America During the Cold War Era The 1950’s

National Security Act of 1947 Merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the newly created Department of Defense Turned the US Army Air Force into a separate military branch (the US Air Force) Created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather intelligence on foreign governments Created the National Security Council, a centralized advisory body to the president on national security issues

Democrats Split in 1948 In the Democratic primary leading into the 1948 presidential elections, Southern Democrats became angered by Harry Truman’s support of civil rights and stated intentions of desegregating the military Rather than support Truman, they created their own party

Dixiecrats The States’ Rights Democratic Party Supported the right of Southern states to continue the practice of racial segregation without interference by the federal government Although dissolved by 1950, the Dixiecrats permanently weakened the Democratic Party in the South, opening the door for Southern Republicans

Strom Thurmond 1902 – 2003 Gov. of SC (1947–51) Dixiecrat nominee for President in 1948 Later served as Senator from SC from 1956 – 2003, despite his vocal support for segregation Switched from Democratic to Republican Party in 1964

Truman Wins a Second Term Nearly everyone expected Dewey to win easily, but were surprised when Truman pulled off a narrow victory, becoming President in his own right rather than by default (death of FDR)

Fear of Communist infiltration of the government grew Fear soon escalated into a general fear of Communist subversion: the effort to weaken a society secretly and overthrow its government

The Loyalty Review Program In early 1947, Truman established a loyalty review program to screen all federal employees to remove those who showed communist sympathies Between 1947 and 1951, more than 6 million federal employees were screened Might become suspect for reading certain books, belonging to certain groups, traveling overseas or seeing certain foreign films. 2000 employees quit, 212 fired for “questionable loyalty” although no real evidence was uncovered

HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee 1938 – 1975 Tasked with investigating “any suspected threats of subversion or propaganda that attack the form of government guaranteed by our Constitution.” In 1947, at the urging of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, HUAC began holding public hearings aimed at rooting out high-profile communists Became a permanent committee in 1945

Communism in Hollywood One group refused, and came to be known as the “Hollywood Ten.” They were convicted of contempt and imprisoned, after which they were unable to find work in Hollywood Hundreds of artists, including icons such as Charlie Chaplin, were “blacklisted” or deliberately denied employment as suspected communists HUAC first began to investigate suspected communists within the entertainment industry, issuing hundreds of subpoenas to testify

Alger Hiss 1904 – 1996 High-ranking State Department official who was accused of being a Soviet spy Could not be convicted of espionage, but was convicted of perjury (lying under oath) for his supposedly false testimony before HUAC in 1950 Spent nearly 4 years in prison, even though his case was extremely controversial and the evidence was suspect

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg American couple accused of helping the Soviets acquire information on the American atomic bomb program Convicted of treason in a highly controversial trial, both were sentenced to death and were executed simultaneously via electric chair Evidence later surfaced showing that while Julius was most likely guilty, many historians still doubt Ethel’s involvement

McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 Legislation which required all Communist Party members and organizations to register with the US Attorney General’s office Banned communists from getting passports and traveling abroad In cases of national emergency, it provided for the arrest and detention of communists Vetoed by Truman, but Congress overrode his veto Much of the Act has since been declared unconstitutional or repealed

Joseph McCarthy Senator from Wisconsin Claimed to have a list of members of the state dept. who were Communists Will continue to accuse high level officials of subversion, although never able to produce proof Becomes chairman of Senate subcommittee on investigations, and will force government officials to testify about alleged communist influences Became a witch-hunt. Tactic became known as McCarthyism

McCarthyism McCarthy’s claims led to widespread hysteria over the supposed level of communist infiltration into the US government Eventually, however, when McCarthy could not produce any valid evidence, he was censured by the Senate and died just 3 years later from complications from alcoholism

McCarthy Hearings Video McCarthyism 1954- begins looking for Communists in US military Holds weeks of televised hearings, where he harassed officers, accusing of misconduct McCarthy Hearings Video

The H-Bomb Nov. 1952: The US tested its newest weapon the Hydrogen Bomb, a weapon 1000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima Within a year, however, the Soviets also had H-bombs

Life During the Early Cold War Fear of Communism and nuclear war caused Americans to prepare to survive a nuclear attack Duck and Cover Drill Video

Post War American Boom and the New American Dream in the 1950s

Truman’s “Fair Deal” Truman began to pursue a series of social reform programs he called his “Fair Deal” Included expansion of Social Security, increasing minimum wage, and funding low-income housing, among other things

The GI Bill Passed in 1944 Designed to help GIs transition back to civilian life Helped veterans by paying for college tuition, providing one year’s unemployment pay, and providing easy to get loans for purchasing housing or starting businesses

Growth of Middle Class As hundreds of thousands of GIs became better educated and able to acquire better jobs, the middle-class in America grew significantly during the 1950s This expanded middle-class increased the demand for consumer goods and single-family housing

The 1950s: Consumerism 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 Expansion of business in the 1950s: Corporations, Franchises (848) Consumerism (854-855)

The “Affluent Society”

“Baby Boom” Returning GIs were also anxious to marry and start families, leading to a dramatic surge in the birth rate from 1946 to 1964 This generation of children, the largest in US history, came to be known as the “baby boomers”

U.S. Birthrate, 1940-1970 The late 1940s & 1950s experienced the “baby boom” In 1957, a baby was born every 7 seconds

Growth of Suburbs Growth of middle-class families led to a dramatic spike in demand for housing Since space was limited (and therefore expensive) in the cities, millions of Americans looked to the areas just outside of the cities to live and raise their families

William J. Levitt Real estate developer who popularized building large developments of cheap “assembly line” style housing within commuting distance of major cities – “suburbs” Affordable housing allowed many soldiers returning from WWII to marry and start families First project was in Levittown, NY between 1947 -1951, where Levitt built over 17,000 single-family homes

Levittown

The 1950s: Suburbs Suburbs changed American life: Suburbs increased America’s need for cars & highways Churches, schools, grocery stores, & shopping centers were build 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 Returning soldiers, housing shortage, baby boom Levittville Suburban shopping centers GI Bill of Rights (?)

Automobile Culture Automania Suburban living made owning a car a necessity Interstate Highway System Act- Eisenhower signed in 1956- authorized the building of a nationwide highway network What are negative effects of increase use of cars? Positive?

Ford 1955

“Automania” transformed America Americans were more mobile, took long-distance vacations, & lived further from their jobs

“Automania” transformed America Cars led to drive-thru restaurants & drive-in movies

Television Introduced just before WWII, by 1957, over 40 million televisions were in use in the US TV quickly became Americans’ primary means of receiving information, whether it was the news, the latest fads and fashions, or what new products were available for purchase

“I Love Lucy”

“The Honeymooners”

Live Sporting Events

Variety Shows

Movies Facing the stiff competition from television, Hollywood was forced to adapt Introduced 3-D movies in the 1952 Introduced Cinemascope (a special projection system which required a large, curved screen) to make the movie-going experience “grander” than watching TV

The 1950s: Popular Culture 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

This rock ‘n’ roll music is a SIN!

Elvis Presley 1935 – 1977 “The King of Rock and Roll” Had his first major hit record, “Heartbreak Hotel,” and film “Love Me Tender” in 1956 Recorded over 100 Top 40 hits in his 20 year career before dying of drug-related heart failure

Rock ‘n’ Roll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFtAOltn7iw

Doo-Wop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q96ylFiQK_I

Teenagers were an important force in the 1950s Businesses targeted teenagers, selling billions of dollars of “cool” consumer goods Music & movies were made specifically for teens Suburban teens had leisure time & money to spend

Teenagers were an important force in the 1950s Businesses targeted teenagers, selling billions of dollars of “cool” consumer goods

Hollywood movies targeted teens & made films about “juvenile delinquency”

The “ideal woman” was a housewife & mother The 1950s: Conformity TV, movies, & advertising in the 1950s promoted conformity & stereotypes Ideal man? Ideal woman? Family expectations? Social expectations? Keeping up with the Joneses? White America? The “ideal woman” was a housewife & mother

The “ideal man” was provider & boss of the house The 1950s: Conformity TV, movies, & advertising in the 1950s promoted conformity & stereotypes Ideal man? Ideal woman? Family expectations? Social expectations? Keeping up with the Joneses? White America? The “ideal man” was provider & boss of the house

Behavioral Rules of the 1950s: The 1950s: Conformity 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

The 1950s: Conformity 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 Ideal man? Ideal woman? Family expectations? Social expectations? Keeping up with the Joneses? White America?

And the boys go into business, And marry, and raise a family, In boxes made of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. There's a pink one and a green one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all play on the golf-course, And drink their Martinis dry, And they all have pretty children, And the children go to school. And the children go to summer camp And then to the university, Where they are put in boxes And they come out the same. And the people in the houses All went to the university, Where they were put in boxes, And they came out all the same. And there's doctors and lawyers And business executives, And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same. Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky-tacky, Little boxes, all the same. There's a green one and a pink one And a blue one and a yellow one And they're all made out of ticky-tacky And they all look just the same.