National Security Act Amendments of 1949, 10 August 1949
This is the law that shows Congress naming the Department of Defense
16: 1950s Early Cold War
Search Results: "kubrick stanley" - Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress)
The celebrated film director Stanley Kubrick was a photographer for Look Magazine in the late 1940s. His pictures from the University of Michigan are great material for a history lesson - what do these photographs tell us about what it was like to live in that era? How are they more informative than a textbook? Less?
1963 - 6/20: Hotline Agreements | Arms Control Association
The first "hotline" was not a telephone that linked the White House and the Kremlin, it was a telex in the Pentagon. The first time it was used was the assassination of President Kennedy
JFK's Grades Choate, 1931-1935 (folder 2 of 2) | JFK Library
Teachers may like this more that students, but many of JFK's grades, progress reports and notes home from teachers are in this collection
1952 | Timeline of Computer History | Computer History Museum
On election night, November 4, CBS News borrows a UNIVAC computer to predict the outcome of the race for the US presidency between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Opinion polls predicted strong support for Stevenson, but the UNIVAC´s analysis of early returns showed a clear victory for Eisenhower.
American Rhetoric: Newton Minow -- Address to the National Association of Broadcasters (Television and the Public Interest)
The chairman of the FCC chastised broadcasters at the National Association of Broadcasts telling them that TV was a "Vast Wasteland"
Watch The Quiz Show Scandal | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
Although I Love Lucy gets most of the attention, the Quiz Show scandals of the 1950s might tell us more about America at the time - and now
Opposing Communism in 1947 - Lesson from Council for Foreign Relations
Rear Platform and Other Informal Remarks in Michigan | Harry S. Truman
Reading the highlighted sections of this speech will reveal a fundamental element of politics in the first third of the 21st century
Authors@Google: Douglas Engelbart - YouTube
This 2007 interview with Douglas Engelbart at Google explains how his vision of human interaction with information as augmented by technology was years ahead of its time.
Race for the Super Bomb PBS
Companion site for American Experience documentary with articles, timeline and links to resources
Human Radiation Experiments: Resource on Government Experiments
Extensive collection of materials related to the use of human subjects to test the effects of radiation. Oral histories, documents, Defense Department records. Highly recommended site
Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies - PBS
Companion site for PBS documentary. The program chronicles the lives and covert activities of the so-called "atom spies" in the 1940's, including the big one that got away, Theodore Alvin Hall.
President Harry Truman: Health & Medical History
Very detailed summary of Truman's health record. Timeline of conditions for his entire life.
Building the Berlin Wall | BBC World Service
BBC Summary about the building of the Berlin Wall
The Cold War origins of Google Translate
Article from BBC explains how the Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union impelled the creation of a computer program to translate English and Russian. Like space exploration, developments in computer technology also came from the Cold War
Leo Szilard Online - Links and Resources
Department of Energy (NSA) - Nevada Site Office
National Nuclear Security Administration site with historical information, photos and maps. Fact sheets and news releases
Nuclear Weapon Effects Calculator
This form will calculate blast effects for nuclear weapons of arbitrary yield, based on the scaling laws printed in Carey Sublette's well-known Nuclear Weapons FAQ.
DOE - NNSA/NSO -- Historical Test Films
Film archive of atomic tests saved by the Nevada Field Office of the Department of Energy.
A Chiquita PR Campaign was Powerful Enough to Topple the Guatemalan Government - Modern Marketing Partners
Best Ad: Vintage ads
Small collection of magazine advertisements from the 50s and 60s
Harry S. Truman: Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1949
Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library
Extensive collection of resources and exhibits
"The Constant Reiteration of Horror and Violence": A Senate Report on Television and Juvenile Delinquency
Excerpts from a Senate report issued after hearings in 1954 and 1955 on the possible influence of television on juvenile delinquency . It summarized studies to determine the quantity of criminal and violent acts on television shows accessible for children to view
Vance Packard, The Status Seekers, excerpt
Published in 1959, this book explained how the car you drive, the church you attend, where you went to school, the house you live in -- even your choice of words -- are brandings of your place in society.
Robert Fulford's column about David Riesman's The Lonely Crowd
Jack Kerouac Official Web site
Interactive storehouse and exhibition space dedicated to Jack Kerouac and connected topics.
How Has 'The Organization Man' Aged?
National Security Council Memorandum Number 68 (1950)