1. John Gurtunca

2.  America was undergoing its second Red Scare  House Un-American Activities Committee(HUAC)- Originally established in 1938 to investigate fascist groups  Search for Spies  McCarthyism- Came to rise when Senator McCarthy claimed to have a list of known Communists who worked at the State Department.  McCarthy was supported because of the ongoing Red Scare.  Thousands of careers were ruined because of his list.

3.  Korean Conflict 1. U.S went to the aide of South Korea to help stop the spread of Communism 2. Eventually, Korea was split into North and South Korea at the 38 th Parallel.  Launch of Explorer I 1. Explorer I was the first space satellite launched by the United States 2. Launched the Space Race

4.  The general populace of the United States was very fearful of Communist Attacks  The Red Scare caused mass paranoia throughout suburban America  Nuclear War was the most feared out of all threats 1. Families built bomb shelters 2. Schools practiced air raid drills

5. The 1950’s was the decade when sports truly took over the nation. More leisure time led to higher interest and participation in sports, as well as racial integration that was unprecedented anywhere else in the country.

6.  The nations most popular game.  Jackie Robinson- first African- American to play in the Majors.  Divided into two leagues, National League and American League.  Very few players were well paid.  World Series was the nations most followed sporting event.  Once games started to become televised revenues increased, as did the players salaries.  Children grew up playing Little League Baseball in the summer.

7.  Football was most popular in high schools across the country during the 50’s.  Talented players with good grades could move on to the collegiate level.  Television increased its popularity.  NFL ended the ban on segregation in 1947

8.  Basketball was played in virtually every college and high school.  NBA became integrated in 1950.  Grueling schedules for adequate, but not huge salaries

9.  Boxing slumped in the 50’s but some stars retained their popularity.  Sugar Ray Robinson- Won the middleweight title in 1957. Remained very popular in the 50’s and kept pushing for equality across the board.  Golf became extremely popular due to its slow pace, and easy accessibility.