The 1950s began with a booming consumer economy, the birth of American car culture, and the rise of suburbia as a new lifestyle norm. By the end of the decade, this apparent stability showed signs of strain. In 1957, the Soviet Union, America's cold-war opponent, launched the first earth-orbiting satellite and the United States entered the “Space Race” in dire earnestness. Unrest in the nation over Civil Rights issues led to protests—some organized and peaceful, some violent. The war in Vietnam, begun in 1954, did not end until 1975. It became a focal point of political and generational conflict. A period that began with complacency, ended with a spirit of revolution and the sense of a new age dawning.