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Immediately following the conclusion of WWII, things across America didnt look so great! Fear that the Depression might come back The economy faltered and strikes occurred across the country TAFT-HARTLEY ACT Congress passed the TAFT-HARTLEY ACT which outlawed the closed shop, held unions liable for damages, and made union leaders take non- communist oaths Union membership would peak in the 1950s and begin a steady decline

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SERVICEMENS READJUSTMENT ACT OF 1944 By far, the biggest economic program for post- WWII America was the passage of the SERVICEMENS READJUSTMENT ACT OF 1944 G.I. BILL OF RIGHTS Also known as the G.I. BILL OF RIGHTS or the G.I. Bill Dealt with the problem of 15 million American vets returning to the employment market Would send soldiers to school Also created the Veterans Administration to help soldiers with home loans, farms, etc.

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Beginning about 1950, the economy began to grow and will grow for almost 2 decades National incomes doubled Americans had the most of the worlds wealth MIDDLE CLASS Really saw the creation of the MIDDLE CLASS This economic growth provided opportunities for women as they could now reenter the workforce Most of these jobs in the service sector Still had to deal with the cult of domesticity versus being an independent woman The big economic boom of the early 1950s was pushed by military spending Lots of money for the Korean War Money being spent on research and science Cold War spending Cheap energy costs were important too!

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The post WWII era also saw lots of moving by Americans across the country Many families relocated after the war Put strain on family members SUNBELT Largest growth occurred in the SUNBELT region SUBURB One word that describes this movement in America was the SUBURB Suburbs were areas outside of the cities that saw enormous growth People could afford new homes and they moved to the suburbs WHITE FLIGHT A major negative of the suburbs growth was the movement of whites from the inner cities called WHITE FLIGHT Left the inner cities as poverty stricken areas

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The Donna Reed Show 1958-1966 Leave It to Beaver 1957-1963 Father Knows Best 1954-1958 The Ozzie & Harriet Show 1952-1966

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Another major result of post-WWII America was the large amount of children born BABY BOOM This growth is called the BABY BOOM More than 50 million new babies born in the period of 1945-1960 Had dramatic effects on everything and still does today!!!!

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How did the Cold War begin in the first place? Depends on the point of view! Stalin seemed intent on creating spheres of influence in Eastern Europe Stalin has said he would allow free elections in Eastern Europe at the Yalta Conference but lied Stalin and the USSR also refused to release East Germany Without a doubt the US wanted democracy spread throughout the world The Soviet Union also had some reasons to not trust the U.S. Believed the Allies didnt open a second front earlier on purpose so more Soviet soldiers would die The US had not shared information about the atomic bomb project The Soviet Union also said they had been attacked by Germany twice in the 20 th century and needed a buffer zone to protect them in the future

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WINSTON CHURCHILLIRON CURTAIN But the signal of the official tone of the Cold War was delivered by WINSTON CHURCHILL in his famous IRON CURTAIN speech Said an Iron Curtain had descended upon Europe and split the European continent

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BRETTON WOODS CONFERENCE WORLD BANK INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND At the BRETTON WOODS CONFERENCE they created the WORLD BANK and the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND to promote economic growth in war-torn and underdeveloped areas Not all hopes for a better world were gone though b/c some good things did occur! UNITED NATIONS At the Yalta Conference, they had established the framework for a UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL The UN created the SECURITY COUNCIL that was composed of five permanent members (US, USSR, China, GB, and France) Israel UN also created a Jewish state of Israel

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The NUREMBERG TRIALS dealt with Nazi war criminals by putting them on trial for war crimes As the Cold War began, there was still issues concerning Germany Germany itself was divided into 4 zones of occupation and the Soviets refuse to give theirs up BERLIN BERLIN will become the focus of the Cold War for the first part of the post-WWII period Soviets cut off access to Berlin in 1948 BERLIN AIRLIFT Truman will respond by sending airplanes in what is known as the BERLIN AIRLIFT Officially froze relations between the US and USSR

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The first president to have to deal with Cold War policy was Harry Truman CONTAINMENT GEORGE KENNAN Developed the policy of CONTAINMENT with assistance from US ambassador GEORGE KENNAN TRUMAN DOCTRINE Harry Truman will eventually issue the TRUMAN DOCTRINE and it will define US foreign policy for the next 20 years! Officially initiated the policy of containment First real test of this policy occurred in Turkey and Greece since the British were no longer able Truman recognized Israel as the new country

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To follow through with the containment policy, the US needed to make sure that nations were less vulnerable to the threat of communism MARSHALL PLAN To meet the needs of many European nations torn by WWII, the US began the MARSHALL PLAN Soviet Union kept Eastern European nations out ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES Truman will also create the ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES Created to prevent communism in Latin America

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE In 1947 Truman pushed through the National Security Act that created the DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE To meet the demands of the Cold War, Truman also began to reorganize the United States defensive structure NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Also created the NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL and the CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY NSC NUMBER 68 Also issued NSC NUMBER 68 which would implement a rigorous worldwide defense of communism with an immediate and large-scale build up of our military In 1948, Truman ordered the first peacetime military draft ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION Also created the ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION which established civilian control over nuclear development and gave the president sole authority to use the atomic weapons in warfare

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NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION COLLECTIVE SECURITY The NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION or NATO was formed as a COLLECTIVE SECURITY organization that essentially warned Moscow that a threat to any members would be met with force WARSAW PACT The USSR formed the WARSAW PACT as a response to NATO During Harry Trumans second term, other Cold War alliances and policies were put into place

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In 1949, the Soviet Union exploded the atomic bomb which meant that the US no longer had a monopoly on atomic weapons

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CHINA A major test for Trumans Cold War policies was put to the test with the nation of CHINA in 1949 CHANG KAI SHEK US supported CHANG KAI SHEK MAO ZEDONG FORMOSA (TAWAIN Communist led by MAO ZEDONG who eventually defeats Shek and force him to move to the island of FORMOSA (TAWAIN) Loss of China a major defeat for US and Truman criticized for allowing China to fall to Communists

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HYDROGEN BOMB In 1952, the United States explodes the HYDROGEN BOMB, but in 1953 so do the Soviets For the first time in human history, humankind has the ability to end civilization

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The Korean War lasted between the years of 1950 through 1953 The problem with Korea started back in the days of World War II Russian troops had occupied northern Korea US troops had occupied southern Korea By 1949, both sides had set up regimes KIM IL-SUNG North Korean led by KIM IL-SUNG and was supported by the Soviet Union Conflict in Korea started in 1950 when North Korean army with Soviet made tanks invaded South Korea and took nearly all the country Truman invoked NSC-68 which called for a military buildup UN Security Council, with Russia absent, called for members to restore peace and condemned invasion UN votes military aid to South Korea

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GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR With the call for military aid, the UN votes to establish a UN force with Trumans choice, GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR as UN Commander who took orders from Washington Truman ordered US troops into fighting US soldiers make up 4 out of every 5 UN troops By August 1950, North Korea captured virtually all of South Korea INCHON MacArthur directed a surprise amphibious landing at INCHON behind Korean lines In two weeks, UN forces had recaptured nearly all of South Korea 38 TH PARALLEL MacArthur ordered UN forces to cross North across the 38 TH PARALLEL with support of Truman and UN North Korean forces driven back to edge of Chinese border In November 1950, Chinese soldiers poured into North Korea which forced UN troops to retreat with heavy losses across the 38 th parallel Truman horrified that Korea might be completely lost

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In one of the most surprising moves of the Korean War, President Truman is forced to fire Gen. Douglas MacArthur LIMITED WAR Truman sought a LIMITED WAR with specific objectives rather than total victory Said nuclear weapons would NOT be used If US invaded into China, meant Soviet Union might retaliate in Europe or Asia MacArthur against limited war saying there Is not a substitute for victory MacArthur asked for nuclear weapons to be used on China MacArthur circumvents President Truman and demands total North Korean surrender Undercuts Truman as Commander in Chief Truman orders MacArthur removed from command MacArthur returns to US a hero

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DWIGHT EISENHOWER The basic end of the conflict in Korea began with the election of 1952 when Republican candidate DWIGHT EISENHOWER promised to personally go to Korea and end the conflict Eisenhower did go to Korea once elected Eisenhower also threatened to use nuclear weapons unless the negotiations were successful Cease fire was signed in 1953 and remains in effect today 38 TH parallel boundary restored Created a DMZ around the boundary The long term effects of the Korean War are both good and bad 54,000 US soldiers dead UN successfully repelled North Korean attack on South Korea US successfully enforced its containment policy

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One of the places that the Cold War was really striking was the home where a new anti-red chase was in full gear There were fears that communist spies were trying to undermine the government Fear they were trying to mislead foreign policy In response, Truman ordered a massive loyalty program The loyalty of American became a major concern to many people and leaders in America Almost none were given the opportunity to prove their innocence LOYALTY REVIEW BOARD LOYALTY REVIEW BOARD established to investigate federal employees LOYALTY OATHS LOYALTY OATHS required for many jobs including most teachers!!! SECOND RED SCARE Historians refer to this post World War II fear as the SECOND RED SCARE Fear of communism at home Fear of nuclear war Fear of communism spreading around the world Culture reflected those fears in movies such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Blob

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Trumans Administration passed the SMITH ACT OF 1940 in an effort to jail leaders of the American Communist Party Made it illegal to advocate the overthrow of the government by force Made it illegal to belong to an organization advocating such a move 11 Communists brought to trial in NY in 1949 and sent to prison

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Americas great fear of communism showed up nationally with the creation of the HOUSE COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES (HUAC) Created in 1945 to root out communism and lasted into the 1950s The committee went after public figures in Washington and Hollywood Liberals and members of the New Deal were targeted RICHARD NIXON One of the lead members of the HUAC committee was a young RICHARD NIXON

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One of the most famous cases of the HUAC committee involved ALGER HISS Hiss a current member of the State Department Hiss denied being a communist member in the 1930s, but was convicted of perjury and sentenced to 5 years in prison Case allowed Nixon to gain national recognition Another famous commie case involved the ROSENBERGS in 1954 Julius and Ethal Rosenberg were convicted and executed for allegedly giving atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Both were avowed Communists

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BLACKLISTED Many actors and actresses plus directors in Hollywood were BLACKLISTED HOLLYWOOD TEN 1O of these were known as the HOLLYWOOD TEN They refused to testify and decided to go to prison rather than testifying to the HUAC Industry responded by denying work to 250 actors, writers, and directors

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JOE MCCARTHY Eventually, a central figure rose to prominence in the early 1950s known as JOE MCCARTHY McCarthy a senator from Wisconsin Asserted that 200 unknown communists were in the State Department McCarthy had some crazy ideas and made accusation without any evidence Downfall of McCarthy occurred when he took on the Army in 1954 ARTHUR MILLER THE CRUCIBLE A famous work by ARTHUR MILLER called THE CRUCIBLE was a popular play in the 1950s that used the 1692 Salem Witch trials as a metaphor for McCarthyism

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