A Biography of America
The Fifties – Key Events
1945
Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
United Nations founded
Germany surrenders
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Japan surrenders
1946
Baby boom begins
1947
Levittown, NY begun
1948
Marshall Plans helps European economic recovery
1949
Soviet Union explodes atomic bomb
1950
McCarthy hearings begin
Korean War begins
Rosenbergs charged with treason
1953
Korean War ends
1954
Senate condemns McCarthy
1955
AFL and CIO merge
1956
Interstate highway system launched
1958
Congress passes National Defense Education Act to improve math, science, and foreign language education