1. The Not Popular Culture
The 1950s
The Not Popular Culture

2. Poverty Still 1 in 5 Americans below the poverty line. Inner cities
African Americans
Hispanics
Bracero Program
Native Americans
Termination Policy
Appalachia
Poverty line = minimum amount of money necessary to survive, increased from 1 in 3 to 1 in 5.
Inner cities – worsened in the 1950s as middle class families moved out to the suburbs and left the poor people behind.
Tax money went with middle class when they left.
Many people left were African Americans – still moving from the S. to the N. (3 million from )
N. not found to be much better than S. – still segregation, few jobs (factories moved out of cities with middle class)
Hispanics – Bracero Program brought nearly 5 million Mexican into U.S. between 1940 and 1960.
No one to protect labor rights – long hours, sometimes without food or water in over 100 degree heat
Native Americans – average annual income for family was $1,000 less than that for African Americans
Termination Policy – program to bring N.A. into mainstream society, whether they wanted to or not. Gov’t withdrew all fed. Recognition of the N.A. groups as legal entities and made them subject to the same laws as everyone else.
Many time speculators and developers ended up getting rich off the deals
Some of the poorest families in the country.
Appalachia – 1.5 million people left during the 1950s, leaving behind those too weak to move. Ruined mines, scarred hills and abandoned farms could be seen everywhere.
Fewest doctors in the country.

3. Civil Rights – the Beginning
Brown V. Board of Education, 1954
Brown v. Board of Education – The opinion of the Court stated that the "segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group."
The Court ruled that both Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which had established the segregationist, "separate but equal" standard in general, and Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education (1899), which had applied that standard to schools, were unconstitutional.
First day of desegregation on Sept. 8, 1954, at Fort Myer Elementary School in Fort Myer, Va.

4. Civil Rights – the Beginning
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
Dec Dec.1956
Montgomery Bus Boycotts – began when Rosa Parks got arrested, ended when Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional to segregate buses.
Organized by 50 leaders of the NAACP
90% of African American population didn’t take the bus, which dropped the bus revenue by 80%.
For a year black people did not ride buses. They arranged carpools, most walked.

5. Civil Rights – the Beginning
Desegregating Little Rock
Desegregating Little Rock – 9 African American students were chosen to go to Little Rock Central High School based on their grades, only 1 showed up on the first day of school because she missed the phone call about it being too dangerous for her to attend – she ended up being escorted out by police.
Governor had called in the Nat’l Guard to prevent the students from attending.
Pres. Eisenhower ordered the Nat’l Guard back to their barracks and had members of the 101st Airborne Division escort the students.
Only 1 student actually graduated, Little Rock shut down public schools rather than continue to integrate.