The war was over, the soldiers were home, and the US was the most powerful nation in the world. The US took the world under its wings and stood alone in trying to rebuild the European nation that had been riddled by war. Although we were done with the war we were still on very thin ice with the Soviets. 1947 was a year of recreation and invention, of acceptation and prejudice. In 1947 many things we use today were first introduced. For example, the ever-popular Reynold's Wrap Aluminum Foil, Elmer's Glue, and the Slinky were first put on the market. The Diary of Anne Frank was published in 1947 and will become the most read book after the Bible. Another sought after book was "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Childcare" by Dr. Spock. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a shepherd searching for his flock on the northwestern part of the Dead Sea. The CIA was also created in 1947.

• March 12 - The Truman Doctrine is presented by President Harry S. Truman. This doctrine outlined our new foreign policy of containment. Our once isolationist nation did a 360, so to speak, and vowed to become involved to help their fellow countries. It was our way of saving the world from communism. We wanted to keep communism in Eastern Europe, contain it, hence the name containment.
• April 15 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American in major league baseball and is named Rookie of the Year. Jackie Robinson goes on to become one of the most famous baseball players in history and definitely
• April 28 - Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft, takes an expedition from Callao in Peru to Raroia in Polynesia in 101 days. A documentary of the voyage won an Oscar in 1951. The successful voyage of 4300 miles proved that this type of voyage was possible on a prehistoric vessel. The book of the voyage has been translated into no fewer than 66 languages.
• June 5 - General George C. Marshall, Secretary of State, presents The Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was drawn up to help financially support European nations that were destroyed by WWII. The Marshall Plan was put into affect by President Harry S. Truman.
• June 23 - The Taft-Hartley Act. The Taft-Hartley Act was also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act. It was sponsored by Senator Robert Alphonso Taft and Representative Fred Allan Hartley. This act qualified or amended much of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. The Taft-Hartley Act establishes control of labor disputes on a new basis by enlarging the National Labor Relations Board, providing that the union or the employer must serve notice on the other party and on a government mediation service.
• December 27 - "Say Kids, what time is it?" "It's HOWDY DOODY time!" The ever-popular TV program Howdy Doody debuted. The show featured Buffalo Bob Smith (played by actor Robert Schmidt), Clarabell, and of course Howdy Doody the lovable puppet we all remember. At the time Howdy Doody was aired, only 20,000 American homes had television sets. Howdy Doody has been credited with helping the growth of the NBC network. Howdy Doody was last aired on December 30, 1960 (2,543 episodes).

20th Academy Awards
Best Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
Best Actress: Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter
Best Actor: Ronald Coleman in A Double Life

1st Annual Tony Awards
Best Actor in a Drama: José Ferrer in Cyrano DeBererac
                               Fredric March in Years Ago
Best Actress in a Drama: Ingrid Bergman in Joan of Lorraine
                                  Helen Hayes in Happy Birthday
Best Director: Elia Kazan for All My Sons

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1940s

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last updated 12/04/05