Cultural Change 1950–1980

At home, some Americans began to have easier lives. Families grew and some moved from the cities into outlying areas where they could purchase larger homes. Not all Americans were so successful. African Americans started a movement to gain fair treatment everywhere.

 In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for black children were not equal to those for white children and must be integrated. President Lyndon Johnson supported the
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his peaceful fight for civil rights and voting rights for African Americans.

 Many black Americans worked toward joining the more prosperous middle class. While racial prejudice was not gone, African Americans had a better chance to live freely and well.

During the 1960s and 1970s, many American women grew angry that they did not have the same opportunities as men.

 In 1992, Ben Nighthorse Campbell became the first Native American elected to the Senate.

Hispanic Americans from Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico, and Cuba were politically active too. They fought against discrimination. They were elected to local, state, and national positions. 

Long hair, rock ’n’ roll music, and illegal drugs were visible symbols of the “counter-culture” thinking of some young people during this time. Americans became more concerned about pollution. The first Earth Day was designated in 1970.