" (Gilmore, 2008) in fact, it was communists "who promoted and practiced racial equality and considered the South crucial to their success in elevating labor and overthrowing the capitalist system. They were joined in the late 1930s by a radical left to form a southern Popular Front that sought to overturn Jim Crow, elevate the working class, and promote civil rights and civil liberties." (Gilmore, 2008) This is unknown even to many today who would be shocked to learn that it was a form of socialism that urged the civil right movement and in fact made the provision of a great deal of support to these issues. There were many issues beneath the smooth surface of the society in the 1950s. One of these factors was the emerging nuclear weapons and the coming Cold War which changed the face of international relations and politics. III. STRUGGLE and ISSUES in the 1950S

There were many inner struggles ongoing during the 1950s and new issues emerging not only in the United States but throughout the world at large. Tolliver writes in the work entitled: "The Good Old Days: a 1950s Issues Portfolio" that the fifties was much more complex than these observations suggest. Indeed, a lot of the romanticized, nostalgic impressions of that era are rooted in myth. While it was a time of unusual prosperity and the prevalence of the nuclear family with a stay-at-home mom, the story does not end there. There was also...

This decade was also home to McCarthyism, fear of the atomic bomb, and the rise of the civil rights movement. Many Americans were not happy with traditional roles. Minorities were beginning to collectively and actively protest injustices. The cry for greater attention to human rights at home became louder, and the availability of television provided a new dimension for experiencing what was going on in the country and the world." (Toliver, 1999)
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Indeed, while the 1950s decade seemed to be a very simple time in reality there were complex issues that emerged during this decade and in reality this decade, beneath the still surface waters was one that propelled the United States toward irrevocable societal changes.

Bibliography

Arsenault, Raymond (2008) Defyng Dixie: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919-1950, by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore. 13 Jan 2008.

Tolliver, Renee, C. (1999) the Good Old Days: a 1950s Issues Portfolio. Oliver High School. Online available at http://www.chatham.edu/PTI/PDF/Tolliver99.pdf

This Fabulous Century 1950-1960 (1979) Time Life Inc., New York, NY.

The Culture of the United States (nd) U.S. Department of State. Online available at http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-117.htm