SWBAT: Explain how the Cold War affected life in America Do Now: a) Answer the following question on your worksheet: How have concerns over terrorism affected life in the United States today? Give some specific example!!!!
Do Now: How have concerns over terrorism affected life in the United States today? Give some specific example!!!!
Words or Phrases Duck and Cover Visuals Summary
Fear of Nuclear Annihilation Soviet Union created nuclear weapons to defend itself US and USSR targeted each other with an increasing battery of nuclear weapons The Twin Fears in America Fear of Communist subversion inside the United States Soviet communists supported growth of international communism
Government Actions to Limit the Spread of Communism in America McCarran Internal Security Act required Communist Party members to register with the federal government and imposed immigration controls on Communist sympathizers. Harry Truman vetoed the bill in 1950, but his veto was overturned by Congress.
Government Actions to Limit the Spread of Communism in America Loyalty Review Board investigated more than 20,000 federal employees, firing many. Robert Oppenheimer voiced opposition to the United States creating the Hydrogen Bomb. Oppenheimer was determined a loyal citizen but was barred from future government research.
Government Actions to Limit the Spread of Communism in America HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) investigated peace organizations, liberal groups, labor unions, the movie industry, and individuals, leading to blacklists and other damage. HUAC determined that Hollywood was full of communists Fear of the power of the mass media to promote communist messages. Many actors, directors and screenwriters testified and offered lists of communists. Ten people went to jail rather than testify Careers ruined (Hollywood Ten) People who opposed the HUAC were harassed by the FBI
Fear in America Public hysteria resulted and many Americans civil rights were violated. Many turned to religion. Some built bomb shelters. Air-raid drills conducted in schools and public places. Civil Defense education programs conducted. Arms race and space exploration supported.
McCarthyism Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) - claimed to have evidence of Communist infiltration of U.S. government Used his Senate subcommittee to question the patriotism of hundreds of government workers Ruined many reputations and cost people their jobs Army-McCarthy hearings At the height of McCarthy s anti-communist crusade, he attacked the US Army. Army s attorney Joseph Welch challenges McCarthy s motives and methods. Thirty-five days of televised hearings produce no evidence. Beginning of the end of McCarthyism
McCarthy s Fall
Communist Spy Cases: Alger Hiss Case (1948) Alger Hiss- A State Department official accused of spying for communists. Whittaker Chambers, former communist spy, testifies to HUAC that Hiss gave him government secrets. Hiss accused Chambers of slander. Chambers produced microfilmed government documents proving Hiss guilt Hiss spends 5 years in jail
Communist Spy Cases: The Rosenberg Case (1951) Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were physicists who had access to nuclear technology secrets. U.S Court convicted the Rosenbergs of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union Many leftists saw America s nuclear monopoly as undesirable. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were electrocuted in June 1953
#1: Suburbs Levittown Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same. And the people in the houses all went to the university Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same, And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same. And they all play on the golf course and drink their martinis dry, And they all have pretty children and the children go to school And the children go to summer camp and then to the university Where they are put in boxes and they come out all the same. And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family In boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.
#2: Women in Post-World War II America How to be a good wife Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. Clear away the clutter. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. Encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile. Some don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind. Listen to him. Let him talk first.
#3: 1950s American Culture 1956 American Family Watching Television 1957 Cadillac Eldorado
#4: Baby Boom Live Births and Birth Rate, by year Year Number of Live Births Birth Rate 1940 2,559,000 19.4 1945 2,858,000 20.4 1950 3,632,000 24.1 1952 3 3,913,000 25.1 1953 3 3,965,000 25.1 1954 3 4,078,000 25.3 1955 4,104,000 25.0 Reconnecting with families and loved ones, a large portion of returning GIs, backed by the GI Bill, married and started families, went back to school and bought their first homes. Jobs, especially in the northeast and on the coasts, were plentiful. With veterans benefits, including VA loans, the 20-somethings found suitable housing in the new tracts sprawling on the outskirts of America's cities. It was common that the young wives of virtually entire suburban neighborhoods were pregnant at the same time. In short order, new schools had to be built. Farm and ranch land became seas of similar-looking homes without town centers, jobs, or city amenities. 1956 3 4,218,000 25.2 1957 3 4,308,000 25.3 Sources: Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics,
#5: G.I. Bill of Rights From the G.I. Bill of Rights: 1. It gives servicemen and women the opportunity of resuming their education or technical training after discharge, or of taking a refresher course without tuition 2. It makes provision for the guarantee by the Federal Government of not to exceed 50 percent of certain loans made to veterans for the purchase or construction of homes, farms, and business properties. 3. It provides for reasonable unemployment allowances payable each week up to a maximum period of one year, to those veterans who are unable to find a job. 4. It establishes improved machinery for effective job counseling for veterans and for finding jobs for returning soldiers and sailors.
#6: Fear of Communism Spreading Much of the story of the early years of the Cold War and the renewed fear of communism, especially on American home soil, has focused on Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism as symbolic of the attempts to ferret out communist sympathizers and spies in the United States. However, McCarthy only became prominent in February, 1950. Two years earlier, President Harry S. Truman had already instituted the Federal Loyalty Program (a way to test the political sympathies of federal employees) and the HUAC [House of Un-American Activities Committee] had moved their focus to investigation of domestic communist activity. Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, was convicted of perjury in January 1950, only then did McCarthy come to the forefront, claiming in several speeches that he knew of varying numbers of government officials who were communists. The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or associations, real or suspected. Artists were barred from work; some were blacklisted merely because their names came up at the wrong place and time. The HUAC interviewed 41 people who were working in Hollywood. During their interviews they named nineteen people who they accused of holding left-wing views. Known as the Hollywood Ten, they claimed that the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution gave them the right to do this. The House of Un-American Activities Committee and the courts during appeals disagreed and all were found guilty of contempt of congress and each was sentenced to between six and twelve months in prison. McCarthy s continued outspoken ways, the efforts to purge communism from American society and government became known as McCarthyism. McCarthy s own accusations continued until his censure from Congress in 1954 following his conduct during the Army-McCarthy hearings.
Apply your knowledge: What actions did the U.S. government take to limit communism, and how did these actions affect Americans everyday lives during the Cold War?