Chapter 14: The Cold War
and the American Dream
Mr. Miller
How did the USA and USSR become enemies?
“We didn’t start the fire”
Countless References to the Cold
War and other parts of the era!
Why am I especially
intersted?
I grew up 2 miles from a nuclear
missile… next slide is a picture…
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and
the Cold War
Now that WWII is over, what
happens at home in the USA and
in the world?
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Adjusting To Peace
 - WWII veterans returned to
work, leading to 800,000
women to be released
 The Postwar Economy
 - the economy boomed
because people wanted
commercial goods (washers,
toasters, cars, etc) since they
had to cut back during WWII
 - many were starting families
(Baby Boom) & wanted
homes & suburbs grew
quickly
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Labor Unrest and Civil
Rights
 - there were many labor
strikes during this era (auto,
steel, meatpacking, electrical)
 - African-Americans were still
segregated, intimidated,
mistreated, etc. in the South
 - President Truman
introduced a civil rights
commission and anti-lynching
and anti-poll tax laws, but they
didn’t pass due to Southern
Democrats in Congress
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 The Fair Deal
 - the Republican Congress
blocked many of Truman’s
plans for more programs
(called the Fair Deal) similar
to the New Deal for
housing, education, health
care
 - Truman looked like he’d
lose to Thomas Dewey in
the 1948 election, but his
late train campaign led to a
surprise victory and
another Presidential term
for him
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Origins of the Cold
War
 - Stalin and the USSR
broke a wartime
promise and started
making countries in
Eastern Europe
communist instead of
democratic, causing
tension with the USA
See next slide for map of current Europe
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Containing Communism
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Abroad
- President Truman called for
the containment of the
spread of communism
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) was formed of
democratic nations, made up
of USA, Canada, England,
and other Western European
nations
- the USSR and Eastern
European communist nations
formed the Warsaw Pact
Next slide… map with the
spread of Communism
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Marhsall Plan and Berlin
Airlift
 - the Marshall Plan from the
USA gave $13 billion in aid to
help western and southern
Europe rebuild and recover
from WWII (and protect from
communism)
 - Germany (and the capital
city of Berlin) was split
between democratic countries
(West) and communist (USSR)
control and became a “battle
ground” for both
 See map next slide…
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Marhsall Plan and Berlin
Airlift (con’t)
 - Stalin blocked access to
Berlin, but the USA and
England sent cargo
planes and dropped
supplies in to the city
residents
 - by 1949, Germany (and
Berlin) had been split into
West Germany
(democratic) and East
Germany (communist)
Ch. 14, Sec. 1: “Peacetime Adjustments and the
Cold War
 Fear of Communism at
Home
 - Ethel & Julius
Rosenberg gave US
atomic secrets to the
USSR and were
sentenced to death; they
were members of the
American Communist
Party
 - the U.S. developed a
great fear of communist
supporters living in
America
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
How did the Korean War start and
end? How many communists
were in the USA?
Next slide… map of the Korean area
North Korea
China
South Korea
Japan
Why does Korea look like this at night?
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 Origins of the Korean
War
 - Mao Zedong became
the leader of China
when it became
communist in 1949
 - Korea had been split
into two countries;
North (communist) and
South Korea
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 Fighting Breaks out in
Korea
 - North Korea attacked
South Korea in 1950 and
the U.S. sent troops to
support the South in an
effort to contain
communism from
spreading further
 - this helped push the
North back to almost
China, but China warned
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
China Enters the
Conflict
- China began
supporting North
Korea and soon
pushed the
South/U.S. troops
back to the 38th
parallel (the original
split line)
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 War Ends in Stalemate
 - Dwight D. Eisenhower
won the 1952 Presidential
election
 - by 1953 (3 years later),
the war had become
unpopular and the US
and USSR helped
negotiate a treaty to split
North and South Korea….
at the original split line
 (the 38th Parallel)
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 McCarthy and Communism
 - Joseph McCarthy, Republican
senator from Wisconsin, accused
many people in the U.S.
government (and other areas) of
being communist supporters
 - this type of accusation
(whether legit or not) was called
McCarthyism
 - he put some Army leaders on
“trial” in Senate hearings on
whether they supported
communism; this eventually
turned many against him, but his
accusations had done much
Youtube trailer
damage to the accused and
“Good night & good luck”
created concern in the US
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 Eisenhower and the
Cold War (1)
 - the USSR and USA
began an “arms race” in
an attempt to build better,
stronger atomic
weapons, etc. to show
their superiority and
intimidate each other
 - they Hydrogen Bomb
(H-Bomb) was developed
by the US in 1952 and
three years later the
USSR successfully tested
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 Eisenhower and the
Cold War (2)
 - 1955: Suez Canal was
seized by Egypt (friends
of USSR) from France &
England
 - France, Britain, & Israel
attacked Egypt; the USA,
USSR and United
Nations got them to pull
back from Egypt and
started a cease-fire
(preventing a major battle)
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 Eisenhower and the Cold
War (3)
Youtube Blast from Past  - in 1957, the USSR
shocked the US when they
launched Sputnik, the first
satellite
 - this meant the USSR had
missiles powerful enough
to get nukes to the USA
 - this began the “Space
Race” for both countries
Youtube Phineas and Ferb where both put large
Youtube Sputnik Mania trailer amounts of money into
space programs to build
satellites, etc. and show
Ch. 14, Sec. 2: “The Korean War and
McCarthyism”
 Eisenhower and the Cold
War (4)
 - USSR’s leader was now
Nikita Krushchev and
President Eisenhower tried
to set up peace talks with
him in 1960
 - two weeks before the talks,
an American U-2 spy plane
was shot down over USSR
 - this angered the USSR
and the peace talks broke
down, increasing tensions
Section 3: The Fifties
What was life like in America
during this Cold War era? Who &
what was popular?
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 The Domestic Scene in the
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“Which one is my house?”
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50s
- Many people began moving
out of the cities and into the
suburbs, taking money,
taxes, etc. with them
- This left the cities with less of
a tax base to work with and
led to urban decay
- 1950s saw a great increase
in Mexican immigration to US
- Many came for temporary
agricultural work in the
Southwest and then stayed
illegally in order to stay here
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 The Domestic Scene in the
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See Cars movie clip next slide
50s (con’t)
- Pres. Eisenhower increased
gov’t spending in some areas,
yet kept business and
conservatives somewhat happy
One major development was
the Interstate Highway
system, modeled after
Germany’s autobahn
This was to allow for easier
travel and to evacuate cities
faster in case of attack
A byproduct of this was the end
of highways (Route 66, etc.)
being the primary travel routes
(p.402)
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 Changes Sweep
America
 - The economy was now
booming and many
people were starting
families and buying
homes
 - In the 1950s, America’s
population increased by
30 million
 - This great increase in
the birthrate after WWII
(1946-1961) was known
as the Baby Boom
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 Changes Sweep America
 - The Baby Boom also helped
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#1
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lead to the growth of the
suburbs as people moved out of
apartments in the cities to areas
outside the city
- What used to be farmland now
had homes, theaters, restaurants,
etc.
Car sales also increased greatly
as people needed a car to get to
their work in the city
- Many moved from the northern
and eastern parts of the U.S. to the
western and southern parts
(known as the Sun Belt)
- In the 1960s, California passed
New York as most populated state
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 The American Dream in the
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1950s
- For many (but not all), they
were “living the dream” in
America during this time
- Living in nice houses, in a nice
part of town, with nice families,
with nice workplaces
- The economy was booming
with many people buying
different items such as
dishwashers, vacuums, TVs,
lawn mowers, etc.
- To take advantage of this
demand, the advertising
industry took off with
commercials encouraging
Youtube
Lucy
Candy
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 Pop Culture and Rock ‘n’ Roll
 - TV shows replaced movies as
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the main form of entertainment
- Popular TV shows included:
I
Love Lucy, Father Knows Best,
Lassie, Lone Ranger, Mickey
Mouse Club
- Popular musicians included
Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats
Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis
- the most popular was Elvis
Presley who was also
controversial (some would only
show him from the hips up due
to his gyrations)
- Poets & writers known as
“beatniks” disliked how bland
America was and spoke against it
Ch. 14, Sec. 3: “The Fifties”
 The Election of 1960
 - John F. Kennedy (Dem) ran
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against Vice Pres. Richard M.
Nixon (Rep) in 1960’s very close
election
- With the help of the first televised
debates, JFK won the election to
become the youngest (43) and first
Catholic President of the U.S.
- Kennedy promised to “get the
country moving again” after the
Eisenhower years
- America was drawn to his youth,
energy and confidence and was very
excited to see this new era in
American leadership
Youtube of the actual debate