Transcript E - Barrington 220

Chapter 28: The Cold War and the American Dream
Section 1: Peacetime Adjustments and the Cold War
After WWII – the nations economy boomed
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People were starting
families and buying new
homes.
People wanted new
things – and had plenty
of money to spend.
Inflation (7/9) hit the
country.
(when prices rise quickly)
Also after the war – the number of
marriages increased
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Meaning more babies and more families needing homes.
Levittowns:
William Levitt was a man who had a plan
for building lots of houses quickly.
During the war many people made sacrifices
– including people with jobs
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Unions had agreed
to help the war
effort by agreeing
to have their pay
frozen and agreeing
to not go on strike.
When the war was
over they began to
demand better pay.
1946 was one of the biggest strike
years in U.S. History
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Automobile, steel,
meat packing,
electrical, miners,
railway workers…
President Truman
even had to threaten
to use the army to
run the railroads.
African Americans were still excluded
from prosperity and full equality
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In the South little had
changed.
Many African Americans
who wanted to vote were
threatened, fired, and even
murdered.
President Truman knew it
was bad – he ordered a
special commission on civil
rights.
He also ended racial
segregation (14/15) in the
army (separation of races)
Truman was the first
president to make civil
rights a national issue.
After WWII there were conflicts
with the Soviet Union
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At the end of the war,
each side distrusted
each other more and
more.
Americans really
grew suspicious of
the Soviets when
they began occupying
several Eastern
European countries.
The U.S. felt they
were trying to spread
communism around
the world (more
about communism on
an extra page in our
packets)
The tensions between the two sides (that
lasted for decades) came to be known as:
In a visit to the U.S.
The Prime Minister of Great Britain (Winston Churchill)
warned the world of the Soviets.
President Truman’s did not want to go to
war against the Soviets over communism
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We just finished a war.
His plan was to try and stop
communism from spreading to
new areas.
He called his plan containment
(26/31)
(Keeping something under control
and stopping it from spreading).
He also used the Truman
Doctrine (37) – which promised
U.S. aid to countries resisting
threats to democracy.
Some nations also formed the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO - 27)
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To keep an
organized and
united eye on
the Soviets
Since we had NATO – the Russians and their
friends formed the Warsaw Pact (28)
“A mutual defense
Treaty of Friendship,
Cooperation and
Mutual Assistance”
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said
it was “as if an iron curtain (29) had
descended across the continent”
These are also sometimes called satellite nations (30)
Also to help stop the threat of
communism:
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The United States
came up with the
Marshall Plan (33)
which was to give
money and help to rebuild Europe after
WWII.
And, after the war, Germany had
been divided into 4 zones
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France, Great Britain, and
the U.S each had one (they
combined theirs), and the
Russians had a zone.
The Russians wanted to
keep all 4 zones from
hooking up again (and
getting a strong Germany
again), so they blocked any
of the others from coming
into their zone.
They even built a wall – in
Berlin.
The U.S plan to get
supplies to these people
was called: the Berlin
Airlift (36)
There was a group of people that were afraid ideas of
communism may spread to the United States
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They were worried some
people might even be
spies for Russia.
There even were two
trials where people were
accused of being spies.
One was with Alger Hiss
– who was accused of
passing military secrets to
the Soviets (found guilty
– 5 years in prison)
The other trial was with
Ethyl and Julius Rosenberg
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They were members
of the American
Communist Party.
Convicted of selling
nuclear secrets to the
Soviets.
Were executed – the
only time that’s
happened in our
country’s history
Even government workers had to
undergo “loyalty” checks
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Some people even lost their jobs
because of these checks.
Even the movie industry was
looking for communists or people
with suspected communist ties.
Many people were put on
blacklists (42/43) and their
careers were ruined.
(Secret lists of who employers
should not hire)