Were the 1950's the Happy Days

             Socially, economically and, politically, the .
            
             marked with many historical events, positive and .
             The decade had its downfalls, but they .
             were nothing compared to the improvement of life .
             in all aspects. The economy was booming, making .
             families feel more financially stable than they .
             had in years. There was an "explosion of science .
             and technology"(Brinkley 803). Medical advances, .
             at this time, included the polio vaccination. .
             Unemployment was down, the economy was up, and .
             family life showed the morale of the American .
             people was much higher than it had been in many .
             years.
             In the first few years of the fifties .
             while Harry Truman was still President, the .
             United States and the U.S.S.R. were rivals. The .
             American people and the government feared .
             communism; espionage was a high priority to the .
             government. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin .
             made a claim during a 1950 speech that led to .
             congressional investigations into the accused .
             communists. McCarthy claimed to "hold in [his] .
             hand a list of 205 known communists currently .
             working in the American State Department" .
             (Brinkley 794). These claims were taken seriously .
             by Congress because that same year, the McCarran .
             Internal Security Act was passed. This act .
             required "all communist organizations to register .
             with the government and to publish their .
             records" (Brinkley 793).
             .
             Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected .
             President in 1952, ending the dismal Truman .
             Administration. It was during Eisenhower's two .
             terms in office that the modern Civil Rights .
             Movement really began. In 1954, the Supreme Court .
             voted that racial segregation in schools was .
             unconstitutional in the famous case of Brown vs. .
             The Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. The .
             next year, they handed down a second part to the .
             previous ruling with possible ways to integrate. .
             It wasn't until 1957, however, that black .
             students were able to attend all-white schools. .
             In 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, .