“American Fair”
The Great things of America from the 1950’s to Today
The following are some examples you can choose from when deciding the topic you would like to
present at this year’s American Fair. Do understand some topics can span more than just one decade.
1950’s
Color TV-TV Remote Control
Introduction of Car Seat Belts
Polio Vaccine
Discovery of DNA (the use of DNA in court cases, 1980’s)
Execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for Espionage
Segregation illegal-Brown v. Broad of Education
Disneyland opens
Emmett Till murdered
50
Shades
of Grey
Montgomery Bus Boycotts-Rosa Parks
Ray Kroc and McDonald’s
Elvis Presley (Death of Elvis, 1970’s)
The invention known as Velcro
Dr. Seuss
Bobby Fischer, American Chess Grandmaster (Chess battles during the Cold War)
Lego Toy Bricks
NASA founded
1960’s
Alfred Hitchcock-Psycho
First televised Presidential debates
Invention of Lasers
Lunch Counter Sit-in at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, NC
Birth Control Pill is approved by FDA
JFK
Andy Warhol-exhibits his Campbell’s Soup can
Walmart opens
Marilyn Monroe found dead
“I have a Dream”-Martin Luther King Jr.-Civil Rights passed
Beatlemania
Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
Hasbro-G.I. Joe toys
Malcolm X
Miniskirt appears
Black Panther Party
Vietnam-Drafting
Star Trek TV series
First Super Bowl
Zodiac Killer-Manson Family Murders
Moon Landing-Neil Armstrong
Woodstock
Sesame Street airs
Johnson’s Great Society-including establishment of Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps
1970’s
Computer-Microsoft, Apple II PC, Floppy Disks, Pocket Calculators
VCR’s are introduced
MASH TV show
Watergate Scandal
Abortion-Roe v. Wade
Walt Disney World opens
Skyscrapers-Sears Tower is built
Ted Bundy
First Monster Truck is built (Bigfoot)
Jimmy Hoffa missing???
Saturday Night Live
Roots miniseries airs
Star Wars
Sony introduces Walkman
Hostages in Tehran
1980’s
Pac Man videogame
Ted Turner-CNN, 24 hour News, Cable TV
Ronald Reagan
AIDS-HIV
IBM Personal Computers
ET movie is released
Michael Jackson-King of Pop-releases Thriller (Death, 2000’s)
Cabbage Patch Kids
Sally Ride and NASA
Movies get the PG-13 rating
Back to the Future movie
Internet?-first internet domain name is released, World Wide Web invented
Ozone-hole is discovered
Soda Wars-New Coke, Coke v. Pepsi
“We are the World”, US singers release record for charity
Titanic wreckage is found
Challenger Explodes
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Exxon Valdez spills millions of gallons of Oil
1990’s
Germany reunited-collapse of Soviet Union, End of Cold War
Milli Vanilli Lip-Synch Scandal
Grunge-Pearl Jam vs. Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit)
Operation Desert Storm
Rodney King-riots in Los Angeles
Waco Texas cult compound
World Trade Center bombed-Oklahoma City building bombed-Unabomber
EBAY is founded
If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit-OJ Simpson Trial
Tiger Woods wins Masters
Titanic movie blockbuster
Clinton is impeached
Y2K Bug
Columbine High School shootings
2000’s
Elian Gonzalez
Bush v. Gore, votes in the Everglades-Electoral College
9/11
Hillary Clinton first first lady in public office
Al Qaeda
USA Patriot Act-Homeland Security Act
Enron Bankruptcy
Guantanamo Bay
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas
Social Media-Facebook
Hurricane Katrina
Housing Economic Crisis-Depression or Recession?
Youtube online
GMC-General Motors or Government Motors
Blu Ray Discs-HD-Digital Television stations
Virginia Tech shootings
Barack Obama-ObamaCare
BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexic
Gay Marriage
Legal Marijuana
Broader Topics to Consider:
Movie Industry-Box Office hits
Immigration
Natural Disasters-Hurricanes, Volcanoes, oh my
War of Terror
Terrorists attacks on American soil
Sports-Baseball resurgence with Sosa, McGuire, Bonds-Red Sox win World Series, etc
The Change of Music over the decades
TV shows changing from family sitcoms to live game shows like Survivor, American Idol
Videogame Industry in America
Environmental Issues-Earth Day
Mobile Devices-Texting
Republicans vs. Democrats-the never ending political fighting
Police Corruption???-Ferguson, etc.
Changes in clothing over the decades