During the 1950’s, New York City was characterized most clearly by its rapid industrialization and the communist tensions of the cold war. Economically, the 1950’s was a time of “enormous growth” (Encyclopedia of New York City 89), with many miles of state-funded highways being built and new schools being established. The St. Lawrence Seaway was built, opening the ports on Lakes Erie and Ontario to ocean vessels (Encyclopedia of New York City 112). As a direct result of this, shipping in and out of New York increased dramatically. New businesses sprung up in radio equipment, electrical supplies, banking, finance, and wholesale and retail merchandise. Wall Street became the center of the nation’s business world. As the economy expanded, the exodus to the suburbs continued (Encyclopedia of New York City 89).

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

The anti-communist sentiment, especially strong in NYC, could very well have been a result of this rapid industrialization and capitalist expansion. In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted and executed at Sing Sing in Ossing, NY (Encyclopedia of New York City 112). However, Brooklyn College campus was oppositional. In the 1950’s, the student body was known for its leftist leanings and numerous socialist groups formed on campus (Jackson, 256). The communist party in New York City pushed strongly ahead until the mid 1950’s, by which time, membership had dropped to a mere 20,000 people. By the end of the 1950’s, the party was a “small secretarian group” (Jackons, 296).  Harry D. Gideonese, who presided as President over Brooklyn College from 1939 to 1966, was virulently anti-communist, but his campus sometimes called “the little red schoolhouse” because of its strong leftist leanings (Jackson 176).

During the 1950’s, the Cold War was raging in America and Brooklyn College was not unaffected. In 1949, the Feinberg Law gave the Board of Regents power to remove a Professor from his position on the assumption that he was involved in certain subversive organizations. After, the

A button protesting the Rapp-Coudert Committee

Professor could defend himself in court. The law was voted unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and the Brooklyn Supreme Court but the Appellate Division overrode the ruling. The Rapp-Coudert Committee was established to review Brooklyn Faculty members (Horrowitz 112). This era of intolerance manifested itself in what Horrowitz calls “The Silent Generation on American Campuses” (122). The communists were taking over in Czechoslovakia, South Korea, and the Berlin blockade, among other international events, scared the American people (122).

This was the extent of immigration on Brooklyn College Campus in the fifties. It was an era of homogeneity and conformity. Foreigners were not very welcome; it was a time when first generation Americans were asserting their American identity. Yearbooks from the 1950’s show an embarrassingly low amount of minorities at Brooklyn College. In the 1960’s, Brooklyn College would see a lot more immigrants.