The 1950s were a remarkable time in the history of the United States of America. While every decade of American life seems to pr
ovide a defined and unique expression of the state of the nation, the 1950s remains a more removed – and less likely to be repeated – period. As a whole, the decade marked an era in which greater changes occurred than ever before.
The United States in the 1950s experienced marked economic growth – with an increase in manufacturing and home construction amongst a post–World War II economic expansion. The Cold War and its associated conflicts helped create a politically conservative climate in the country, as the quasi-confrontation intensified throughout the entire decade. Fear of communism caused public Congressional hearings in both houses of Congress while anti-communism was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout the period. Conformity and conservatism characterized the social norms of the time. Accordingly, the 1950s in the United States are generally considered both socially conservative and highly materialistic in nature. The 1950s are noted in United States history as a time of compliance, conformity and also, to a lesser extent, of rebellion. Major U.S. events during the decade included: the Korean War (1950–1953); the 1952 election of Second World War hero and retired Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower as President and his subsequent re-election in 1956; the Red Scare and anti-communist concerns of the McCarthy-era; and the U.S. reaction to the 1957 launch by the Soviet Union of the Sputnik satellite, a major milestone in the Cold War.
What major characteristic of American companies in the 1920s was that they were wildly unregulated by the federal government, which was one of the things that led to the Great Crash of 1929.
The right to vote in public, political elections (although the word is sometimes used for any right to vote) is suffrage, political franchise or simply franchise. ... Full suffrage is sometimes called a combination of active and passive suffrage. For members, suffrage is also formulated in terms of elections.