1. The Cold War During the 1950s

2. The McCarthy Era – Red Scare 2.0
Joseph McCarthy – Wisconsin Senator
Declared he had a list of 205 American-Communist Party member who worked in the State Department
Actually a list of people who still worked for the State Department although they were disloyal to Truman
When questioned about the number from 205 to 57
Started the Red Scare again as anti-Communist hysteria spread throughout the country

3. The McCarthy Era
McCarthy’s popularity grew and grew as the Red Scare became more prominent
Being accused of being a communist would have you fired
Accused Secretary of State George Marshall
Because he was unable to stop China from becoming Communist
Anyone who did not agree with McCarthy was accused of being Communist
McCarthy’s assistant was drafted so he claimed the Army was full of Communist
Charged with seeking special aid for his assistant

4. Army-McCarthy Hearings
Began in late April 1954 and televised
Democrats want the world to see the “rat” McCarthy really was
Showed him as a bully throwing out false allegations
Ended in mid June 1954
McCarthy lost all his supporters
Condemned for reckless actions
Remained part of Congress but lost all power
McCarthy accused Congress of being Communist
Brought an end to the Second Red Scared

5. The Cold War During the 1950s
Republicans took control of the Executive Branch
Dwight D. Eisenhower won the Presidential Election of 1952
became President in 1953
Former military leader
US was unhappy with the way Democrats had handled the spread of communism and the Korean War
New Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
Anti-Communist
Considered winning the Cold War a moral crusade
Felt Truman’s containment policy was to soft and cautious
New policy would be to push communism out of countries it had already taken
Stalin dies in March 1953 – helps bring an end to the Korean War

6. Uprisings Against Communism
Uprising and revolts in East Germany, Poland, and Hungary
Eisenhower knew the US could not get involved to fight against the Soviets
US keeps distance as Soviet troops crushed the revolts
Showed containment was still the policy when dealing with communism
Also showed the people of the satellite countries did not agree with the communist lifestyle and wanted change
Southeast Asia
Korean War ended with a quick resolution after Stalin’s death
Vietnam War begins
France was trying to keep Vietnam as a colony
US would provide until 1965 when troops would be sent to fight
Vietnam would be divided like Korea – Communist North, anti-Communist South

7. Uprisings Against Communism
Creation of Israel
1930s-40s Many Jews fled Europe for Palestine – biblical home for the Jews but now a colony of Great Britain
1947 Calls for Jewish state began
1948 UN created Israel out of Palestine leaving little land for the Arabs
US supported Israel, USSR supported Arab interests
US had to walk a thin line – did not want Arab oil fields to to fall under Soviet Control
Iran – 1952
America backed the pro-American Shah of Iran when he comes to power
Afraid if they didn’t he would be persuaded to become Communist

8. Uprisings Against Communism
Suez Crisis – 1956
Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted Soviet support
GB and US cut off aid to Egypt
Nasser orders troops to take control of British owned Suez Canal
Waterway that passed through Egypt to and allowed oil from the Middle East to reach Europe through the Mediterranean Sea
French and GB forces attack Egyptian forces to regain control of the canal
Eisenhower persuaded NATO member troops to withdraw from Egypt to prevent war with the Soviet Union
South America – US controlled 10 economies
1947 – Nicaragua and Honduras
1947 – Rio Pact – regional defense alliance with 18 countries from the Western Hemisphere
1954 – CIA helps overthrow the gov’t of Guatemala

9. Eisenhower Doctrine January 1957
The US would use force “to safeguard the independence of any country or group of countriesin the Middle East requesting aid against [Communist-inspired] aggression.”
Used for the first time in Lebanon in to stop a revolt against pro-American government

10. The Arms Race
The struggle between the US and the Soviet to gain weapon superiority
September 1952 – US successfully drop the first hydrogen bomb
August 1953 – USSR successfully drops their first hydrogen bomb
President Truman started deterrence while he was President
The policy of making the military power of the US and its allies so strong that no enemy would dare attack for fear of retaliation
Eisenhower continued this tradition
US test 19 hydrogen bombs tested
750 times more powerful than the 1st atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki during WWII
Japanese fishermen 90 miles away received radiation burns
Showed the world the power of nuclear war

11. The Arms Race

12. Cold War in the Skies
Soviets develop the first ICBM – Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
America falls behind because the reliability of planes
1957 – Sputnik is launched into orbit
Used a ICBM to get into Earth’s orbit
Demonstrated how well the Soviet ICBM had been developed
Started the Space Race
May 1960 – U-2 Incident
Soviets shoot down an American U-2 Spy plane over the USSR
Used a guided missile
Proved America had fallen behind and would have to use all resources to catch up and surpass the Soviets

13. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address
“Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications [In] government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted [unnecessary] influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

14. How did Sputnik and the U-2 incident affect American public opinion and policy?

15. 1950’s Culture

16. 1950’s Rise of Business
General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler dominate the car industry
Ray Kroc buy McDonalds and begins selling franchise rights
A business that contracts to offer certain goods and services from a larger parent company
Franchise business explodes

17. Television Developed during the 1920s-30s but stalled during WWII
1955 people watched TV on average 4-5 hours a day
Children watched Howdy-Dowdy and The Mickey Mouse Club
Teenagers danced to American Bandstand – music TV before MTV
I Love Lucy and Father Knows Best were also popular TV shows
TV networks began selling advertisements - commercials

18. The Computer Industry First appeared as an industry in the 1950s
Developed with the rise of wartime research
Began as large oversized calculators
Grace Harper – pioneered the software to run computers
First to “debug” a computer
1947 – Bell Telephone Laboratories develop a transistor to amplify, control, and generate, electrical signals in computers

20. 1950s Cars
General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler dominate the car industry
Owning a car was a status symbol
New car designs every year
8 million new cars were produced between
Passenger car sales doubled
1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act aka Interstate Highway Act
$25 billion to develop the modern interstate highway system
40K miles long
Brought new business
Gas stations, repair shops, parts stores, and drive in movies
Families began traveling the county to “See the USA”
Vacation at national parks, resorts, and amusement parks

25. Oldsmobile