Red Scare Of The 1950s

Williams 1 Sam Williams English III: A-2 Mrs. Cox 6 April 2018 A Time of Great Change The 1950s, but more specifically 1950 to 1955, were a time of incredible progress and change for America and the world as a whole. The period between 1950 and 1955 was one of the most influential times in history because of the unique political landscape, groundbreaking scientific achievements, and major world events. The first half of the 1950s was extremely important to world history because the political landscape shaped much of the policy and ideologies of today. The Red Scare of the 1950s still influences Americans’ opinions of the government, communism, and Russia. The Red Scare of the 1950s, or the second Red Scare, brought widespread distrust of the

Another incredible scientific advancement of the 1950s was the invention of the hydrogen bomb in 1952. The bomb’s unfathomable power was colossal as the bomb “weighed 65 tons and yielded 10.4 megatons of TNT, the unimaginable equivalent of 1,000 atomic bombs” (Falk 1). This was a massive and terrifying watershed in human history. For the first time, humans had the means with which to annihilate most of the life on Earth, including themselves. This development was not independent of international politics however, as the Soviet Union had created their own hydrogen bomb by 1953 which greatly accelerated the arms race between the US and the USSR. “America’s hydrogen bomb, so quickly matched by the Soviets, also marked an acceleration of the arms race. Throughout the 1950s, the superpowers continued to seek nuclear advantage through the deployment of powerful delivery systems” (Falk 2). The 1950s saw some of the most influential events that still affect millions of people today. One major event of the 1950s was the Korean War which lasted from 1950 to 1953. The war began in 1950 when the communist North Korea invaded the non communist South Korea. The United States and UN sent troops to aid the south in fending off the