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The Cold War and the 1950s

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... the U.S. Senator McCarthy was largely responsible for encouraging this fear. ... His first development was called Levittown. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Cold War and the 1950s


1
The Cold War and the 1950s
  • I. Events leading up to the Cold War
  • A. Potsdam Conference The U.S, under Truman,met
    to discuss what would happen to former Nazi
    territories. Stalin refused to allow free
    elections in these countries. These nations
    became known as satellites- countries dependent
    and dominated by the Soviet Union/Russia

2
  • B. The Truman Doctrine- Truman declared that the
    U.S. would support free people anywhere in the
    world who stood up to communism. Importance
    Based upon this principle, the U.S. eventually
    gets involved in Vietnam.
  • C. The Marshall Plan- Most countries were poor
    and in need of economic assistance after WWII.
    The U.S. pledged over 12.5 billion to help other
    countries succeed. The plan was a tremendous
    success and helped keep communism contained.

3
  • D. The Berlin Airlift- After WWII, the capital of
    Germany (Berlin) was divided between the Western
    countries and the Soviet Union. Because Berlin
    was deep into Eastern German territory and
    controlled by the Soviet Union, Stalin ordered
    supplies to be cut off in an attempt to control
    the city. In response, the U.S. flew supplies
    into the city to help the city survive.
    Eventually, Stalin calls off the blockade
  • Berlin Airlift Video- USAF Museum

4
  • E. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
    This military alliance was designed to oppose
    communism. If a communist nation attacked a NATO
    nation, then all NATO nations would come to the
    nations rescue. NATO is still in existence
    today, even though communism is no longer a
    threat in Europe.
  • http//www.nato.int/multi/map.htm

5
  • II. The Cold War Heats Up
  • A. Communists Take Control of China
  • Under Mao Zedong (Tse-Tung), the communists
    defeated Chiang Kai-Sheks army. The U.S.
    supported Chiang Kai-Sheks government with over
    2 billion in military aid. Chiang Kai-Shek was
    forced to flee to Taiwan. Importance There is
    still tension between China and the U.S. based
    upon U.S. foreign policy towards China after WWII.

6
  • B. The Korean War (1950-1953)
  • Background After WWII, Korea was divided up
    into two parts (North and South). The North was
    controlled by the communists and the South was
    allowed to become democratic.
  • 1. The war begins with the North crossing the
    38th parallel (an imaginary line that crosses
    Korea at 38 degrees north of the equator) and
    invading the South.

7
  • 2. The North Koreans almost push the South
    Koreans off the peninsula.
  • 3. Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the United Nations
    is able to push back the North Koreans to the
    Chinese border.
  • 4. The Chinese send 300,000 troops into Korea and
    push the U.N. troops back.
  • 5. MacArthur wants President Truman to use
    nuclear weapons and takes his case to the press.

8
  • 6. Truman fires MacArthur for insubordination.
  • 7. A truce is signed in July of 1951 and not
    finalized until 1953.
  • Results
  • -54,000 Americans die.
  • -The border is virtually
  • the same border before
  • and after the war

9
  • C. Spies are caught in the U.S.
  • Ethel and Julius Rosenburg were convicted of
    spying for the Soviet Union. Many believe they
    had compromised security over the atomic bomb.
  • Many began to fear that communist spies were
    everywhere in the U.S.

10
  • D. McCarthyism
  • 1. In the early 1950s, a fear of communism
    spread throughout the U.S. Senator McCarthy was
    largely responsible for encouraging this fear.
    McCarthy accused too many people and other
    senators turned on him. Question What other
    historical event does this sound like.

11
  • E. The H-Bomb (Hydrogen Bomb)
  • In 1952, the U.S. exploded the first H-bomb which
    was followed by the Russians a year later. The
    H-bomb was 100 to 1000 times more powerful.
  • http//www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/experience/th
    e.bomb/history.science/fusion.html

12
  • F. The U.S. Develops the Policy of Brinkmanship
  • After Russia developed the H-bomb, the U.S.
    decided to respond by developing more nuclear
    warheads or massive retaliation and taking the
    U.S. to the brink of disaster.
  • http//www.atomicarchive.com/Movies/Movie8.shtml

13
  • G. The Cold War in the Skies
  • 1. Sputnik (1957)-The Soviet Union shocked the
    world by launching the first satellite into
    space. The launch was important for two reasons
  • a. The U.S. changed its educational focus to
    science, math and how they could be applied to
    technology.
  • b. The U.S. began to compete with Soviets and
    were eventually able to send a man to the moon.

14
  • 2. U-2 Spy Plane is Shot Down over Russia
  • a. In 1960, a U.S. spy plane was shot down
    over Russia. The pilot, Gary Powers, survives.
    The U.S. tells the world that it was a
    weather plane, but Powers confesses to the
    incident. Importance 1) The U.S. is
    embarrassed in front of its own people 2) The
    U.S. was supposed to attend a peace conference,
    but the Soviets cancelled as a protest.

15
  • III. American culture during the 1950s
  • A. The Postwar Boom
  • 1. The G.I. Bill-This act of congress allowed
    former soldier to go to college.
  • 2. People began to live out in suburbs where they
    could buy a house. William Levitt turned out
    houses like an assembly line. His first
    development was called Levittown.

16
  • 3. The Baby Boom Between 1946-1964, over 4
    million babies were born. This was a resulted
    because of the following factors
  • a. Reunion of families after the war.
  • b. Decreasing marriage age.
  • c. Desirability for large families.
  • d. Confidence in continued economic prosperity.
  • e. Advances in medicine (i.e. Dr. Salks
    discovery of the Polio virus vaccine).

Dr. Salk
17
  • 4. The role of women- Most women lived a very
    traditional lifestyle, in which they stayed at
    home and took care of the kids while their
    husbands worked. In the 1960s, the National
    Organization for Women (NOW) began to stand up
    for various rights.
  • http//www.search.eb.com/women/video/ofriedn001v4.
    mov

Betty Friedan has been one of the most outspoken
advocates of womens liberation issues.
18
  • 5. The Automobile Changes America
  • a. In 1956, Eisenhower signs the Interstate
    Highway Act which connected the country with more
    roads and highways. From 1950 to 1960 nearly 20
    million new cars were bought.

19
  • 6. Consumerism (the buying of material goods)
  • Americans began to buy new goods for the
    following reasons 1) People had saved money
    during WWII and now could spend it 2) New
    products were being produced daily

20
Cites/Resources
  • http//www.trumanlibrary.org/photos/big3b.jpg
  • http//www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/coldwar/bal
    /bal7.htm
  • http//www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/archive/p
    hotos/35percentdmg7_24.htm
  • http//lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/marshall/bearwtext.j
    pg
  • http//www.stratnet.ucalgary.ca/outreach/Module1/R
    eadings/1949-1989/NATO_History/1950s.html
  • http//www.planio.it/linearossa/lrengmao.htm
  • http//www.kmike.com/armistic.htm
  • http//www.apl.org/history/mccarthy/cohn.html
  • http//www.geocities.com/siafdu/powers.html
  • http//www.newsday.com/extras/lihistory/
  • http//www.unicover.com/EA6AAC5Q.HTM
  • http//www.eclipse.co.uk/mikey/mono.html
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