Why didn’t we just bomb them?
Atomic Bomb Video
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=
bomb#selItemsPerPage=20&intCurrentPage=0&
No=0&N=4294939055&Ne=18417&Ntt=bomb&N
s=&Nr=&browseFilter=&indexVersion=&Ntk=Al
l&Ntx=mode%252Bmatchallpartial
War Games Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHWjlCaIr
Qo
Yalta
Conference: A
Postwar Plan
The Allies:
Britain
America
Soviet Union
Agreement is to:
-Divide up Germany
-Stalin (USSR)
allows free elections
in Eastern Europe
UNITED
NATIONS
International peace
keeping organization
5 permanent members have Veto
power
11 on Security Council
All Represented in General
Assembly
*Same basic idea as Wilson’s
League of Nations
What is the
Cold War?
State of tension
and mistrust
between the
United States and
the Soviet Union
after World War
II
**No real fighting
occurred

Different circumstances and goals
United States
*Encourage democracy in other
countries to help prevent the rise of
Communist governments
*Gain access to raw materials and
markets to fuel booming industries
*Rebuild European governments to
promote stability and create new
markets for US goods
*Reunite Germany to stabilize it and
increase security of Europe
Soviet Union
2
*Encourage communism in other
countries as part of a worldwide workers’
revolution
*Rebuild its war-ravaged economy using
Eastern Europe’s industrial equipment
and raw materials
*Control Eastern Europe to protect Soviet
borders and balance the US influence in
Western Europe
*Keep Germany divided to prevent its
waging war again








Poland
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Romania
Yugoslavia
Bulgaria
East Germany
Albania

Winston Churchill’s
name for the division
of Europe



Stalin (USSR) believed
communism and
capitalism could not
co-exist
United States wanted
to stop the spread of
communism by using
the policy of
containment
Divided East and
West Berlin-1961

1948
US, Britain and France
withdraw from Western
Germany and West
forms one country
 Soviets control East
 Soviets blockade West
trying to oppose
unification of West
Germany
 US and British supply
West until blockade ends
almost a year later


Truman Doctrine

United States would
help any nation
threatened by
communism

Marshall Plan

Gave food and aid to
European nations to
assist them in
recovering from
World War II


NATO- North
Atlantic Treaty
Organization
Military alliance
designed for each
member to protect
and defend the other



United States
Canada
Western Europe

Warsaw Pact



Soviet Union
Eastern Europe
Designed to counter
NATO with an
alliance of communist
countries and
sympathizers

1957 Sputnik

First unmanned
satellite launched by
the Soviets

1960

American spy plane
shot down


Willingness on the
part of the
superpower to go to
the edge of war
If war occurred
between superpowers
(US and USSR) due to
alliances, so would
World War III.

Communists

Nationalists
Mao Zedong
LEADER
Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-Shek)
Northern China
Area Ruled
Southern China
Soviet Union
Foreign Support
United States
National Liberation
Domestic Policy
Defeat of Communists
Strong due to promised
reform for peasants
Public Support
Weak due to inflation and failing
economy
Experienced, motivated
guerrilla army
Military
Organization
Ineffective, corrupt leadership
and poor morale

People’s Republic of
China

Nationalist China
 TAIWAN

Great Leap Forward


Communescollective farms
Red Guards

 Ended due to crop
failure and famine
Student groups with
the aim to revive the
revolution under Mao
and began Cultural
Revolution
 Sent China into chaos by
killing or sending to work
farms resistors or
intellectuals.

Mao finally ended the
Cultural Revolution to
end the chaos

38th parallel

Dividing line in
Korea at the end
of World War II
(similar to Berlin)

North- Soviet

South- supported
by US and Allies


North Korea invades the
South with Soviet support
The United Nations supports
the South

Douglas MacArthurcommander of UN forces
 Later fired because he wanted to
drop another bomb to end Korean
War. This was seen as
inappropriate.


China sends 300,000 troops
against the UN
1953- cease fire with 38th
parallel intact

North Korea
Builds collective
farms
 Heavy industry
 Nuclear weapons


South Korea


Democracy
Growing economy
with US aid



France
 French imperialism
had led them to
control French
Indochina which
included Vietnam,
Laos, and
Cambodia.
Eventually nationalist
groups begin to resist
French occupation.
Vietnamese
Nationalists
 Ho Chi Minh- later
Communist leader

Communists
 Vietcong- South
Vietnamese Communist
guerillas fighting against
South Vietnamese
President Diem.
 Supported by China,
Soviet Union, and Ho Chi
Minh
 Launch TET
OFFENSIVE- series of
surprise attacks on the
South Vietnamese and US
allied controlled centers
in South Vietnam
Once one Southeast Asian country falls to
communism, they ALL will fall

US feared the spread of communism
and sent troops in 1964

Support of South


Ngo Dinh Diem
Prevent spread of
communism

Troop Withdrawl

VietnamizationPresident Nixon’s plan to
withdraw troops
gradually.
 Started in 1969


Last troops leave in 1973
South Vietnam falls to
the Communists in 1975.



Counterculture
“hippies”
Media Coverage
Opposition to draft



College students could
be exempt
Conscientious objectors
Picking on lower income
and minority groups


The National Guard
responded to a series
of protests at Kent
State University.
Students were
protesting American
involvement in
Cambodia during the
Vietnam War.





4 students were killed
9 injured
May 4, 1970
Schools shut down
across the nation in
response to the
killings
Affected public
opinion
United Vietnam



Vietnam
united as a
Communist
nation
1.5 million
flee
Relations
between US
and
Vietnam
are difficult
until 1995.


Nonaligned nations- countries not involved in
Cold War
Soviet Problems
Hungarian protests
 Czechoslovakia revolts
 Warsaw Pact able to block


Third World


Developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America
Superpowers support these countries attempting to
gain influence



Cuban Revolution
 Castro was Supported by
US to overthrow dictator
Batista
Castro
 Rule begins in 1959
 Nationalizes economy
 Takes US property
 1961-Defeats US trained
Cuban exiles at Bay of Pigs
 US tried to remove Castro
from power and lost
miserably.
Fidel Castro “resigned” in
2011.
 His brother Raul is
technically President



Superpowers US and
USSR are still
struggling with
nuclear weapons
Soviets put missiles
on the island of Cuba
(90 miles from US
coast)
US demands removal
of weapons


For 13 days the US
and USSR go back
and forth with threats,
blockades, etc. on the
brink of nuclear war
Finally, President
Kennedy and Secretary
Khrushchev come to an
agreement in October
1962.

During the Red Scare, the gov’t
became concerned about the growth
of communism in America
 The Loyalty Review Board was
created to investigate & dismiss
“disloyal” gov’t employees
 The House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) investigated
suspected communists in the
entertainment & other industries

From 1947-1951,
3.2 million gov’t
employees were
investigated &
212 were
dismissed as
security risks
(2,900 resigned
rather than face
investigation)
In 1947, numerous Hollywood writers &
executives were investigated by HUAC;
500 were blacklisted from the film industry
& some were sent to prison for refusing to
testify (the “Hollywood Ten”)

Red Scare fears in America
were heightened by the
discovery of spies
working for the USSR:
 State Dept employee
Alger Hiss who was
eventually convicted of
spying for the USSR
 Ethel & Julius
Rosenberg were
convicted & executed
for passing atomic bomb
secrets to the USSR

In 1950, Wisconsin Senator Joseph
McCarthy emerged as the leader of
anti-Communism in the U.S.
 He attacked Truman & the
Democrats for allowing communists
to infiltrate the gov’t
 He used public trials to make
unsupported accusations against
suspected communists in the State
Dept & the U.S. military

McCarthy’s attacks lasted 4 years
 But “McCarthyism” did not
result in a single confirmed
Communist or spy in the U.S.
gov’t
 McCarthy was briefly popular
but by 1954, the Senate &
American public grew tired of
his bullying techniques &
McCarthyism faded

In 1952, World War II hero Dwight
Eisenhower was elected president
 At home, he tried to
promote the “good
times” of the 1950s
economic boom
 In foreign policy, he
took a strong stand
against Communism

Eisenhower began a “New Look”
to fight the Cold War:
 He invested heavily in new longrange nuclear missiles (ICBMs)
 In foreign policy, he used veiled
threats of nuclear war to achieve
his goals (called brinksmanship)
 In case of a Soviet attack, the U.S.
would use “massive retaliation”
thus making the use of nuclear
weapons unlikely on either side
Nuclear submarines
What are the stakes of war?
Massive Retaliation?
Mutual Assured Destruction?
Americans were
anxious by the threat
of nuclear war & built
fallout shelters for
protection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_tK
Ag5KIuQ
In response to the threat
of a Soviet nuclear attack,
Eisenhower pushed
Congress to create the
Interstate Highway
System in 1956
 41,000 miles of divided
highway to connect
major U.S. cities
 In addition to helping
promote trade &
travel, these highways
were vital to evacuate
cities during a nuclear
attack

In addition to relying on nuclear
weapons, Eisenhower increased the
role of the CIA in foreign policy
 The CIA spied on foreign nations &
carried out covert operations to
weaken communist governments
 The CIA led successful coups in Iran
& Guatemala and tried to overthrow
Fidel Castro in Cuba

After Stalin’s death in 1953, new
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
began to challenge U.S. influence:
 In 1955, the USSR formed the
Warsaw Pact alliance
 In 1956, the Soviet military
violently suppressed an anticommunist revolt in Hungary
 In 1956, the USSR began to make
moves towards the Middle East
 In 1957, the president issued the
Eisenhower Doctrine, pledging the
USA to protect the Middle East
from Communism

In 1957, the USSR launched the
1st space satellite, Sputnik I
 People feared that the U.S. had lost its competitive
edge
 The National Aeronautics & Space Administration
(NASA) was formed in 1958 to catch up to the
Soviets
 National Defense Education Act was created to
promote math, science, & technology education
 Advanced placement (AP) classes were created as
a result of the NDEA
The Original Seven NASA Mercury Astronauts

Eisenhower failed to thaw the Cold
War by the end of the 1950s:
 In 1960, an American U-2 plane
was shot down over the USSR
proving we were spying on
Russia
 He was unable to negotiate with
the USSR weapons reduction
 Before leaving office, he warned
against overspending on defense
(“Military Industrial Complex”)

By 1960, the Cold War remained the
major focus of U.S. foreign policy
 Truman contained communism in
Europe while Eisenhower used the
CIA & brinksmanship to limit Soviet
global influence
 But, Americans remained anxious
due to McCarthyism, threats of
nuclear war, & increasing gov’t
spending on defense

The end of WWII led to an era of
wealth & spending in the 1950s:
 The war stimulated the economy
& ended the Great Depression
 High wages, service pay for
soldiers, & war bond
investments gave Americans
money to spend
 The economic boom allowed
Americans to enjoy the highest
standard of living in the world

Consumerism returned in the 1950s
 People rushed to buy new goods like TVs &
hi-fi record players
 Credit became available (The 1st credit card
was created in 1950)
 Advertisers used newspaper ads, radio, &
new TV commercials to market goods to
Americans
 Franchises offered people across the country
the same products
 For the 1st time since the 1920s, Americans
had access to cheap electrical appliances &
cars

Americans produced a “baby boom”
in the 1950s, leading to the largest
generation in U.S. history
 The return of soldiers from war led
to an increase in marriages
& a rise in the birthrate
 The baby boom led to a demand for
new baby products, schools, &
homes for growing families
The late 1940s & 1950s
experienced the “baby boom”
In 1957, a baby was born every
7 seconds

Suburbs boomed in the 1950s:
 The majority of Americans worked
in cities but wanted the security of
suburbs for their families
 Suburbs offered peace of mind,
affordable homes, & good schools
 The GI Bill of Rights offered
returning soldiers cheap loans for
new homes & tuition for college
• 1 story high
IN POPULATION
• 12’x19’SHIFTS
living room
DISTRIBUTION,
• 2 bedrooms
1940-1970
• tiled bathroom
1940
•Cities
garage
31.6%
Suburbs
19.5%
• small backyard
Rural Areas 48.9%
• front lawn
1950
32.3%
23.8%
43.9%
1960
32.6%
30.7%
36.7%

Suburbs changed American life:
 Suburbs increased America’s need
for cars & highways
 Churches, schools, grocery stores, &
shopping centers were built to
service the suburbs
 But, the migration to the suburbs
was mostly by white families;
“White flight” to the suburbs left
African Americans in urban areas

In the 1950s, Americans
bought cars in record
numbers:
 The growth of suburbs,
creative advertising, easy
credit, & cheap gasoline led
to a car boom
 Congress added 41,000 miles
of expressway when the
Interstate Highway Act was
passed in 1956
 Automobile companies
made big, powerful, flashy
cars
Americans were more mobile, took long-distance
vacations, & lived further from their jobs

Americans in the 1950s enjoyed
new forms of entrainment:
 Television boomed as Americans
watched comedies, news reports,
westerns, & variety shows
 TV ownership jumped from 9%
in 1950 to 90% by 1960 (45
million)
 Businesses took advantage of TV
to advertise goods to buyers

First televised Presidential debates



Public image
Influenced the role of television in the election
process
Significant also because of tensions with USSR

Music changed in the 1950s:
 “Doo-wop” music
dominated the early 1950s,
but, was challenged in
popularity by rock n’ roll
 Rock ‘n’ roll music was
inspired by black artists, but
Elvis Presley made it
popular among the youth
 Rock scared parents who
thought the fast beats were
immoral
Suburban teens
had leisure time
&
money to spend
Businesses
targeted
teenagers,
selling billions
of dollars of
“cool” consumer
goods



Air Conditioning
Cellular Telephone
Personal Computer
Hollywood movies targeted teens & made
films about “juvenile delinquency”

TV, movies, & advertising in the 1950s
promoted conformity & stereotypes
The “ideal woman” was a housewife & mother

TV, movies, & advertising in the
1950s promoted conformity &
stereotypes
The “ideal man” was provider & boss of the house

TV, movies, & advertising in the 1950s promoted conformity
& stereotypes
Behavioral Rules
of the 1950s:
 Obey
authority.
 Control Your
emotions.
 Fit in with the
crowd.
 Don’t even
think about
sex!!!
But, stereotypes were
not accurate
of most Americans
Changing Sexual
Behavior:
Sexologist Alfred
Kinsey revealed that:
Premarital sex was
common
Extramarital affairs
were frequent
among married
couples

The “beat movement” rejected
conformity:
 “Beatniks” were artists & writers
who lived non-conformist lives
 Rejected suburbs,
consumer goods,
& “regular jobs”
 Led by Jack Kerouac,
the beats inspired the
“hippies” of the 1960s
Littlethe
And
they
boxes
people
boys
all on
play
gothe
ininto
on
the
hillside,
the
business,
houses
golf-course,
Little
All
And
went
drink
marry,
boxes
totheir
the
and
made
university,
Martinis
raise
of ticky-tacky,
a family,
dry,
Little
Where
And
In
boxes
they
boxes
they
made
allwere
on
have
of
theput
ticky-tacky
pretty
hillside,
in boxes,
children,
Littlethey
And
the
boxes,
children
came
all
look
all out
the
go
just
all
same.
tothe
the
school.
same.
same.
And the
There's
there's
achildren
green
pink
doctors
one
one
goand
and
to summer
alawyers
agreen
pink one
camp
And athen
business
bluetoone
the
executives,
and
university,
a yellow one
Where
And
they're
they are
all made
put inout
boxes
of ticky-tacky
And they all
come
look
outjust
thethe
same.
same.

The 1950s had an important impact
on women:
 The media promoted women as
mothers & homemakers, but almost
40% of mothers had jobs
 20% of suburban women reported
being dissatisfied, isolated, bored
 Working women were limited to
nursing, teaching, clerical jobs

African American civil rights leaders
began to challenge segregation laws
 In 1947, Jackie Robinson integrated
professional baseball
 In 1954, in Brown v Board of
Education, the Supreme Court
integrated public schools
 In 1955, Martin Luther King, Jr.
emerged as the leader of the civil
rights movement