Ethan Gunderson, Mason Rybolt, Matthew Deering

Mrs. Cascio

US History

27 February 2022

America in the Mid 1900s

Fear, power, war, and wealth were in full effect during the mid-1900s, none more

prominent than the other. The United States tried to be the hero by restoring all of Europe while

promoting democracy. The Soviet Union wanted the opposite. Confrontation between the two

countries was common and escalating. America was in a position to make several mistakes, but

the country did what it needed to do to prevent communism from spreading through Europe.

The United States and the Soviet Union became adversaries after WWII because there

was a lack of trust and a different goal for each of them. They were the only two remaining

superpowers in the world, and they feared each other. The Soviet Union saw an opportunity to

gain land and territory in Eastern Europe and attempted to implement communist control. The

US viewed communism as an attempt to steal people’s liberties. They viewed the territory as an

opportunity to introduce democracy in Eastern Europe. Another factor that infuriated the Soviet

Union was the Manhattan Project and the use of the Atomic bomb without letting them know.

All this controversy and mistrust led to the US developing a plan for communist containment.

Whether it was justified is an entirely different question.

The methods used by the United States to contain communism were not justified. The

isolating of China from the global community war was wrong because it took away their rights,

liberties, and opportunity to cooperate with other countries. The U.S. also stood up and fought

for South Korea. While fighting, we destroyed roads, towns, houses, and families. That took
away even more rights and opportunities for people who probably didn’t want anything to do

with the war. This was supposed to be a peaceful attempt to contain communism and ended up

being the exact opposite.

Anxiety raised to an all-time high for U.S. citizens during the Cold War. This occurred

during the Cold War because of the threat of an atomic war and bombings. The arms race that

took place and the mutual assured destruction agreement did not help the stress. Another factor

of growing fear was the amount of suspicious communist activity. People were nervous that

communism would take over the US and democracy would be terminated. People’s rights were

violated when they were falsely accused of communist activities, called McCarthyism, which led

to constant stress for the people. The Rosenberg Trial further escalated the people’s nightmare.

Two Americans were sentenced to death for allegedly passing atomic secrets to the Soviet

Union. Despite all this stress and unrest, the 1950s were still remembered as a time of prosperity.

The 1950s will always be remembered as an age of affluence. As spending money was

commonly a priority. During the 1950s consumer spending increased greatly. People were

enjoying their lives. People started to be treated equally as the minimum wage was changed to

the same amount for everyone. Although for people who made less, it was harder to get the

advancements in society. As there was an increase in consumer spending, this was more

increased opportunity for everyone. People wanted to spend their money which allowed

businesses to make more money. It also was an opportunity for new businesses to take off.

People finally had the chance to make their own business. These new businesses led to more jobs

and gave people the ability to do what they truly wanted. People were also given liberty. People

were able to buy and spend their money how they wanted to. There were no restrictions therefore

people spent their money more freely. Society was not restricting how they should spend their
money which helped alleviate pressure.

Poverty has always been a major problem in the United States. Poverty persisted in the

United States in an age of affluence due to opportunity, equality, and rights. As the age of

affluence started, people from other countries saw the U.S. as a place to make money and live a

happy and rich life. Due to this, many people wanted to immigrate to the U.S. Another reason

poverty persisted was because of the inequality in America. The Civil Rights movement was

happening during this time but it wasn't until the movement was finished that people were treated

equally. Depending on what race and religion you were, people saw you as an asset or obstacle to

society. There were segregation and gender inequalities during this time. Indians were also

treated unfairly and unjustly to the point where the government was trying to get rid of Indians

and Native Americans. During this time many people’s rights were stripped from them. Indians

weren't able to choose where they lived and in the ways how they lived their lives. Also, people

were given their rights depending on how they looked and based on their gender. The Civil rights

movement was happening at the same as the Cold War. The Cold War helped the Civil Rights

movement grow and become bigger.

The Cold War and the 1950s have affected the world greatly. America's decision-making

has shaped many governments in the world and has prevented the spread of communism. The

United States has evolved as a country and has developed definitely. America is viewed as the

country to be and also the country to beat. America had to make many hard decisions that could

affect the world down the line and for the most part, America did well.
 Works Cited

Hart, Diane. History Alive!: Pursuing American Ideals: Equality, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity,
Democracy. Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, 2019.