1. AMERICAN DECADES 1940-1950
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the
Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the
U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After
just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400
Americans were dead, 21 ships* had either been
sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft
destroyed.
The attack at Pearl Harbor so outraged Americans
that the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism
and declared war on Japan the following day --
officially bringing the United States into World War
II.
On August 6, 1945, the United States used a massive,
atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic
bomb, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened
the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. While
Japan was still trying to comprehend this devastation
three days later, the United States struck again, this
time, on Nagasaki.

2. n Mark Rothko was an American painter of Latvian Jewish descent. He is
generally identified as an Abstract Expressionist, although he himself
rejected this label and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter."
With Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, he is one of the most famous
postwar American artists.
Nighthawks is a 1942
painting by Edward
Hopper that portrays
people sitting in a
downtown diner late
at night. It is
Hopper's most
famous work and is
one of the most
recognizable
paintings in American
art Within months of
its completion, it was
sold to the Art
Institute of
Chicago for
$3,000, and has
remained there ever
since.

3. FASHION
n During the 1940s fashion fell
to the background as the
majority of the decade was
overshadowed by the second
world war and instability of
world power. But even in this
dark era some trends were
seen. American designers,
became more popular. Also
they were able to make
improvements to sizing
standards and began to use
fiber content and care labels
in clothing.

4. Rita Hayworth was an American dancer and film actress who
achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars. Her
appeal led to her being featured on the cover of Life magazine five
times, beginning in 1940.

5. MUSIC STYLES
Many musical styles flourished and combined in the 1940s
and 1950s, most likely because of the influence of radio
had in creating a mass market for music.
n The musical style of rock n'
roll originated and evolved in
the United States during the
late 1940s. It quickly spread
to much of the rest of the
world.
n Folk music :The late 1940s
and the early 1950s saw the
beginning of popular folk
music with groups like The
Weavers.

6. The McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant in 1937.Originally
a barbecue drive-in, the brothers discovered that most of their profits came from
hamburgers. In 1948, they closed their restaurant for three months, reopening it in
December as a walk-up hamburger stand. A simplified menu, and food preparation
using assembly line principles, allowed them to sell hamburgers for 15 cents, or
about half as much as at a sit-down restaurant. The restaurant was very successful,
and the brothers started to franchise the concept in 1953
The first Mc Donald stand

7. n The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Western
Allied forces in Normandy, in 1944 during the Second World War.
n At the time it was the largest invasion to ever take place, the date of the
initial assaults was Tuesday 6 June 1944 and included land and air forces. In
the weeks following the invasion, Polish forces also participated, as well as
contingents from Belgium, Greece and most of the north countries.

8. n Executive Order 9981 is an executive order issued on 1948 by President Harry S. Truman.
It abolished racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces and eventually led to
the end of segregation in the services. In 1947, A. Philip Randolph, along with colleague
Grant Reynolds, renewed efforts to end discrimination in the armed services. Truman's
Order expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and
opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins.

9. n
Peter Goldmark was the one inspired to develop the CBS Color
Television System . On a belated honeymoon to Canada in March 1940,
Goldmark and his bride decided to see a Technicolor movie and Goldmark
was awed by the beauty and richness of it. Immediately, he wanted to
create a television which approached color. Returning to New York he
developed a system. By June 1940 he was able to show still pictures from
a color slide on a 5-inch color monitor.

10. n Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and film actor.
Beginning his musical career in the swing era as a boy singer, Sinatra found
success as a solo artist from the early to mid-1940s after being signed by
Columbia Records in 1943. He released his first album, The Voice of Frank
Sinatra in 1946. Frank Sinatra first recorded the song for commercial release
by Columbia Records on 1945 It was during 1944 that Sinatra used "Put Your
Dreams Away" as the theme song for his radio series.

11. n The first Bug’s bunny cartoon : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OpsksrYIkw
Bugs Bunny is a funny animal cartoon character, created by the staff of Leon
Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by the
legendary "Man of a Thousand Voices," Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his
starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of theatrical short
films, produced by Warner Bros. during the Golden age of American animation. His
popularity during this era led to his becoming a cultural icon, as well as a
corporate mascot of Warner Bros. Entertainment.
n Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare or rabbit who is famous for his
flippant, insouciant personality, a pronounced New York accent, his portrayal as
a trickster, and his catch phrase "Eh... What's up, doc?" (usually said while
chewing a carrot). Though Warner Bros. had been experimenting with a rabbit
character in cartoons as early as the late 1930s, the definitive character of Bugs
Bunny is widely considered to have made his debut in Tex Avery's Oscar-
nominated film A Wild Hare (1940).

12. n The Grapes of Wrath is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published
in 1939. As a result, he won the annual National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for novels
and it was cited prominently when he won the Nobel Prize in 1962.
n Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant
farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in
the agricultural industry forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless
situation, and in part because they were trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for
California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they sought jobs, land, dignity, and a
future.
n The Grapes of Wrath is frequently read in American high school and college literature
classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy. A celebrated Hollywood film
version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was made in 1940.