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How Did The Cold War Affect American Society

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The cold war impacted the U.S. Domestic Policy and American society in many ways. The cold war actually wasn’t really even a physical war it was more tension between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War II which added the threat of a potential arms war against the countries. It spread fear among the American people. US citizens feared Russian spies living in the US, nuclear attacks, and potential chemical warfare. Due to these fears and threats policy was changed and society was affected in the daily life of Americans. Some changes in the U.S. Domestic policy included an Executive Order that was issued in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman, which stated that “Membership in, connection with or sympathetic association with any foreign or domestic organization, association, movement, group or combination of persons, designated by the Attorney General as …show more content…

There was a constant fear that a bomb would be dropped on the US at any time. The US even went as far as trying to prepare children for a potential nuclear bomb attack on the US. One example of this is the Federal Civil Defense Administration 1951 created a “Duck and Cover” cartoon that was published and broadcasted in schools. It was a cartoon made to teach children what to do if the US came under attack, “duck and cover.” This cartoon and bomb awareness came about after, “The USSR successfully tested the atomic bomb in 1949 and Truman responded in 1950 by ordering the US to develop the more powerful hydrogen bomb”. The American public became fearful of nuclear attack and also started creating fallout shelters and marketed them to the general public including education and guidance on how to effectively stalk up food supplies that will last a long period of time if a nuclear war did start and people needed to be secluded and hunker down in a fallout shelter for an extended period of time. The Americans were preparing for a nuclear attack on the

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After World War two had ended both the United States and the Soviet Union, also known as the USSR, had become reigning countries in the world. While both held great power it also caused chaos leading to extreme rivalry and the Cold War. Since this rivalry between these two nations was foreign is caused a great deal of effect on the United States foreign policy however it also deeply damaged the United States domestic policy through the fear of potential attacks of atomic bombs, the changes in the U.S defense budget, and the constant fear of the spread of communism within the nation. For example in Document number 5, an image shows a man building a bomb shelter near his home during 1951.

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live during a time when nuclear war was always a threat? That was the time during the Cold War. Around every corner lurked the threat of nuclear war, and it was scary. Many people feared what would happen to their country if nuclear tension got too high. Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy used the idea of containment, each in their own ways.

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At first, the government could not compensate people affected by the fallout of the bomb. The government probably did not know the full range of dangers that came with atomic power. Policy making is difficult in the sense that sometimes assuming have to be made. The government assumes the nuclear weapon testing was somewhat safe. However, as times passed, more studies showed new information about atomic weapons.

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These new technologies impacted America on the idea of bombs and evolve to make new ones. Although during the 1950s, they had the atomic age in which they would put atomic in everything and showed an ignorance of nuclear testing. As of now, America has educated itself to know the real dangers of nuclear testing is and by hiding under a desk would not help with the risk of lives. Currently, there is now a threat of a nuclear bomb in which is threatened several times by some countries to America. Leaving what happened with Pearl Harbor and the effects of bombs from the atomic bombs to be prepared as a nation for anything that might happen.

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The recommendation to use the bomb without specific warning indicates that the United States was seeking to use the atomic bomb as a strategic and political tool to quickly end the war and demonstrate its technological

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In document E, Harry S Truman discusses that the United States knew that other countries were on race to try to invent the atomic bomb so they were looking for way to show that they had a powerful weapon in their power. The United States wanted to use Japan as an example to show other countries that they had the atomic before them and it worked. In addition in The United States want to use the atomic to display that they are a powerful country. They wanted to impress the Soviet Union in order to keep them from attacking

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The Cold War had a huge impact on America’s foreign policy, this in turn changed how America was able to shape their relationship with other nations, as well as influencing military and economic strategies. The effects that The Cold War had on American foreign policy can be seen in The Truman Doctrine. In The Truman Doctrine, President Truman states, "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”. Truman is expressing his belief that it is the responsibility of the United States to provide assistance and support to any country or group that is facing threats to its freedom and independence, whether from internal or external forces. The Cold War also had an effect on domestic politics in American society.

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Along with the 100,000 people who were killed, “60 percent of the built-up areas of Hiroshima vanished” (William).The beliefs of the American people should not be to use weapons of this caliber. Originally the United States believed that “ Hitler was well ahead of us”( Morrison) but “by December ‘44, we learned the unmistakably… that the Germans were not a threat” (Morrison). Because the United States was the first country use an atomic weapon, it created an arms race between every country in the world. Countries were nervous that the United States had more bombs and wanted to prepare for a nuclear war if the time

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The Cold War was a time in history when there was a great political and military turmoil between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War shaped the world in these three ways, women’s rights, society,Cultural. These three changed people in positive and negative ways. Once again, women were called upon to fulfill a role in the defense of America on one hand to perpetuate the American population and on the other to promote American ideals abroad. Women had a chance to be equal to men.

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282 Words | 2 Pages

In the American society during the Cold War American society was booming. People were healthy and were happy, but at the same time, they were scared due to the worlds new weapon. The atomic bomb. As other nations invented it they followed in American footsteps and advanced in science. Which made American afraid due to the Cold War, so the U.S. government started building houses with bomb shelters to people survive a nuclear blast.

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The ability the bomb had to destroy a city was so large, it was something that the world did not understand until it was dropped. Scientists feared that the US was going to be attacked by an atomic bomb and the only defense would be to retaliate with a

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During the Cold War people were worried about other country's using nuclear weapons such as the nuclear bomb on us, The United States. So they decided to come up with a plan to save their lives if we were ever to get attacked. It started off with drills, when the siren went off school kids would hide under their desks, and others would stand in a safe and secure area. But what about the people closer to the bomb, and the fallout? That is when fallout shelters would come into place.

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The United States government saw it as a means to deter any potential challengers, particularly the Soviet Union. The bombing was intended to communicate a message that the United States would use any means necessary to protect its national interests and maintain its position as a dominant global power. In the context of rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the bombing was also a signal that any aggressive actions would have severe consequences. The bombing also had significant political and psychological effects. The bomb was seen as a symbol of ultimate power and destruction, and its use sent shockwaves across the world.

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The effects of the nuclear fallout were concerns of some popular culture pieces by the Americans. Some of the images suggested that hiding in a bomb shelter or under a desk would give one the opportunity to survive a nuclear attack. Other were scared and remain

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The Cold War lasted forty-four years and left a lasting social impact on the United States. The spread of communism and The Soviet Union left many Americans in a constant state of fear and paranoia. The space race between the United States and The Soviet Union significantly impacted the education system in the United States and the curriculum that was taught for years to come. The social emphasis on gender caused a crisis on American masculinity and feminism by influencing many to assume certain gender roles and feel that they were not masculine enough or too feminine because of their view on communism. The Cold War socially impacted the United States through fear, education, and gender.

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