Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears (1945-1960)

Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears (1945-1960)

• Comic book "Is This Tomorrow?" reflects anti-communism sentiment.
• US and Soviet Union had different visions for the postwar world.
• Joseph Stalin aimed to spread communism.
• US government used propaganda to highlight Soviet Union dangers.
• Fears of communism influenced various aspects of American life.

The Challenges of Peacetime

• Post-WWII, Americans desired a better life but feared economic recession.
• African Americans wanted equal rights.
• Concerns about Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
• President Harry Truman aimed to provide a "fair deal".

Demobilization and Return to Civilian Life

• US rapidly demobilized its military after WWII.
• Pressure to bring soldiers home by Christmas 1946.
• Military size reduced from 12 million in June 1945 to 1.5 million in June 1947.
• James Forrestal and Robert P. Patterson warned Truman about rapid demobilization.
• Women in wartime jobs were dismissed to make way for returning troops.
• Most women wanted to keep their jobs, but many left.
• Women consistently made up about one-third of the U.S. labor force (late 1940s and 1950s).
• Returning troops faced challenges in readjusting to civilian life.
• Estimated 20% of army casualties were psychological.
• Veterans feared unemployment and difficulty resuming a normal life.
• Families worried about soldiers' potential psychological problems.

The GI Bill of Rights

• Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill) passed to assist veterans.
• Eligible veterans received a year's worth of unemployment compensation.
• GI Bill provided tuition for college or vocational school and a living stipend.
• College enrollment increased; by 1950, 7.3\% of American men had a college degree (up from 5.5\% in 1940).
• GI Bill helped create a skilled labor force, aiding the U.S. economy.
• Offered low-interest loans for homes or small businesses.
• African American veterans faced limited educational opportunities.
• Gay or lesbian veterans were ineligible for GI Bill.
• Benefits for Mexican American veterans were sometimes denied or delayed.

The Return of the Japanese

• Japanese Americans faced challenges rebuilding lives after internment.
• Prejudice persisted, with some neighbors denouncing them as disloyal.
• Wartime propaganda worsened anti-Japanese sentiment.
• Many moved elsewhere due to animosity.
• Those returning found possessions sold, homes vandalized, and businesses boycotted.

The Fair Deal

• Truman sought to expand Roosevelt’s New Deal with the "Fair Deal".
• Proposed federal minimum wage, expanded Social Security and public housing, and prohibited child labor.
• Retained wartime price controls but removed them from some items.
• Addressed the NAACP and took steps to extend civil rights.
• Established a Presidential Committee on Civil Rights in December 1946.
• Desegregated the armed forces by executive order in July 1948.
• Congress (dominated by Republicans and conservative Democrats) blocked more radical legislation.
• American Medical Association opposed national healthcare, fearing communism.
• Congress refused to make lynching a federal crime or outlaw the poll tax.
• Taft-Hartley Act limited the power of unions, passed despite Truman’s veto.

The Cold War

• Alliance between US and Soviet Union dissolved after WWII due to incompatible visions.
• Joseph Stalin wanted to retain Eastern Europe and spread communism.
• US aimed to expand influence by promoting democratic governments and free-market economies.
• Europe and Asia were devastated, leaving the US and Soviet Union as superpowers.
• The Cold War was a struggle for military, economic, social, technological, and ideological supremacy.

From Isolationism to Engagement

• US shifted from isolationism to active engagement in foreign policy.
• Truman troubled by Soviet Actions in Europe.
• Truman opposed Stalin's plans for reparations from Germany at Potsdam conference.
• US and Soviet Union remained convinced of their own systems' superiority.
• The Cold War did not involve direct military confrontation but used espionage, propaganda, and alliances.
• Arms race and competition for influence in poorer nations.

Containment Abroad

• George Kennan's "Long Telegram" (1946) advocated containing Soviet influence.
• Kennan advised that the best way to thwart Soviet plans was primarily through economic policy.
• The domino theory, under Eisenhower suggested that if one nation fell to communism, others would follow.
• Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech (March 1946) highlighted the division of Europe.
• National Security Act of 1947 reorganized the U.S. military.
• Created the National Security Council and CIA.
• Established the Department of the Air Force.

The Truman Doctrine

• Truman Doctrine offered support to Greece and Turkey against communism.
• Offered financial assistance, weaponry and troops to help train their militaries and bolster their governments against Communism.
• Expanded to include any state trying to withstand a Communist takeover.
• Became a hallmark of U.S. Cold War policy.

The Marshall Plan

• European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) provided 13 billion (USD) in economic aid to European nations between 1948-1951.
• Truman's motivation was economic, political, and humanitarian.
• European nations had to work together to receive aid.
• Sought to undercut the political popularity of French and Italian Communists.
• Money was spent on American goods, boosting US economy and cultural presence.
• Stalin forbade Communist states of Eastern Europe to accept US funds.
• States that accepted aid began to experience economic recovery.

Showdown in Europe

• The US, Great Britain, and France supported unifying their occupation zones in Germany.
• Soviet Union opposed unification and feared a unified West Berlin.
• Stalin ordered land and water routes to West Berlin cut off (June 1948).
• Berlin Blockade was a test of containment policy.
• The US, Great Britain and France delivered supplies to West Berlin by air.
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed in April 1949.
• Soviets ended the blockade of Berlin on May 12, 1949.
• Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) formed on May 23.
• German Democratic Republic (East Germany) formed in October 1949.

Containment at Home

• Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949.
• Chinese Communist Party victory on October 1, 1949.
• Suspicions of spies passing bomb-making secrets to Soviets.
• Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed the State Department was filled with Communists (February 1950).
• Imprisonment of Klaus Fuchs increased American fears.
• Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (executed in June 1953).
• Executive Order 9835 (March 21, 1947) allowed the FBI to investigate federal employees.
• House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) investigated disloyalty and subversive activities.
• HUAC focused on Hollywood due to fear of pro-Soviet propaganda.
• Blacklists prevented suspected Communists from securing employment.

To The Trenches Again

• U.S. concerned about communist infiltration outside of US.
• Soviet Union controlled northern part of the Korean peninsula after WWII.
• North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950.
• The UN Security Council denounced North Korea’s actions.
• Truman ordered U.S. military forces into South Korea.
• U.S.-led invasion at Inchon halted North Korean advance.
• UN forces under General Douglas MacArthur pursued North Korean forces.
• Chinese premier Zhou Enlai sent troops into battle support North Korea.
• MacArthur wanted to deploy nuclear weapons against China, but Truman disagreed.
• Truman relieved MacArthur of his command in April 1951 for insubordination.
• An armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.
• Five million people died in the Korean War, including 36,500 U.S. soldiers.
• Senator Joseph McCarthy accused government agencies of harboring Communists.
• Army-McCarthy Hearings were televised (April-June 1954). They lead to censure and end of McCarthy's political career.
• Effort to root out gay men and lesbians from government employment.

The American Dream

• Americans focused on building a peaceful and prosperous society post-WWII.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower was president during this era.
• Eisenhower steered a middle path between conservatism and liberalism.
• In foreign affairs, Eisenhower expanded nuclear arsenal and prevented expansion of defense budget for conventional forces.

We Like Ike

• 1952 election: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) vs. Adlai Stevenson (Democrat).
• Eisenhower promised to end the war in Korea and fight Communism.
• Eisenhower won with 54 percent of popular vote and 87 percent of electoral vote.
• Eisenhower delegated authority on domestic affairs to focus on foreign policy.
• Eisenhower maintained high levels of defense spending.
• In his farewell speech (1961), Eisenhower warned about the military-industrial complex.
• He disliked McCarthy's tactics but did not oppose him directly.
• New Look strategy embraced nuclear "massive retaliation". Some labeled this approach M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction).

Americana

• Government provided instructions for surviving nuclear attacks, including building bomb shelters.

Click and Explore

• Scientists worked on missile technology, radar, and computers.
• Alan Turing created a machine that mimicked human thought (1950).
• The Soviet Union launched Sputnik October 1957, creating fear the Soviets where winning the technology race.
• National Defense Education Act (1958) allocated $775 million (USD) to science programs.
• Congressional funding to the National Science Foundation increased.
• Science and engineering programs grew at American universities.
• Eisenhower pushed for a firmer stance against the Soviets.
• Eisenhower avoided foreign wars, providing money but not troops in Vietnam.

Suburbanization

• Americans were better financially able to obtain homes. Suburbanization accelerated after WWII.
• Housing shortage during WWII.
• Real estate developers built new housing on city fringes.
• GI Bill offered low-interest mortgages.
• Prefabricated construction techniques were used, enabling homes to be built quickly.
• William Levitt built Levittown in Nassau County, Long Island (1947).
• Levitt’s houses cost only $8,000 (USD) with no down payment.
• Levitt also built Levittowns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
• Most homes were owned by White families.
• Suburbs grew by 46 percent between 1950 and 1960.
• Cities saw tax bases shrink significantly.
• Increased reliance on automobiles for transportation.
• Annual passenger car production increased significantly.
• Cities and states built more roadways to ease traffic.
• States taxed gasoline, and federal government funded interstate highway construction.
• Highway construction often destroyed urban working-class neighborhoods.

The Organization Man

• Economy boomed due to government spending.
• Unemployment was low, with high wages for both working and middle classes.
• Most White Americans were members of the middle class.
• In 1950, the median income for White families was $20,656 (USD), whereas for Black families it was $11,203 (USD).
• Black families still lagged behind at $15,786 (USD) in 1960, where white families earned $$$28,485 (USD).
• Corporations valued conformity to company rules.
• William H. Whyte criticized conformity in The Organization Man.
• Suburban life required conforming to societal norms.
• Marriage rates rose, with younger ages at first marriage.
• Baby boom occurred between 1946 and 1964.
• Wives stayed home to raise children.
• Industries catered to the needs of baby boomers.
• Teenage interests influenced marketing and advertising.

Popular Culture and Mass Media

• Baby boomers sought to define their identities.
• Music reflected a desire to rebel against adult authority.
• Movies and television reinforced values such as faith, patriotism, and conformity.

Rocking Around The Clock

• Evolutions of uptempo blues, jazz, and country music evolved into Rythm and Blues.
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jackie Brantson are recognized for Rock and Roll Performances