1. Fallout Shelters and A Man on the Moon

2. Nuclear Holocaust?
After the Soviets acquired the atomic bomb, Americans became highly paranoid about the potential for a nuclear attack against the US

3. Fallout Shelters
Many families constructed special underground bunkers which they stocked with food, water, and other essentials in case of an attack
Cities also designated subway tunnels and other reinforced underground structures as public shelters

4. “Duck and Cover”
Students were taught to “duck and cover” in the event of a surprise attack through training films and special drills
While such efforts reassured the public, in reality they offered little, if any, real protection in the event of an actual nuclear attack

5. 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 National Security Council, a centralized advisory body to the president on national security issues
Created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather intelligence on foreign governments

6. Selective Service Act of 1951
After WWII, the government decided to not end the military draft, due to the potential threat presented by the Soviets
In 1951, the draft’s parameters were adjusted to include only men between the ages of 18 – 26 and change the time of enlistment to 21 months

7. Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
Authorized the spending of $25 billion in federal funds to build 41,000 miles of highways over a period of 20 years
Interstate highways were built in order to allow the speedy movement of troops and supplies around the country in case of invasion or other national emergency

9. The Military-Industrial Complex
In Eisenhower’s Farewell Address, he warned against unchecked military spending, stating “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex”
Essentially, Eisenhower was warning that defense contractors were becoming too friendly with the military high command, creating a conflict of interest where their profits were more important than what was in the best interests of the nation

10. Loyalty Review Program
1947 – 1951
Created by President Truman to screen all federal employees and remove those who showed signs of communist sympathies
6 million employees were screened, with about 14,000 investigated more thoroughly by the FBI
Only 212 were actually identified as having “questionable loyalty” and fired

11. HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee 1938 – 1975
Became a permanent committee in 1945
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

12. Communism in Hollywood
HUAC first began to investigate suspected communists within the entertainment industry, issuing hundreds of subpoenas to testify
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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Joe McCarthy 1908 – 1957 Senator from Wisconsin
Claimed in 1950 to have a secret list of members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring within the US State Department
Went on to make other claims about communists in the Army, even going so far as to accuse former Sec. of State George Marshall of communist sympathies

16. 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

17. 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

18. The Space Race
Both the US and USSR had captured German rocket scientists at the end of WWII and were pursuing missile technologies
Starting in 1957, these technologies were used to compete against each other for control of outer space – a multi-billion dollar “space race” to see who could accomplish certain objectives or discoveries first

19. ICBMs Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
The development of missile technologies allowed both sides to mount atomic warheads onto long-range rockets which could be launched against distant targets

20. Sputnik
The first man-made object to attain orbit around the earth (satellite)
Sputnik I launched by the Soviets in Oct. 1957, followed by Sputnik II (which carried the first living creature into space, a dog named Laika) in November
These launches triggered a panic in the US, as Americans worried that the Soviets were gaining a technological advantage over the US

21. National Defense Education Act of 1958
Law which provided for dramatically increased spending on education, especially in science, math, and foreign languages
Passed in response to the belief that the US was falling behind the Soviets in scientific and technological fields
Increased the number of high-school graduates who went on to college from less than 15% in 1950 to over 40% by 1970

22. NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Created in 1958
Civilian agency which was created to take over space exploration programs from the various military branches to increase coordination and efficiency

23. Yuri Gagarin
1934 – 1968
Soviet “cosmonaut” who became the first man in space in April of 1961
Declared a “Hero of the Soviet Union,” he was never allowed to return to space due to his value as an instrument of propaganda; instead, he was sent on a world tour to promote Soviet superiority
Ironically, he later died in a plane crash

24. Project Mercury
1959 – 1963
NASA’s first program designed to put an American in space
Capsule could carry only a single astronaut
Cost $384 million, but succeeded at getting the US’ manned space program off the ground

25. John Glenn
1921 – Present
US Marine pilot who became the first American to orbit the earth in 1962
Went on to serve as US Senator from Ohio from 1974 – 1999
In 1998, became the oldest person to fly in space when he took part in a shuttle mission at age 77

26. Kennedy Targets the Moon
“[We] commit … before this decade is out, to landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth … But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? …We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win”

27. Project Gemini 1965 – 1966 Could carry 2 astronauts
10 manned flights cost $5.4 billion
Purpose was to develop the technologies that would be needed to make longer space flights possible (such as a trip to the moon and back)

28. Apollo Program
Series of 6 manned missions to the moon between 1969 and 1972
Each Apollo craft carried 3 astronauts
Suffered two major accidents: during the Apollo I training exercise in 1967, 3 astronauts died in an oxygen fire, and an explosion onboard Apollo 13 forced the crew to abort the mission
Cost $25.4 billion

29. “The Eagle has landed” July 20, 1969
Apollo 11 became the first manned-mission to land on the moon after a 4 day journey
Represented a major victory for the US, since we had finally surpassed Soviet achievement in space (to this day, no other nation has landed astronauts on the moon)

30. Neil Armstrong 1930 – Present
The first of only 12 men to walk on the moon
Former Navy pilot and Korean War veteran, Armstrong retired from NASA almost immediately after returning from the moon and became a college professor

32. “That’s one small step for a man …”
“… one giant leap for mankind.”
After the success of the Apollo program, Americans tired of the “space race” – we had clearly beaten the Soviets and Americans were now distracted by more “down to earth” matters such as the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, and Watergate