“A NXIETY, A LIENATION, AND S OCIAL U NREST ” ?? Ms. Clarke THE 1950s: “Conservatism, Complacency, and Contentment” OROR

D URING THE C OLD W AR, A MERICANS WERE FORCED TO COPE WITH THE DAILY THREAT OF NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION. I N AN ATMOSPHERE OF A IR R AID D RILLS AND B OMB S HELTER CONSTRUCTION, A MERICANS CONFUSED THE REAL THREAT OF THE S OVIET U NION WITH AN UNREASONING, ANTI - COMMUNIST HYSTERIA AT HOME. Cold War on the home front

Progress Through Science First IBM Mainframe Computer Hydrogen Bomb Test DNA Structure Discovered Salk Vaccine Tested for Polio First Commercial U. S. Nuclear Power Plant NASA Created Press Conference of the First 7 American Astronauts

Progress Through Science 1957  Russians launch SPUTNIK I 1958  National Defense Education Act

Progress Through Science UFO Sightings skyrocketed in the 1950s. War of the Worlds Hollywood used aliens as a metaphor for whom ??

Progress Through Science Atomic Anxieties:  “Duck-and-Cover Generation” Atomic Testing: à  U. S. exploded 217 nuclear weapons over the Pacific and in Nevada.

B OMB S HELTER C RAZE W HAT WOULD YOU BRING WITH YOU ? A fallout shelter is designed to allow its occupants to minimize exposure to harmful fallout until radioactivity has decayed to a safer level. Countries built fallout shelters for high-ranking government officials and crucial military facilities. Plans were made, however, to use existing buildings with sturdy below-ground-level basements as makeshift fallout shelters.

T HE B OMB S HELTER C RAZE

D UCK AND C OVER D RILLS

T HE D UCK AND C OVER D RILLS T HE D UCK AND C OVER D RILLS ( VIDEO ) Duck and Cover was a suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear detonation which the United States government taught to generations of United States school children from the late 1940s into the 1980s. This was “supposed” to protect them in the event of an unexpected nuclear attack which, they were told, could come at any time without warning. Immediately after they saw a flash they had to stop what they were doing and get on the ground under some cover—such as a table, or at least next to a wall—and assume the fetal position, lying face-down and covering their heads with their hands.

T HE S ECOND R ED S CARE Smith Act of made it illegal to advocate or teach the overthrow of the government by force or to belong to an organization with this objective Dennis et al. v United States (1951)-Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act of , Truman Admin. under pressure from the Republicans set up a Loyalty Review Board to investigate the background of more than 3 million federal employees. 1000s either resigned or lost their jobs as a result of the probe that lasted nearly four years.

M C C ARRAN I NTERNAL S ECURITY A CT 1. Unlawful to advocate or support the est. of a totalitarian government 2. Restricted the employment and travel of those joining Communist-front organizations 3. Authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives 1950-Truman had vetoed this act, but Congress passed it anyway

T HE H OUSE C OMMITTEE ON U N - A MERICAN A CTIVITIES (HUAC) Originally est. in 1939 to seek out Nazis was reactivated in the postwar years to find Communists Investigated government officials and looked for Communists influence in organizations such as: Boy Scouts Hollywood film industry Writers (ACLU argued that 1 st Amendment protects the free expression of unpopular political views and membership in political Groups such as the Communist Party.)

T HE H OUSE C OMMITTEE ON U N - A MERICAN A CTIVITIES (HUAC) In 1947, the committee held nine days of hearings into alleged communist propaganda and influence in the Hollywood motion picture industry. After conviction on contempt of Congress charges for refusal to answer some questions posed by committee members, the "Hollywood Ten" were blacklisted by the industry. Eventually, more than 300 artists—including directors, radio commentators, actors and particularly screenwriters—were boycotted by the studios.

T HE H OUSE C OMMITTEE ON U N - A MERICAN A CTIVITIES (HUAC) ReaganWalt Disney Paul Robeson

T HE H OLLYWOOD T EN Alvah Bessie, screenwriter Herbert Biberman, screenwriter and director Lester Cole, screenwriter Edward Dmytryk, director Ring Lardner Jr., screenwriter John Howard Lawson, screenwriter Albert Maltz, screenwriter Samuel Ornitz, screenwriter Adrian Scott, producer and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, screenwriter (Wrote my favorite book, Johnny Got His Gun)

T HE E SPIONAGE C ASES : A LGER H ISS C ASE Is that future President Mr. Richard Nixon?

T HE A LGER H ISS C ASE : A RE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT INFILTRATED WITH COMMUNISTS ? Whittaker Chambers- a confessed Communist, became a star witness for HUAC in 1948 Richard Nixon-Calf. Congressman investigator for HUAC Alger Hiss-State Department official who assisted Yalta Conference Chambers accused Hiss of being a Communist and giving secret documents to him. Hiss denied Hiss is convicted of perjury and sent to prison

T HE E SPIONAGE C ASES : T HE R OSENBERG T RIALS Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

T HE R OSENBERG C ASE : A RE C OMMUNIST S PIES AMONG US ? The Soviets have an A-Bomb…they must have been spying on us Klaus Fuchs-British Scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project admitted giving A-Bomb secrets to Russians. This led to additional anticommunist fears An FBI investigation traced another spy ring to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in NY 1951-Controversial Trial, they were found guilty of Treason and executed for the crime in Civil Rights groups raised questions about whether anti-communist hysteria had played a role in the conviction and punishment of the Rosenbergs

J OSEPH M C C ARTHY

Republican Senator from Wisconsin Used anti-communist hysteria in his reelection campaign 1950 speech: charged that 205 Communists were still working for the State Department Became one of the most powerful men in America which was based entirely on the people’s fear of the damage that McCarthy could do it his accusing finger pointed their way. Tactics: Unsupported accusations about Communists in government to keep the media focus on himself and to discredit the Truman Administration Popular among working-class Americans because of his hard-hitting remarks that were often aimed at the wealthy and privileged in society

R ED B AITING the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist, socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism. Originated during the Palmer Raids Most often associated with McCarthyism

T HE A RMY M C ARTHY H EARINGS T HE A RMY M C C ARTHY H EARINGS ( RECORDING )

T HE A RMY M C C ARTHY H EARINGS 1954 McCarthy’s “reckless cruelty” was exposed on television Senate committee held televised hearings on Communist infiltration in the Army December-Republicans and Democrats in the Senate saw him as a bully and moved to censure McCarthy The “Witchhunt” for Communists (McCarthyism) had ended McCarthy died 3 years later, a broken man

“A NXIETY, A LIENATION, AND S OCIAL U NREST ” ?? Ms. Clarke THE 1950s: “Conservatism, Complacency, and Contentment” OROR

The postwar era witnessed tremendous economic growth and rising social contentment and conformity. Yet in the midst of such increasing affluence and comfortable domesticity, social critics expressed a growing sense of unease with American culture in the 1950s. The postwar era witnessed tremendous economic growth and rising social contentment and conformity. Yet in the midst of such increasing affluence and comfortable domesticity, social critics expressed a growing sense of unease with American culture in the 1950s. Assess the validity of the above statement and explain how the decade of the 1950s laid the groundwork for the social and political turbulence of the 1960s. Class Discussion Topic:

F EATURES OF P OST - WAR US 15 Million American Soldiers, sailors, and marines returning to civilian life in faced the problem of finding jobs and housing. Theses: What many thought would be economic uncertainty, was actually a post- war boom in which pent-up consumer demand for autos and hosing combined with government road-building projects helped to usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity and growth; 1950s Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living by any society in history.

GI B ILL OF R IGHTS (S ERVICEMEN ’ S R EADJUSTMENT A CT (1944) ‘44 Could get a college 15 million veteran, over 2 million attended college, which started a post-war boom in higher education Veterans received $16 billion in low-interest, government-backed loans to buy homes and farms and to start businesses

Baby Boom It seems to me that every other young housewife I see is pregnant. -- British visitor to America,  1 baby born every 7 seconds Younger marriages and larger families resulted in 50 million babies entering the US population between Had a huge effect on economic life /schools As baby boom generation comes of age, it will have a profound impact on the nations social institutions

Baby Boom Dr. Benjamin Spock and the Anderson Quintuplets Large cultural focus on raising children and homemaking Women still worked MORE! 1/3 of married women worked outside the home.

G ROWTH OF S UBURBS “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds (1962) song

Suburban Living $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment. Levittown, L. I.: “The American Dream” 1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week.

Suburban Living: The New “American Dream” 1 story high 1 story high 12’x19’ living room 12’x19’ living room 2 bedrooms 2 bedrooms tiled bathroom tiled bathroom garage garage small backyard small backyard front lawn front lawn By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs.

Suburban Living SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, Central Cities 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% Suburbs 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 41.6% Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% Small Towns U. S. Bureau of the Census.

Suburban Living: The Typical TV Suburban Families The Donna Reed Show Leave It to Beaver Father Knows Best The Ozzie & Harriet Show

R ISE OF THE S UNBELT Milder winters, warmer climate, lower taxes, economic opportunities in defense related industries, attracted GI’s and their families to the Sun-belt from Florida to California Transfer tax dollars from Northeast and Midwest to South and West, military spending during the Cold War helped finance the shift of industry, people, and political power from one region to the other. New cities sprung up: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Phoenix. The Sunbelt typically includes the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

E MPLOYMENT A CT OF ‘46 Sept Truman proposed National health insurance, an increase in min. wage, a bill to commit the US Government to maintain full employment A watered down version was enacted Created the Council of Economic Advisors to counsel both President and Congress on means to promote national economic welfare Due to the Cold War and a conservative congress, the next 7 years will prove to hinder the passage of most of Truman’s domestic programs

I NFLATION AND S TRIKES Truman asked Congress to continue the price controls of wartime in order to hold inflation in check Instead, southern Dem. Joined with Rep. in relaxing the controls of the Office of Price Administration Result was an inflation rate of almost 25% in the first year of peace. Workers and Unions wanted wages to catch up after years of wage controls Over 4.5 Million workers went on strike in 1946 Truman seized mines and using soldiers to keep them operating until the United Mine Workers finally called off its strike

C IVIL R IGHTS Truman-first modern president to use the powers of his office to challenge racial discrimination Used his executive powers to establish the Committee on Civil Rights in 1946 Strengthened the civil rights div. in Justice Department 1948 ordered the end of racial discrimination in the fed. dept. and all three branches of the armed forces Urged Congress to pass the Fair Employment Practices Commission that would prevent employers from discriminating against the hiring of Afr. Amer. Southern Dems blocked the legislation.

R EPUBLICAN C ONTROL -80 TH C ONGRESS : Two-Term Limit (2-2-T-T) A reaction to the fact FDR had been elected four times Ratified by 1951 by the states Probusiness Truman vetoed as a “slave- labor” bill but Congress overrode his veto Repub. Intent was to “check” on the growing power of unions Significantly divided Democrats and Republicans Unions could not get it repealed 22 nd Amendment (1951)Taft-Hartley Act election won Republican majority in both houses of Congress. They attempted to pass two tax cuts for upper-income Amer. But Truman Vetoed both measures They will also begin to roll back some New Deal gains for labor and amend the Constitution

E LECTION ‘48 Truman=Low popularity: Dems were split, third parties emerged Liberals (Progressives/anti-Truman foreign policy) chose new Progressive Party that Henry Wallace States Rights Party/Dixiecrats (no civil rights) chose Strom Thurmond of SC VS NYS Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, Republican candidate The Moderate democrat Truman was the man without a chance, but he toured the nation by rail Won a decisive victory by a 2 million majority in the popular vote and electoral votes Reunited FDR’s New Deal coalition with the exception of 4 southern states that went to Dixiecrats

C HANGING W ORKPLACE : F AIR D EAL Fair Deal was Truman’s plan for reform, 1949 National health care insurance Federal aid to education Civil rights legislation Funds for public housing New farm program (similar to New Deal programs) Conservatives in Congress blocked most of the program 1. Truman’s political conflict with Congress 2. Pressing foreign policy concerns of the Cold War