The Cold War Era: 1945-1991

Happy Days
Post-War America
Demobilization
Size of the armed forces was decreased - 1946 - 12 million to 3 million.
Some still served in West Germany and Japan to ensure a smooth governmental
transition.
Election of 1948
Democratic Nominee: Harry S. Truman - Incumbent Pres.
Democratic Party Split - Opposed to Truman s stand on civil rights.
Republican Nominee: Thomas E. Dewey - Gov. of New York.
Truman - Campaigned by train - Whistle Stop
TV was a factor.
Truman wins a close election.
Truman - Wanted to give the American people a Fair Deal.
Fair Deal - An extension of New Deal reforms.
Atomic Energy
Atomic Energy Act - Preserved govt. control of fissionable materials.
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) - Encouraged private and government research and
development of atomic energy.
National Security Act
Armed forces - Placed under a new Cabinet department.
Headed by a civilian: Secretary of Defense.
Created the National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Presidential Succession Act
Succession passed from Vice President to Speaker of the House and then to the
President pro tempore of the Senate.
Truman - Believed the President should be someone elected to office.
Twenty-Second Amendment
Limited any President after Harry Truman to two terms.
A reaction of FDRs time in office.
Post War America: Affluent Society and Culture
White collar jobs:
Blue collar jobs:
Jobs that are physical in nature.
Construction, factory workers, miners.
Labor
Laborers - Wanted wage increases.
Many had not received them during the war, and inflation concerns were growing.
Both the railroad and coal mines went on strike.
Taft - Hartley Act:
 Goal: To achieve a better balance between labor and management.
President - If strike endangered public safety, he could require cool off period.
During this period: Unions could not call a strike, and management could not call
a lockout.
G.I. Bill of Rights
Provided veterans of WWII with a variety of services.
Examples: Hospitals, Payments to vets without jobs, free tuition, books and expenses
for job training, college, or advanced education.
Helped veterans with their transition back to civilian life.
Multi-national corporation
A corporation that has branches in other countries.
Franchises
One person owns or operates several stores of a particular chain
Typically have a specific uniform and style
Continuity
Baby Boom
Soldiers coming home from World War II
Number of babies increases exponentially
Baby Boom - Typically born between1946-1964
Consumerism
People desire the objects their neighbors have keeping up with the Jones
More disposable income = more spending
Luxury items
Advertising
People are buying more
Companies market goods to try and sell
Advertising explosion
Sound familiar?
Levittown
Levittown, NY one of the first suburbs
Bill Levitt- mass produced similar looking houses
Houses were inexpensive
Other Levittowns spring up
Reasons for moving to the suburbs:
Escape crime and congestion
Better life
Picturesque environment
Affordability
Effect: Leads to urban sprawl
Technological breakthroughs
Polio vaccination
 Jonas Salk- 1954
Polio was a huge issue in the 1950s
We didnt know what caused it.
Polio Vaccine
Jonas Salk first tests it on himself and family
Albert Sabin invents oral vaccination
Polio cases plummet across the USA
1950s Popular Culture & The Other Side of American Life
Rise of Television Popularity
TVs more affordable
1946- 7,000 sets
1957- 40,000,000
Advertising finds a new outlet
Athletic events become very popular
Popular TV Programs of the 1950s
Comedy Shows
Bob Hope and Jack Benny
Action Shows
Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Dragnet
Variety Shows
Ed Sullivan Show, quiz shows
Movies in the 1950s
TV grows; Movies decline
Try different things
3-D
Widescreen
Drive In Movies
Youth Culture
Rock n Roll
Early forms grew from R&B
Music was ideal for dancing
Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets
Draws teens in
Music and Youth
Rock n Roll became the popular music of the times
Parents do not like it
Youths rebel
People complain that Rock n Roll incites youths
Generation Gap
African American Entertainers
TV tended to shut out African American Entertainers
 Few break through
Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Little Richard popular
Female groups became popular
Other side of American Life
In 1950 1 in 3 were impoverished
End of the 50s 1 in 5
Most were blind to the nations poor
Thought all were well
Not all Americans were apart of the affluent society
Minorities and rural poor
The American Dream remained out of reach for these people.
Decline of the Inner City
White families move to suburbs
Tax money goes with these people
Urban centers begin to decline
Urban renewal
Tear down slums
Nice high rise towers
Overcrowded; leads to violence
African Americans in the 1950s
City population increase
Mostly due to African Americans moving north during/after WWII
Life was typically not better in the north
Racial discrimination continues
last hired, first fired
Hispanic-Americans in the 1950s
Bracero Program
Brings millions of workers to work on farms in SW
Temporary Started during WWII
Long hours, little pay
10-12 hours a day
100 degrees
Slept where they could, ate what they could
Native Americans in the 1950s
Made $1000 less than a typical African American worker
Termination Policy- federal government terminated separate status
Forced them to assimilate into society
Disastrous policy
Juvenile Delinquency
Increase 45% in the early 50s
Crime increases
 Car theft
Muggings
Why?
Stereotypes abound
Education system
Focus is thrown into better educating younger citizens
Interstate Highway System
Beginnings
Eisenhower and army personnel crossed the country in 1919
Autobahn
Eisenhower liked the autobahn in Germany
Thought it was efficient
Kept that in his head
Autobahn- circa 1940
PA Turnpike- circa 1940
How it came to be
Eisenhower: threw his support behind creation of the Interstate System
Revitalizing nations highway system was a high priority
Ownership and Operation
The individual states own and operate the Interstate System
Currently 46,876 miles of highway
Speed Limits
States control the MPH limit
In 1974 it was 55
You could go over, but lose federal funds
Numbering system
Hotness Level
How hot was the Cold War?
Level 1: Friends Team you support (Phillies/Eagles)
Level 2: Acquaintance Team you mildly support/indifferent about(Pirates/Steelers)
Level 3: Disliked Person Team you dislike (Nationals/Redskins)
Level 4: Strong Dislike Team you would never root for (Braves/Patriots)
Level 5: Mortal Enemy Team you actively hate and root against (Mets/Cowboys)
Research and rank the following based on hotness level:
1. Marshall Plan
2. Long Telegram
3. Berlin Airlift
4. Fall of China to Communism
5. Korean War
Directions:
o Research and provide a short summary of each.
o Rank based on hotness levels
 o Give details as to why you chose the ranking.
Early Cold War Foreign Affairs
United Nations
A new organization to replace the League of Nations.
Organized to promote international security and cooperation.
General Assembly included delegates from every member nation.
Truman Doctrine
Attempted to contain communist growth.
Containment Policy
Did so by supporting those who resisted Communism.
Peacetime military aid to other countries; Became our diplomacy.
Examples: Turkey and Greece.
Marshall Plan
Sec. of State Marshall - Provide gifts to Europe.
Wanted to prevent economic, social, and political deterioration.
Also, the US was concerned that countries that were in disrepair would turn to
communism.
Russia and satellites did not accept aid.
Europe After WWII Germany After WWII
Berlin Airlift
June 1948 - Russians banned all traffic between Allied controlled West Berlin and
Russian controlled East Berlin.
Russians - Wanted to drive Allies out of West Berlin by cutting off supplies.
US, England, and France supplied West Berlin by air.
May 1949 - Russians lifted the blockade.
Fall of China
US former ally, Chiang Kai-shek, was driven out of mainland China.
October 1949 - Chinese Communists, led by Mao Zedong, controlled the Chinese
mainland.
The fall of the mainland seemed like one more defeat (to communism) for the US.
N.A.T.O.
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied US and Canada with ten W. European nations from Norway to Portugal;
Eventually 15 members.
Signed April 4, 1949; An attack on one is treated as attack on all.
Significance: US joined the first peacetime alliance in its history.
Gen. Eisenhower - Commander of NATO forces.
Korean War
Invasion by North Korea:
1949 & 1950 Skirmishes took place between N. & S. Korea along the 38th parallel
(Dividing Line).
 Suddenly on June 25, 1950 135,000 N. Koreans, armed and organized by the Soviets,
attacked S. Korea.
Trumans action
Had the attack brought before the UN Security Council.
UN Called for an end to fighting.
Gen. MacArthur Told to furnish arms and naval & air support to South Koreans.
UN Action
2 days after invasion, UN Security Council calls on member nations to aid S. Korea.
Gen. MacArthur Put in command of UN forces.
Inchon Landing
Early days of the war: N. Korea pushed S. Korea & UN forces south into a small
area around Pusan.
Sept. 15, 1950 MacArthur lands forces from sea at Inchon.
A daring and successful flank maneuver.
Chinese Communists in Korea
UN Wanted to defeat N. Korea and create a unified, independent, and democratic
govt.
China warned If UN crossed 38th Parallel, the Chinese would defend N. Korea.
Chinese troops joined N. Korea after UN troops crossed the 38th Parallel.
Truman vs. MacArthur
MacArthur An entirely new war Wanted to bomb mainland China.
Truman and Joint Chiefs of Staff refused him.
Truman removed MacArthur from his position.
Today: The border (close to the 38th Parallel) is a Demilitarized Zone (2 miles
wide).
It is the most heavily militarized border in the world.
Post WWII Korean Leadership
North Korea Today
60 Minutes - Camp 14
Camp 14 - Total Control Zone
Eisenhowers Domestic Program
Election of 1952
Republican Nominee: Dwight D. Eisenhower
GOP Grand Old Party: Nickname of Republican Party.
Democratic Nominee: Adlai E. Stevenson
Eisenhower won easily.
Eisenhowers Farm Problem
Farm Problem: Surplus Farm Production.
Eisenhower admin. Discouraged overproduction.
Soil Bank Paid farmers for not planting their crops.
Combating Communism at home
 Many believed that there was a strong communist conspiracy to take over the U.S.
Truman - Issued an Executive Order to go after suspected communists.
FBI and Civil Service Commission checked the loyalty of all Federal employees;
many were dismissed.
McCarthyism and its demise
Senator Joseph McCarthy Felt Communists had taken over many govt. positions.
Accused many individuals of Communist activities.
TV exposed and defeated McCarthy Influence rapidly declined.
READ QUESTIONS FIRST
Incorporate info from the document into a detailed response.
Incorporate relevant outside information.
Election of 1956
Rep. Nominee Ike
Demo. Nominee Stevenson
Eisenhower wins his second term easily.
Alaskan and Hawaiian Statehood
49th State Alaska Jan. 1959.
50th State Hawaii Aug. 1959.
Eisenhower and Foreign Affairs
Brinkmanship
Eisenhowers Sec. Of State - John Foster Dulles
Dulles threatened massive retaliation against the Soviet Union or Communist
China if they attacked any country.
Brinkmanship Necessary to go to the brink of war to preserve the peace of the
world.
Crisis in Indochina
Following WWII Communist Ho Chi Minh liberated Vietnam.
The French tried to re-gain control and set up a puppet govt.
US aid to the French
US aided the French because we felt they were helping us contain Communism.
1950 US helped the French with money and arms.
1954 US paid for 80% of the cost of the war.
Dien Bien Phu
Communist Viet Minh troops had trapped a large French force.
Should the US assist the French? Decided against it.
French were defeated.
Geneva Agreement
Vietnam would be divided in two.
North: Communist;
South: A free govt.
S.E.A.T.O.
 Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
Special attention/support to Non-Communist nations an attempt to keep
Communism from spreading.
Hungarian Revolution, 1956
Hungarian people revolted against Communism.
Crushed by Soviet tanks and troops.
US could not provide much help.
Eisenhower Doctrine
March 1957 US would help any Middle East country that requested aid to resist
military aggression from a Communist country.
Came about as a result of the Suez Crisis.
Sputnik and the Space Race
Rocket development became very important.
Operation Paperclip Project to rescue German rocket engineers from WWII.
Worked on rocket and space travel for the US.
Oct. 4, 1957 Russians sent up the first man-made earth satellite Sputnik
Feb. 1958 US launches its first satellite Explorer I Space Race is on!
1958 National Aeronautics and Space Admin. (NASA)
Scheduled Summit Conference
U-2 Incident:
May 5, 1960 Soviet forces shot down an American U-2 spy plane.
Khrushchev demanded an apology; Ike refused.
Wreck of summit hopes:
The chance of a summit was now gone.
Rise of Castro in Cuba
1958 Forces led by Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban Govt.
Set up Communist Govt. supported by the Soviets.
Eisenhower steps down
Farewell address warned of a military-industrial complex.
He and others were concerned with the new relationship formed between the
military establishment and the defense industry.
Many did not see a lasting peace in future years, and feared spending on defense.
Essential Questions Cold War Era
1. What was the Cold War?
2. How well did we adjust after WWII?
3. How was Europe restructured after WWII?
4. How did the US help combat communism in Europe during the post WWII years?
5. Explain the outcome of the Korean war and how it has played into our world today.
6. Describe the rise and fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy.
7. Explain the Post-WWII situation in southeast Asia.
8. How did Sputnik change the space race for America?
9. What was the significance of President Eisenhowers farewell address?