McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and 1950s America

Reasons why the USSR was able to detonate the atomic bomb so soon

Soviet espionage allowed them to steal U.S. atomic secrets.

Factors that led to the Red Scare in the United States

Fear of communism, Cold War tensions, nuclear weapons, and political fear-mongering.

Hollywood Ten

Film industry members who refused to testify before HUAC; they were jailed and blacklisted.

Joseph McCarthy

U.S. senator who led anti-communist witch hunts by making unproven accusations.

Levittown

Mass-produced suburban housing that symbolized post-WWII consumer culture.

Federal Highway-Aid Act of 1956

Law that created the interstate highway system and encouraged suburban growth.

Characteristics of American culture during the 1950s

Emphasis on religion, conformity, family life, and consumerism.

Kinsey Report on female sexuality

Study that challenged traditional views by revealing women’s sexual behavior.

Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education

Ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

Bus Boycott, 1955

Montgomery bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest and led by the Black community.

Main organizer of the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott

Martin Luther King Jr.

Issue that consistently caused tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union

Nuclear weapons and the arms race.