1950s

The 1950s was the decade that started on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The world was recovering from the Second World War. During the early 1950s in the United States manufacturing and home construction was on the rise as the American economy was on the upswing. The Korean War and the beginning of the Cold War created a politically conservative climate. The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States played out through the entire decade. The Red Scare, fear of communism, caused public Congressional hearings by both houses in Congress and Anti-Communism was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout the decade(hence the need to intervene the Vietnamese War and the Korean War). Conformity and conservatism characterized the social mores of the time. The 1950s in the developed western world are generally considered both socially conservative and highly materialistic in nature. The beginning of decolonization in Africa and Asia occurred in this decade and accelerated in the following decade of the 1960s.