I.
Origins
à“Paranoia” is the key term
for the era. Both sides are to blame,
as most problems arise from fear and lack of communication
*Creation of the United Nations
*Stalin’s “fear of the West”
A.
Yalta
(February 1945)
àGermany divided in half
(actually four sections)
àBerlin, in the east, also
divided
Divisions
of both were to be temporary
B.
The
“Iron Curtain”
àStalin wants a “friendly”
eastern Europe, so the Russians refuse to leave as promised
àWestern allies demand free
elections…never happens
àEastern Europe under
control/influence of the Soviet Union for roughly the next forty years
Allies
are convinced that Stalin is doing this as a beginning step to spread communism
throughout Europe and beyond.
C.
The
Arms Race
àSoviets get the A-bomb in
1949
*ends
U.S. monopoly on atomic weapons
*increasing
threat of nuke war
àTruman gives the go-ahead
for creation of H-bomb
*U.S.
detonates an H-bomb in 1951
*Soviets
do the same six months later…and so it
goes
These
events and the fears they create are the foundation of the Cold War
II.
Containment
àCommunist expansion must be
“contained and controlled” by an aggressive American foreign policy
*George
Kennan’s article (aka Mr. X)
*National
Security Act (1947)
*Creation
of NATO (1949)
1940s:
A.
Truman
Doctrine (May 22, 1947)
*military aspect of containment policy
*$400 million in military and economic aid to assist
anti-communist forces in Greece and Turkey
*sets precedent for future American policy
B.
Marshall
Plan (1947)
*monetary/economic aspect of containment policy
*established Committee of European Economic
Cooperation
*rebuild European economies/infrastructures
*condition:
remain friendly and loyal to the U.S.
Tests
of Containment (1940s)
C.
Berlin
Blockade (Summer 1948-Spring 1949)
*first major test of containment policy
*divided Berlin is a pain to the USSR
*Russian blockade of the city
*western nations conduct airlifts, and Russia gives
in
D.
Revolution
and Fall of China (December 1949)
*U.S. cuts off aid to Kuomintang government in
August 1949
*Communist forces under Mao Zedong force the flight
of Chiang Kai-Shek’s government to Formosa (Taiwan)
*Republicans blame Truman for the “loss of China”
*China/Taiwan tensions remain a problem for U.S.
Truman,
fresh off re-election in 1948, decides to get tough with communism abroad.
E.
Korean
Conflict (1950-1953)
*United Nations divides Korea along the 38th
Parallel
*division meant to be temporary, and outside troops
were withdrawn in early 1950
*June 1950—North Korean troops cross the parallel
àU.N. sends in “peacekeepers” under General
Douglas MacArthur
*U.N. forces push N. Korean troops back,
but Mac
wants to invade China, who is supporting N. Korea
*Truman doesn’t want World War III—Mac relieved
of command
*war lasts until 1953, with over 52,000 American
deaths
*no peace treaty ever signed
1950s
Containment Policy (Eisenhower and JF Dulles)
*Eisenhower
elected president in 1952
*Stalin
dies in 1953. He is succeeded by Nikita
Kruschev
A.
Domino
Theory (April 7, 1954)
*if one nation in a particular region falls to
communism, surrounding nations will also fall
*foundation of American build-up in Vietnam and
elsewhere
B.
Massive
Retaliation (1954)
*reduce conventional forces and increase reliance on
nuclear weapons
*allows for cuts in defense spending
* “bigger bang for a buck”
C.
Brinksmanship
(1956)
*combination of diplomacy and strategy
*U.S. must take a calculated risk for peace, even if
it means going to the “brink of war”
*great idea as long as it works
D.
Sputnik and the Space Race
*USSR launches three space missions in 1957 and 1958
(Sputnik, Sputnik II, and Sputnik III)
*U.S. fears Russian capacity to use rockets for war
àNASA created as a result (1958)
àU.S. launches its own satellite that year
*JFK will propose putting a man on the moon by the
end of the 60s…and we did on July 20, 1969
*Space race continues through the 80s,
but slows
down a bit when the Cold War ended
The
Eisenhower Administration makes good use of covert operations and the CIA…sets
a trend for the future.
III.
Postwar
America, the 1950s and the Second Red Scare
The United States emerged from WWII in great shape.
*U.S. is
both a military and economic superpower
*Truman
battling domestic and international problems
*the “baby
boom” begins
*wartime opportunities for women are over…ladies,
get back in the kitchen, please
*age of tremendous
prosperity…and anxiety
*threat of communism abroad
AND at home
“Those
who do not conform are probably subversives.”
A.
House
Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)
àestablished by Congress in
1938
àpurpose: weed out
subversives in government and later expanded to all levels of public life
*government (esp. State Department)
àHiss (1948-49)
àRosenberg (1950-53)
*academic circles
*Hollywood (“Hollywood 10”)
Represented
the growing fears and suspicions of Americans in general.
B.
McCarthyism
àSen. Joseph McCarthy
(R-Wisconsin)
*the
“Wheeling Speech” and his infamous list
*accusations
with little or no evidence
*becomes an American hero until 1954 when his
committee went after the Army…and TV showed it
*censured and ruined, he drank himself to death in
1957
Communist
activity DID exist in America, but not to the level McCarthy believed nor in
the places that he looked.
C.
1950s
Popular Culture
àTV—centerpiece of modern
America
*More people had TVs than had refrigerators in the
50s
*the “golden age of television”--CONFORMITY
(affluence, patriotism, the nuclear family, suburbs)
*TV was about “ideals,” not “reality programming”
àMovies—competing with TV
changes film
*massive teen market as a result of “baby boom”
*marketing rebellion (James Dean, Marlon Brando)
*big bugs and body snatchers (Cold War imagery)
*movies reflected the values and fears of the times
*automobile culture and the Drive-In
àRock ‘n’ Roll—scaring
parents since the 50s!
*a hybrid of blues, gospel and country music
*record companies took black rhythm and blues,
sanitized the lyrics, and hired whites to sing it
*Rise of “King” Elvis (need I say more?), but it did
get worse with the rise of manufactured “teen idols”
*mass-marketed rebellion and non-conformity
We
remember 1950s pop culture with nostalgia now…but it was seen as the downfall
of civilization at the time
D.
Politics
and Civil Rights
àRise of the Civil Rights
Movement
A lot of work at the local level, gradually working
to state and federal levels
Key events:
(1)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
*overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
*segregated schools declared unconstitutional
(2)
Montgomery
Bus Boycott (December 1955-December 1956)
*Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
*boycotts ensue as blacks protest segregated bussing
*Supreme Court rules segregated transportation
illegal in late 1956
*brings Martin Luther King, Jr. to national
prominence
(3)
White
Resistance
*KKK returns, especially in the South
*White Citizens Councils
*violence against blacks escalates
Segregation
and equal rights will remain hot issues, as the 1960s will reveal
àEisenhower’s America
*the
“Corporate Commonwealth”
àleft New Deal programs in
place
àexpanded Social Security
àpromoted cooperation between
government,
corporations, and labor
*Highway
Act of 1956
à$25 billion for construction
of 40,000 miles of
interstate highways
àconstructed more for civil
defense than for civilian
convenience
àchanges American society
(suburbs, pollution, new businesses)
Ike
serves two terms. As the 1960 election
came around, a new generation would assume the reins of government…
