Communist Hysteria of the
1950s
The Dot Game
•
•
Object of the Game:
– To begin the game, you will receive a slip of paper. Secretly
check to see whether the paper is blank or has a SMALL red
dot. Then hide it in your pocket and DO NOT show it to
anyone during the game.
– Nondots win the game by forming the largest group of
students who are all nondots.
– Dots win the game by being the only dot in a group.
Procedure:
– You can ask others whether they are dots or nondots, but
players may not reveal their slips of paper during the game.
– You do not have to join a group, but you cannot win the
game unless you are in a group of at least two people.
– You can be a part of a group only if that group agrees that
you are a member.
– If you suspect that someone is a dot, report your suspicion
to the teacher. He or she will deal with the accusation
appropriately.
The Dot Game Analysis
Make historical connections to the dot game from
Ch. 15 pages 477-482
Dot Game
Some students were dots
Most students were
nondots
Students accused others
of being dots even though
they never saw other
students’ slip of paper
Students were to report
suspected dots to the
teacher.
Anxiety increased as
students lost trust in one
another.
Historical Connection
Dot Game
Historical Connection
Some students were Some Americans during the Cold War were
dots
Communist Party members or Soviet spies.
Most students were
nondots
Most Americans were not Communist Party
members or Soviet spies.
Students accused
others of being dots
even though they
never saw other
students’ slip of
paper
HUAC, McCarthy, and others made accusations —
often based only on suspicion—against Americans
thought to be communists or communist
sympathizers. Accusing individuals without evidence
became known as McCarthyism. Americans
accused of being communists or communist
sympathizers were often placed on blacklists.
Students were to
report suspected
dots to the teacher.
Americans were encouraged to report suspected
communist activities. Those accused included Alger
Hiss and the Rosenbergs.
Anxiety increased
as students lost
trust in one another.
Anxieties were raised during the Cold War as
Americans were concerned about the spread of
communism and the possibility of a nuclear attack
by the Soviet Union.
Homework
•
Make a warning sign about the Atomic
Age pg. 477-482. The diamond-shaped
warning sign should have these things:
1. a short phrase that summarizes the
lesson learned today
2. an icon/symbol related to the
warning
3. a wordy description that more fully
explains the lesson learned and
includes at least two Key Content
Terms. Place below or behind the
warning sign.
As the United States fought the Cold 4. Use the following terms: Atomic
Age, Civil Defense, Federal Civil
War at home, HUAC, the House UnDefense Administration,
American Activities Committee,
Preparedness, Operation Alert
accused many people of . . .
Drills
Homework terms to know
• Atomic Age
• Civil Defense
• Federal Civil Defense
Administration
• Preparedness
• Operation Alert Drills
THE 1950s:
Peace, Prosperity, and Progress
Postwar Politics: Readjustments
and Challenges
• A Rocky Transition to Peace
– Truman’s “Fair Deal”
• Tried to help society by increasing
minimum wage, aid to farmers and
education
– Inflation
• War contracts are over, unemployment
rises
• Price controls are over, prices rise
Postwar Politics: Readjustments
and Challenges
• Truman battles the Republican
Congress
– 22nd Amendment: presidential term
limits
– Taft-Hartley Act: reduced the power of
labor unions
– Congress resists civil rights changes
• Truman fights back by desegregating the
military
• Election of 1948
– Truman narrowly wins (huge surprise)
Eisenhower’s “modern
Republicanism”
Economic Growth Creates an Age
of Affluence
• Americans saved a lot of money
during WWII, leads to:
–
–
–
–
–
Consumer demand ↑
Production ↑
Advertising ↑
Buying on Credit ↑
“Planned Obsolescence”
• Ex. Seasonal fashions
• The Economy Begins to Shift from
Goods to Services
– New Vocab: Service Sector
– Ex. Motels and Fast food franchises
“Planned Obsolescence”
Consumerism
1950  Introduction of the Diner’s Card
All babies were potential consumers who
spearheaded a brand-new market for food,
clothing, and shelter.
-- Life Magazine (May, 1958)
Consumerism
A Changing Workplace
New Corporate Culture:
Blue Collar to White Collar
Jobs
“The Company Man”
1956  Sloan Wilson’s The
Man in the Gray Flannel
Suit
Marriage, Families, and a Baby
Boom
• Increase in marriages (Decrease in
marriage age)
• “Baby Boom”
• Results:
– ↑ in consumer spending
– ↑ in home sales
– ↑ in schools
Average age of first
marriages
Baby Boom
It seems to me that every other young
housewife I see is pregnant.
-- British visitor to America, 1958
1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds
Well-Defined Gender Roles
The ideal modern woman married, cooked and
cared for her family, and kept herself busy by joining
the local PTA and leading a troop of Campfire Girls.
She entertained guests in her family’s suburban house
and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12
figure.
-- Life magazine, 1956
The ideal 1950s man was the provider, protector,
and the boss of the house. -- Life magazine, 1955
1956  William H. Whyte, Jr.  The
Organization Man
A a middle-class, white suburban
male is the ideal.
Suburbia
Levittown, L. I.:
“The American Dream”
1949  William Levitt produced
150 houses per week.
$7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.
Suburban Living:
The New “American Dream”
k 1 story high
k 12’x19’ living room
k 2 bedrooms
k tiled bathroom
k garage
k small backyard
k front lawn
By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in
the suburbs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mGTLrI8rxQ&f
eature=related
Suburban Living
SHIFTS IN POPULATION
DISTRIBUTION,
1940-1970
Central Cities
Suburbs
Rural Areas/
Small Towns
1940
31.6%
19.5%
48.9%
1950
32.3%
23.8%
43.9%
1960
32.6%
30.7%
36.7%
*Population also shifts to the “Sunbelt” states.
1970
32.0%
41.6%
26.4%
Suburban Living:
The Typical TV Suburban Families
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbkTmvz0q7E
The Donna
Reed Show
1958-1966
Father Knows Best
1954-1958
Leave It
to Beaver
1957-1963
The Ozzie & Harriet Show
1952-1966
The Culture of the Car
America became a more homogeneous
nation because of the automobile.
First McDonald’s
(1955)
Drive-In
Movies
Howard
Johnson’s
1950’s Gender Roles