WPA Film Library

By the late 1970s, social, economic, and political conditions led to decreased funding for space exploration and research. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shifted its focus toward more sustainable projects such as unmanned space probes and the first reusable space shuttle, which was launched in 1981.

In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower proposed his "Atoms for Peace" program, which would create an international organization charged with developing peaceful uses for nuclear technology. A year later, he signed the Atomic Energy Act, which authorized creation of nuclear power plants across the country. The first nuclear power plant, located in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, began operations in 1957. The reactor was decommissioned in 1982.

During the 1992 presidential election, both President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton compared themselves to President Harry S. Truman, who unexpectedly won a tight election race in 1948. The predicted outcome heading into Election Day on 1992 was especially contentious due to the popularity of third-party candidate Ross Perot.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Senator Hugo Black (D, AL), an ardent supporter of the New Deal, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Controversy erupted immediately because Black was a purported member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In order to verify this rumor, newspaper reporters interviewed KKK Grand Dragon J. L. Baskin, asking if it was true that Black was a member. Although Baskin freely admitted that he himself was a KKK member, he refused...

Early 20th century industrialization provided expanded opportunities for women interested in work outside of the home. This trend, along with a decline in immigration during World War I, made it more difficult for middle-class women to hire household help. During the Great Migration, more than 1 million African-American men and women moved from the rural south to the north in search of better jobs and to escape widespread prejudice and violence. Many...

A power struggle between Muhammad Mosaddeq, the prime minister of Iran, and Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran, resulted in anti-shah riots in Tehran. The shah went into brief exile, leaving Mosaddeq in control of the country. Pahlavi resumed power with the support of the United States.

White House counsel John Dean was instrumental in the Nixon administration's plot to cover up the illegal activities of the Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP), chiefly the 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. In return for his testimony at the Watergate hearings, Dean was granted leniency by Judge John Sirica.

During the major blackout in northeastern U.S., 30 million people were without power.

Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion is born (newsreel 1960).

During President John F. Kennedy's administration, at the height of the space race between the United States and Russia, a number of significant events occurred within the field of space exploration. Following Russia's parallel successes, Alan Shepard became the first American in space (1961), and John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth (1962). Soon after Glenn's trip, President Kennedy promised to get the first human on the Moon by...