Transcript Chapter 28: The Cold War and the American

Chapter 28: The Cold War and the American Dream
Section 2: The Korean War and McCarthyism
Section 3: The Fifties
Right after WWII
there was also a civil war in China
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On one side:
Communists – led by
Mao Tse Tung.
The other side:
‘Nationalists” – backed by
the United States.
The Communists won the
Civil war and the
Nationalists were forced
to leave the country –
they ended up going to
Taiwan
Americans were shocked that another country
turned to communism – and thought they might
try and take over the whole world.
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Then, some events in
Korea contributed to this
fear.
Korea was separated in
two parts - at the 38th
parallel (48)
North Korea – supported
by communists
South Korea – supported
by the United States
In 1950, North Korean forces
crossed into South Korea
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The Korean War was
starting.
Truman was going to use
Korea as the first test of
his containment policy.
The United Nations (16
nations sent troops) tried
to helped fight against
the North Koreans – but
most of the fighting was
done by Americans.
The American General (Douglas MacArthur)
pushed the North Koreans
all the way back to the edge of China
Now,
the question is:
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You’re fighting against
communism.
The Chinese are now
communists.
You’re dominating North
Korean communists.
You’re fighting right on the
edge of China.
Do you go into China and try
and take care of communism
there too?
The Chinese warned that we
better stop right at the border.
But China did see the American forces
as a threat to attack– so they…
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Decided to help the
North Koreans.
They succeeded in
pushing the U.S. all
the way back to the
38th parallel
Truman and MacArthur completely
disagreed about attacking China
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MacArthur wanted to
attack China – Truman
wanted to “contain”
communism.
Truman eventually had to
fire MacArthur.
MacArthur returned to
the United States as a
hero (he was also the
main general in the
Pacific in WWII).
Eventually most people
came to agree with
Truman’s actions.
As the Korean War (Conflict) dragged on
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It became more
unpopular.
The two sides had peace
talks for a couple of
years.
When Truman decided to
not run for president.
Eisenhower wanted to.
He promised a speedy
end to the Korean
conflict.
Eisenhower agreed to a
compromise to end the war.
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But he also told people
privately that he’d use
nuclear weapons if he
had to.
Korea ended where it
started – with the 38th
Parallel dividing North
Korea and South Korea.
The important thing for
the U.S. was:
Korea today: No real change from
the 50’s
One politician who used the threat of communism
to his advantage was: Joseph McCarthy
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He said he had information
about people who were
communists in the U.S.
He held investigations and
even trials.
He ruined the careers of many
people.
He never really proved any of
his claims and soon faded
away.
(He did all this while he was
running for re-election for the
Wisconsin Senate).
These kind of “witch hunts”
are sometimes called
“McCarthyism” (18).
Since President Eisenhower had
been a general
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He had much more
aggressive ideas
about how to stop
communism
He was willing to go
to war if he needed
to stop its spread.
The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were
soon locked in an arms race (24)
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They eventually also
began a space race (25)
when the Soviets
launched the world’s first
space satellite.
This also meant the
Russians had developed a
big enough missile that
they could attack the
United States
And the U.S. started spending
billions for its own space research
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The two sides were
actually going to have
some meetings but…
About that same time
a U.S. spy plane was
shot down over
Russia and the
Soviets were mad we
wouldn’t apologize.
Not everything was wonderful in the fifties.
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Nearly 1 in 5 people lived
in poverty.
Most of these people
were minorities and
immigrants who couldn’t
afford to move out of the
cities.
Employers often took
advantage of these
people – paying them
little and asking them to
work a lot – because they
knew they needed money
so badly.
As a president, Eisenhower kept
most of the “New Deal” programs
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He expanded social
security
He increased the
minimum wage
He created the
Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare.
He built over 41,000
miles of new interstates
as part of The Interstate
Highway Act (35) (also to
be used for the defense
of our country)
The “American Dream” in the 50’s
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Get married
Have kids (baby boom (37)
Live in the suburbs with a
car, living near malls, movie
theaters, restaurants.
Have your kids go to a good
school
Live where you felt safe.
Dad worked 9-5 and mom
took care of the house and
kids.
Have all the new modern
“conveniences” of life
Less people went to watch movies
– now they could watch television
(By 1960 – 9-10 houses had a TV set)
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Lassie
The Lone Ranger
The Howdy Doody Show
The Mickey Mouse Club
I Love Lucy
Father Knows Best
Captain Kangaroo
Musicals / Variety
And…
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Bill Haley
Chuck Berry
Little Richard
Fats Domino
Jerry Lee Lewis
So many others…
And… we can’t forget about…
Remember “the lost generation”
who were around right after WWII?
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The 60’s had a
somewhat similar
group.
Writers and poets
who protested the
“shallowness and
conformity” of
American society.
They were known as
“beatniks”(49).
By the end of the 50’s it was time
for a new president
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1960 was one of the
tightest presidential
races in history.
Between Richard
Nixon (Ike’s V.P.) and
a young guy – JFK.
They even had the
first ever televised
debates.
Kennedy won the
election.