English Composition - Essay Example

Analyzing America in 1959 Almost forty-eight years ago, America is picking up with the rest of the world. The World War II has just concluded; thousands of young servicemen were trooping back to America to start their lives anew with their families (Bradley, 2005). Growth is everywhere in the Americas: businesses and population are rising. Congress authorizes admission of some 57,000 additional immigrants without regard to quotas established by the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act; resident aliens are given more preference (World Chronology, 2007).

On February 18, President Dwight Eisenhower speaks out against continued emergency aid to America's unemployed as nation's economy is on a "curve of rising prosperity"; despite the fall of the purchasing power of $820 to half of what it was in 1945 (World Chronology, 2007). On October 1959, New York's Guggenheim Museum opens on Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th streets to house the collection of the late copper magnate Solomon R. Guggenheim, whose mentor, Hilla Rebay, induced him to buy dozens of canvases by the late abstractionist Wassily Kandinsky (World Chronology, 2007).

In the field of nonfiction literature, C. Wright Mills wrote "The Sociological Imagination" to enable the young radicals to see their worth as potential agents of change in a social structure whose needs are not being met by the existing power structures (World Chronology, 2007). Television became the most dominant mass media in every American home in 1959. On January 9, San Francisco-born actor Clint Eastwood stars in "Rawhide" on CBS (World Chronology, 2007). I remember my mother humming the popular songs of the year: "Back in the U.S.A.

" and "Almost Grown" by Chuck Berry, and "Just a Lonely Boy" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by Paul Anka. Themed parks became a family-favorite; among the popular parks is Disneyland. On March, the Barbie doll was introduced at a New York toy fair.In the field of politics, America has acquired new states in 1959. Alaska and Hawaii become the forty-ninth and fiftieth states, respectively. In January 7, the US government also recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro (Wikipedia, 2007).

The year 1959 is memorable to the Americans. It is the Renaissance Period of America. Innovations have been made in almost all aspects of life, arts, literature, politics, business, and science. But to an estimated .05% of American populace, 1959 is very memorable because it is the year when I was born.Reference World Chronology Information About 1959. (2007). Answers.com. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www.answers.com/topic/1959#everyday_life Bradley, Becky. (2005).

American Cultural History. Kingwood College Library. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade50.html Wikipedia. (2007). 1959. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959