Between the Red Scare and, its period of economic prosperity, the 1950s has long been considered as a time of great controversy in the United States. Though industry may have been thriving and unemployment was down, the people of the United States lived in constant fear of the Soviet Union and Communism as a whole. It was because of this fear and the encouragement of certain government officials that triggered the Red Scare, which was later considered by many as a “Communist witch hunt.” It was also this fear that eventually led to increased American involvement in the Cold War.
After World War Two the U.S. and Soviet Union had a long-lasting rivalry since the Soviets were communists and the U.S. was not. This period is known as the Cold War because it was a major conflict where the U.S. and Soviet Union fought indirectly. The Cold War impacted the U.S. domestic policy and American society because it created American fear of communism. This fear later led to losing rights and the government switching where their money was being spent in certain areas such as general education.
Effects of Cold War on United States domestic policy and society As World War II got closer to an end, the U.S. and the Soviet Union gained great power, and the competition with these two countries increased in many fields like the development of nuclear technology. However, at the same time, relationships between these two countries deteriorated especially due to the conflict of the ideology which is defined as the Cold War started in 1947 and ended 1991. Both domestic policy and society in the U.S. were greatly affected by the Cold War. However, the effect on American society was mostly negative as the conflicts of citizens due to fear of Communism and effect on normal life show.
In the 1950’s, America just came out of World War 2. The economy was prosperous, many soldiers were creating families, and communism was a widespread fear for Americans. The Red Scare was the fear of the threat of communism arising in America. The Federal government took many measures to make sure communism didn’t spread in America. In 1949 there was word of Russia making nuclear tests.
McCarthyism turned Americans against each other after WWII by claiming that Communists had infiltrated many areas of American life and government. In fact, “According to a local newspaper McCarthy dropped a bombshell: ‘The State Department is infested with Communists,” (para 3). In other words, this is the beginning of McCarthy turning Americans against each other. Paranoia started to spread through America which all this strongly affected Americans everyday life. McCarthyism was a result of American fear of communism in the 1950s.
The Space Race was a pivotal element in the Cold War, serving as a "high-stakes" arena for the United States and the Soviet Union to demonstrate their technological and even ideological superiority. With Engelhardt's cartoon, he gave my perspective on the Cold War change. He always aimed to illuminate the Cold War's political, military, and ideological dimensions. I had never understood the meaning of balance of terror until I realized it was about nuclear warfare. Instead of going into a blood-curdling war, the space race took its place, keeping millions of lives at peace.
During the outbreak of the Cold War, the US was affected in its domestic and foreign policy through a culture of fear and the subsequent need to contain communism through military, economic, and social policy measures. During the beginning of the Cold War the US was affected greatly in its domestic policy. The red scare is a term that describes the hysteria about the perceived threat of communism in the US during the outbreak of the Cold War. In the US there was a huge panic about communism destroying the American way of life.
Also, the Cold War had impacts on the Civil Rights Movement, the “Evil Empire” speech, and Watergate. The Cold War proved that both the Soviets and the Americans had nuclear weapons ready to use to destroy each other if needed. The atomic bomb created a lot of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and became the focus of the Cold War. Due to this, Americans felt threatened that everyone would be killed and feared the world would end.
The United States viewed the space race as a way to stop the spread of communism and prevent the spread of the Soviet Union's influence on Western European nations including France, Italy, and Greece (“The Space Race”). They also used their acomplishments to create new alliances or strengthen old ones as well as spread capitalism. While In the Soviet Union the race and war were seen as a way to strengthen and expand the communist system. They used their success to showcase the superiority of communism (Schlesinger,
The cold war was very scary and had america at the brink of nuclear warfare and communism was the main focus point during these times. Communism in the 1960s was very scary and killed many people due to the growth of it. America had many issues with communism like, russia's red scare, cuban missile crisis, and the influence of communism in television. those topics had a lot to do with it since it brought fear to america and their people. The cold war was known for the spread of communism and also about how nuclear warfare could be a major problem.
The 1960s and 1970s were a time of significant change and upheaval in American society, as young people began to question the political and social norms of the post-World War II era. Many of these movements were shaped by the legacy of the Cold War, which had a profound impact on American politics and culture in the mid-20th century. One of the most significant ways that Cold War politics influenced the popular movements of the 1960s and 1970s was through the concept of containment. This was the idea that the United States needed to contain the spread of communism around the world, which led to a massive buildup of military and intelligence resources, as well as the creation of a pervasive culture of fear and suspicion.
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.
The McCarthyism era in the United States came to be a major contributor to various social changes in America during the early years of the Cold War. The McCarthy campaign was known for its belligerent accusations against individuals and organizations who were conspired to be associated with Communism. Most were the victims to McCarthyism were tragically affected due to economic and social sanctions. The attack of the Civil Rights Movement by McCarthyism ended up actually helping bring success to the movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Also during this time the US and Russia were fighting to see who could get to space first. According to “Address at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort.” President Kennedy says, “We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.” Kennedy addresses the fact that Russia is threatening to use space as a huge weapon if they get there before us. Space was extremely unknown which caused a lot of people to have fear and anxiety especially with Russia making threats to use it as a
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.
