Paper Topic:

a short history on the year 1954

Communism , espionage and segregation were among the headlines in 1954 . Medicine

and technology were making strides while countries tinkered with nuclear and weapons

It was the calm in between the storms so to speak with communism being such a

serious issue between North and South Vietnam that war was brewing . With China on the

North Vietnam side in favor of communism , the United States and Soviet Union

supported the non-communist South Vietnam . Picking up where the Indochina War left

off , communism would remain an issue well beyond the

impending Vietnam War

Dwight D . Eisenhower , President of the United States , described it best with the

infamous domino theory ' explanation . On April 7 , 1954 , President Eisenhower spoke of

the uncertainty of the entire world 's future if communism would prevail in Vietnam . He

described it as a falling dominoes effect - if you push one over , the remaining dominoes

would follow

The Geneva Conference was held from April to July in 1954 in Switzerland . One of

the main discussions at the international meeting was the restoration of peace between

Korea and Indochina . The United States , Soviet Union , France , Great Britian , North

Korea , South Korea , China , Vietnam , the Viet Minh party , Laos and Cambodia

participated in the Geneva Conference

In 1954 , one of the most important Arab leaders , Gamal Abdal Nasser , took control of

Egypt after a failed attempt on his life . At the time , Nasser was the leader of the Society

of Free Officers , a group that fought against political corruption After the assassination

attempt on Nasser 's life , General Muhammad Nagiub was arrested and Nasser became

the premier of Egypt until 1956 when he was elected President The fear of communism spread to the United States when Wisconsis Senator Joseph

Raymond McCarthy alleged that communism had made its way into the State

Department . McCarthy , a former captain in the United States Marines drew national

attention with his public claims of espionage . He used his position and power as

chairman of the Government Operations Committee to convey his accusations but failed

to provide evidence

In April 1954 , McCarthy began a legal battle with the Secretary of Army Robert T

Stevens and his aides . McCarthy claimed they attempted to conceal these activities . The

army challenged McCarthy and his staff to provide substantial proof . By August

McCarthy was cleared of all charges against him , however , the Senate condemned him

for abusing his power and insulting the government

One of the United States ' most historic court cases was decided in 1954 . As civil

rights activists fought to put an end to segregation , the case of Brown vs . Board of

Education of Topeka , Kansas , reached the Supreme Court . Linda Brown was banned

from admission to her local elementary school due to race . Chief Justice Earl Warren

ruled in favor of Brown stating the school was in violation of the 14th Amendment of the

United States Constitution . This put an end to segregation in public schools and proved to

be a key victory in the civil rights movement...

4 pages

47.5 KB

Free sing-up