Bette Nesmith Graham’s invention, while important, seems very small compared to others of its time. In 1951, a nuclear power reactor was invented, in 1957 two space ships were launched by Russia, in 1960 a laser was invented. All of these make Bette Nesmith Graham’s invention of liquid paper look tiny. Even though so many other amazing things were invented at this time, it does not mean that Graham was unsuccessful in any way. Her invention made things easier for many people and it made something that is truly utilized in everyday life.
In the 1950s America seemed to be at the top of the world. We had just come out of World War II as the world strongest military and our economy was amazing. Along with this economy came many amazing things such as new cars, houses, and many new inventions to make life easier. Something else notable from the 1950’s is that it was part of the baby boomer era when over 4 million babies were born each year. Americans were so confident after World War II, everything was growing and everything was going up. The middle class had more money than ever and nobody had anything to stop them. People were spitting out inventions left and right.
During the 50s, many people bought land on the outskirts of town and began building homes. These homes were called the suburbs. Along with these new homes in the suburbs came suburban house wives. As much as this wasn’t a bad thing for women, it was just another way women and men were different and another way to pin housework on women and money earning on men.
The last thing that the 1950s was home to was not something that we are as proud about as everything else. It is the civil rights movement where we were trying to desegregate schools in the south where Bette Graham lived. This time was the time of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery bus boycott, and Martin Luther King Jr.
