Chapter 13 and 14: the cold war and postwar america
America emerged from World War II as the world's super power. Its economy had recovered from the Depression with incredible momentum, thus changing the quality of life in America forever. Now America was a truly prosperous nation with a growing middle class and a higher standard for living. The American armed forces were powerful, and the U.S. had proven its amazing lethal power with the use and continued development of the atomic bomb. However, a new sense of unease and paranoia plagued America. The Soviet Union rivaled the United States in military strength and rapid development of industry- though the quality of life was different in the communist east. America feared the spread of communism and established policies to keep it from spreading, often leading America into wars and conflicts in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The race to defeat the Soviet Union and the constant threat of nuclear attack was a primary feature of life in the 1950's and 1960's American politics and economics, but it also galvanized unprecedented growth in science and technology.
13-1_and_2_early_cold_war_years.pptx | |
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kids_storybook_cold_war.docx | |
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eisenhower_to_kennedy.pptx | |
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crises_under_kennedy__1_.pptx | |
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15-3_reading_guide_lbj.docx | |
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McCarthyism and Mass Hysteria
Watch this 2003 remake of the episode of The Twilight Zone titled "The Monsters are due on Maple Street". The original episode aired in 1960, in which the "monsters" were feared to be aliens from outer space. The main character even alludes to them as a "5th column", which is a term for a group within a country at war that is actually working to help the enemy. In 2003, America was newly in the post-9/11 world, and fear of terrorism was rampant. America was involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Islamophobia reared its head. The original episode is available on Amazon Prime, but watch below for a 21st century take on The Twilight Zone and McCarthyism hysteria.
The Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis