Decades Project: US History

For this project, you will research a decade of time (1950s-1980s). Each group will present on a topic such as music, fashion/fads/toys, TV/movies, demographics and technology.

Use the sites listed below to gather information on your topic. There are also many print (book) resources available at the EHS Library/Media Center.

EHS Databases--Start here!
EHS Media Center home page, scroll down to databases, choose Student Resources in Context. Locate History on the page and click on the “view all” next to it. From the topic list click on your decade.

Also try Discovering Collection. Enter your decade (e.g. 1980s) into the search box and click on search. Lots of great overviews of topics such as medicine, fashion, media, social trends, etc.

Don’t forget the online encyclopedias. Click on Grolier’s and choose Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia on the left. At the next screen, click on timeline on the left. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the “Society and Technology “ link under 1950. At the next page, you can choose from a variety of topics, including television and culture, classic rock, technology, etc.

SHMOOP Guides
Try these sites next. Shmoop guides provide quick summaries of decades and then provide sub sections for politics, economy, society, science and technology as well as culture (plus links to other web sites).
1950s
1960s
1970s:
Vietnam War (1960-1975)
Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis to Detente, 1960-1975
Civil Rights Movement” “Black Power” Era, 1963-1978
1980s:
The Reagan Era


General Decades Sites
This sites have lots of links grouped by decade. Click on the link below and at the new site, navigate your way to the correct decade.

Decades: A Study of the 20th Century

History.com--scroll down to topics/eras and decades

American Cultural History- from Lone Star College, site includes a guide for each decade with info on facts, events, books and literature, education, fads and fashion, music, television and sports.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s

The People History--sites include cost of living, news and events, popular culture, sports and technology
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s

TIME Magazine Archives
Use this site to search for the covers of TIME magazine by date or by topic.

Updated 3/2011