American history has had many defining moments over the past fifty years that have helped America develop into what it is today. Each decade contains many life-changing events and discoveries, it would take a long time to cover each of these, so I have chosen one important event that I believe is of great value to Americans today. We can all learn from past events and work together to make America a better and safer place to live, and one way to do that is to learn from the past. Starting with the 1950s we will discuss the most amazing and life-changing moments of each decade that this great country experienced through the 1990s and discover why they are all of significant value to the America we live in today. The 1950s with Martin Luther King Jr. While there were many significant events in the 1950s, one civil rights movement especially stands out in my mind. In America in the 1950s there was great turmoil and a great desire on the part of African Americans to actually become Americans. This meant they could vote, not be segregated, and have all the other rights that other Americans had. While there are many great African Americans like Rosa Parks and attorney Thurgood Marshall who played a role in the civil rights movement of the 1950s, Dr. Martin Luther King undoubtedly had the greatest impact. Dr. King believed that for the civil rights movement to succeed, “we must always wage our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.” (Civil Rights Timeline, 2007) Based on this statement and belief, Dr. King led many successful peace marches and even gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If a man has not discovered… the middle of the paper… technology and advances in construction and others that will help the American economy. Americans are always pushing to achieve a better and simpler lifestyle. In the future I believe there will be an economic struggle that will have a major effect on the economy. I believe this will happen because of the way the price of gas is rising. If there are no major adjustments in oil companies and the cost of fuel, our country will find itself in trouble. I think the way the economy is going to be able to get back on its feet is going to be through some new technological advancement in how cars can run on a minimal amount of fuel. I believe that we will have political leaders who will be able to seize the opportunity of the economic crisis and who will be willing to make the changes necessary to get our country out of this possible economic crisis..