The Daily Worker
In 1924 the Communist Party USA began publishing the Daily Worker newspaper in in New York City. At its peak, the newspaper achieved a circulation of 35,000. Contributors to its pages included: Robert Minor and Fred...
Elvis Presley—Screaming Jay Hawkins—Carl Perkins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4euyTDhFnk https://youtu.be/82cdnAUvsw8 https://youtu.be/DRNyvO4QouY
Grace Kelly Marries Prince Rainer of Monaco
https://youtu.be/YiOKFzRHm14 In April 1956 popular American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Kelly retired fully retired from acting at age 26 and subsequently had three children as the Princess of Monaco. Selected Filmography Source:...
Christmas in the 1950s
Nat King Cole Attacked on Birmingham Alabama Stage
https://youtu.be/3PHQQRB5_w8 In April 1956, African American singer and pianist Nat King Cole was knocked down by a group of white men while he was performing before an all-white audience in Birmingham, Alabama. Before the attack, a drunk man near the front row...
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady was a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. In the play Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl takes speech...
Thanksgiving 1956
https://youtu.be/xNKj-vqweYU In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by...
Dear Abby Advice Column
Dear Abby: Which is better? To go to a school dance with a creep or to sit home? - All Shook Up Dear Shook: Go with the creep and look over the crop. https://youtu.be/akk_67S3DUk The first Dear Abby column appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle In January 1956. The...
Popular Books Published in 1955
Source: Goodreads
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
https://youtu.be/pxTWb38NERg In December 1955 an African-American woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for refusal to surrender her seat to a white person on a Montgomery Alabama public bus. The subsequent Montgomery bus boycott lasted from December 1955 to...
Le Mans Crash Kills Driver and Many Spectators
https://youtu.be/RMoh5hZAaZk In June 1955 a major crash during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in the city of Le Mans, France sent large pieces of debris into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh. 180 more...
US Supreme Court Orders End to Racial Segregation
https://youtu.be/TTGHLdr-iak With its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka unanimous (9–0) decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional, even if the...
James Dean Rebel Without a Cause
https://youtu.be/wXRgAXU1-T4 James Byron Dean (1931 – 1955) was an American cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film Rebel Without a Cause (1955). The other...
Rock and Roll Classics
There were some great rock and roll classics in 1955 https://youtu.be/OKlAiuaYdoI https://youtu.be/fELjKo0R3iA https://youtu.be/VJcGi4-n_Yw
1950s Cigarette TV Commercials
These were the cultural and media messages I received when I began clandestine smoking at age 13. https://youtu.be/Z023OAz4fkI https://youtu.be/wibHcZ4FNbU https://youtu.be/c9or3KCrgQM https://youtu.be/Hr4duBBcCpA...
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game that gained enormous popularity in the 1950s. In the game, two to four players may score points by forming words with placement of single letter tiles onto a board divided into squares. Like a crossword puzzle, Scrabble words are read...
Marian Anderson Sings at the Met
https://youtu.be/J-Q8MbUsWac In 1955, at the age of 58, Marian Anderson became the first African-American soloist to sing at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Singing the role of the sorceress Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo en maschera, Anderson later said: "I was...
Elvis Presley on the Louisiana Hayride
Louisiana Hayride was a country music show (first in radio, then TV) that from 1948 to 1960 helped launch careers of some country and western music performers (including Hank Williams). Elvis Presley performed on the radio...
Popular Movies
Americans watched some good foreign and domestic movies in 1954. https://youtu.be/I7BwIPCX6ZQ https://youtu.be/boekTHsOIY8 https://youtu.be/77YpsPwlEFQ https://youtu.be/TK9qs5pOI4c https://youtu.be/GF5U83UIX1o https://youtu.be/m01YktiEZCw https://youtu.be/FNl1pv6Sm44...
“Under God” phrase added to the Pledge of Allegiance
https://youtu.be/Xi8MXIq_0t0 In June 1954, In response to the perceived communist threat during the Cold War, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," to the pledge of allegiance. Today the Pledge reads: I pledge allegiance to the flag of...
“The World Series Catch” by Willie Mays
In the 8th inning of game 5 of the September 1954 World Series, New York Giants center fielder Willie Mays made a remarkable over-the-shoulder running catch of a deep center field fly ball to record the out and throw back to...
Eisenhower Describes Domino Theory
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described the domino theory during an April 1954, news conference, when referring to communism in Indochina. The geopolitical theory stated that if one country fell to a communist takeover, the surrounding...
Brown v. Board of Education
In the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. The case became one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement,...
Rock and Roll Music
Rock and roll music evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s from gospel, blues, jazz, boogie woogie, rhythm and blues and country music. Many maintain that the first rock and roll single was Rocket 88, written by Ike Turner, sung...
Godzilla, Them and the Creature from the Black Lagoon
1954 was a great year for classic monster movies. https://youtu.be/lM1o1xe5FGE https://youtu.be/CugQcmapiwc