 1. Describe 3 causes of the Great Depression, and explain the different responses to the Depression by President Herbert Hoover and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. DO NOW REVIEW

 Peace after WWII led to prosperity, and as a result of both, the population boomed  The Baby Boom  1945-early 1960s  76 million babies born  What was the impact of the Baby Boomers?  Growth of suburbs (larger families)  Has become a major strain on government resources (Social Security, Medicare, etc) THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1950S

 Economically, the 1950s were similar to the 1920s  Much economic growth  Consumer-based economy  New products (tv, many brands of cars, etc) THE ECONOMY OF THE 1950S

 1956—Interstate Highway law passed  Creates national system of roads  How does this affect the US?  Trade  Movement of people  Military purpose— roads can help defend US during Cold War INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM

THE HIGHWAYS CONNECT ALL THE MAJOR CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

Do Now Review  1. Explain how the Baby Boomer generation has had an influence on America today.  2. How was the 1950s economy similar to the 1920s economy?  3. Describe how the creation of interstate highways changed the United States.

 In 1950, Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin made a speech claiming that there were Communists in the U.S. government  This sparked a 2 nd Red Scare, known as McCarthyism  Influenced by fall of China in 1949, Soviet testing of an atomic bomb in 1949, and the Korean War in 1950 MCCARTHYISM

 1950—Julius & Ethel Rosenberg are convicted and eventually executed of spying for the Soviet Union  Alger Hiss, a government official, was convicted of perjury. He was suspected of being a member of the Communist Party MCCARTHYISM

 McCarthy sought to expose Communists in the House Un- American Activities Committee (HUAC)  Many people were blacklisted (could not work in their industry anymore) in government and Hollywood MCCARTHYISM

 The accusations became more serious, and McCarthy gained more influence in the early 1950s  Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible compared the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 to McCarthyism in the 1950s MCCARTHYISM

 The decline of McCarthyism came in  A television program that showed McCarthy as a bully towards his enemies turned the public against him  McCarthy was censured by the Senate after the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954 “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. ” -Edward R. Murrow MCCARTHYISM

 Proved that fear can have a huge influence over policies  Led to more political division  Made Americans more distrustful of the Soviet Union  It was later proved that many American communists were in fact spies for the Soviet Union, so McCarthy was not totally incorrect in his suspicions THE IMPACT OF MCCARTHYISM