. Music, in the most part, was enjoyed by all ages.

On of the best and still known today was Elvis Presley. Elvis gave hope to the hop less and joy to the most jo est. Elvis made many to charting hits including Jail House Rock, Blue shade shoes, and many more. During the 50's, oil was a big thing. Oil was used to power high powered machines to you regular automobile. The only way to get oil is to have someone drill or work for it.

In 1956, the unemployment rate was high. At one time there were up to 63,799 people in the United States unemployed. That would figure up to about 57 percent of Americans were unemployed. In comparison to the year 1956 and the year 2001, now there are about 136,208 people in the United States are unemployed. Which figures up to around 64.5 percent. More then half of the United states was unemployed and still is.

For those who did work, the work week only lasted about 40 hours. There were only 2 percent that went over time and that only about 5 to 10 hours over their regular work week. This concludes my report on the year, 1956.