The Cold War During the 1950s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 1958

to stop a revolt against pro-American government

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 • 1954-58 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

The Arms Race

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

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.”

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

1950’s Culture

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

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

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

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 1948-58• 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

Oldsmobile