Noun

1950s (uncountable)

1. The decade from 1950 to 1959. Also known as the 50s.

The 1950s was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century. By its end, the world had largely recovered from World War II and the Cold War developed from its modest beginning in the late 1940s to a hot competition between the United States and the Soviet Union by the beginning of the 1960s.

Clashes between communism and capitalism dominated the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The conflicts included the Korean War and the beginning of the Space Race with the launch of Sputnik I. Along with increased testing of nuclear weapons (such as RDS-37 and Upshot-Knothole), this created a politically conservative climate. The decade was also highly materialistic in the western world. In the United States, 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 (this is what primarily led the country to intervene in the Korean War and later the Vietnam War). Conformity and conservatism characterized the social mores of the time. The beginning of decolonization in Africa and Asia occurred in this decade and accelerated in the following decade, the 1960s. The 1950 congressional seminar gave way to the new focus of contention between communist and capitalist ideology. Through which multiple instances of terminal interests, but never became an open conflict.