1. The Cold War Comes Home

2.  Stalin died on March 5, 1953, apparently of a massive stroke. However, modern historians believe in the possibility of poisoning by his successor, Nikita Kruschev.  Kruschev’s administration began a process of De-Stalinization (the removal of all remnants of Stalin’s regime).  Stalin's body was moved from Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square to a location near the Kremlin wall; the "hero city" Stalingrad was renamed to Volgograd; the gulag labor-camp system was repealed. Life After Stalin

3.  Krushchev sought to prove communism was superior to capitalism and the USSR would be the model communist state in the world; "we will bury you.”  Krushchev began wooing new nations of Asia and Africa with promises and aid, even if they were not communist.  Geneva Summit, 1955: US meets with USSR, Britain, & France to begin discussions on European security and disarmament; no agreements made  1958, relations sour with Khrushchev's ultimatum for Allies to leave Berlin: 6 month deadline passes without incident, extended indefinitely Rising Tensions

5.  The Space Race: The competition of space exploration between the Soviet Union and the United States as part of the Cold War competition to achieve technological superiority.  The Space Race was used by government leaders to instill hope in the future of their country for their people The Space Race

6.  1957, USSR launched Sputnik, an orbiting satellite using long-range rockets  US fearful Soviets could now launch a nuclear missile into space and then down to U.S.  Resulted in development of ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)  It was visible all around the Earth and its radio pulses detectable. Sputnik Launches the Space Race

7. To counter this, the United States Government established the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) on July 29, 1958 Congress also passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), which authorized funding for four years to get US schools up to speed in math and science. America Freaks Out

8. The Soviets Skyrocket Past the US  Laika – The first living being in space (1957); proved that living beings could withstand the launch and weightlessness of space.  Yuri Gagarin – the first man in space and to orbit the earth (1961); increased American fears they were falling behind the Soviets.

9.  Atomic Age redefined all aspects of American life, including design. Architecture, industrial design, commercial design (including advertising), interior design, and fine arts were all influenced by the themes of atomic science, as well as the Space Age, which coincided with that period. Atomic Age design became popular and instantly recognizable, with a use of atomic motifs and space age symbols. Atomic Design

11.  During the 1950s, rumors and accusations of Communists in the United States led to fears that Communists were attempting to take over the world. The Red Scare began in September 1945, and escalated into a general fear of Communist subversion—an effort to secretly weaken a society and overthrow its government. The Second Red Scare

12.  The National Security Council was created by Congress with the passage of the National Security Act of 1947.  The National Security Council was created to advise the President on integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security and to facilitate interagency cooperation. National Security Council

13.  The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created by Congress with the passage of the National Security Act of 1947.  The CIA has the authority to carry out covert operations “against hostile foreign states or groups or in support of friendly foreign states or groups.”  The CIA was incredibly active during the Cold War, flushing out Soviet spies and administering covert operations against the Soviets ourselves. The CIA is Born

14.  A United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union.  The United States government at first denied the plane's purpose and mission, but then was forced to admit its role as a covert surveillance aircraft when the Soviet government produced its intact remains and surviving pilot, Francis Gary Powers, as well as photos of military bases in Russia taken by Powers.  Powers pleaded guilty and was convicted of espionage and sentenced to three years imprisonment and seven years of hard labor.  The incident was a great embarrassment to the United States and prompted a marked deterioration in its relations with the Soviet Union. U-2 Affair

15.  AKA: Subversive Activities Control Act – It required Communist organizations to register with the United States Attorney General and established the Subversive Activities Control Board to investigate persons suspected of engaging in subversive activities or otherwise promoting the establishment of a "totalitarian dictatorship," either fascist or communist.  Members of these groups could not become citizens and in some cases were prevented from entering or leaving the country.  It was enacted over President Harry Truman's veto. McCarran Act

16.  In early 1947, Truman established the loyalty review program to screen all federal employees for their loyalty. The program’s aim was to calm Americans. Instead, it led to the fear that Communists were infiltrating the government.  House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. It was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having Communist ties.  FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover went to HUAC to urge them to hold public hearings on Communist subversion. Under Hoover’s leadership, the FBI sent agents to investigate suspected groups and to wiretap thousands of telephones. Loyalty Review Program and HUAC

17.  Alger Hiss had served in Roosevelt’s administration, attended the Yalta conference, and helped with the organization of the UN.  On August 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member, testified under subpoena before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) that Hiss had secretly been a Communist while in federal service.  Called before HUAC, Hiss categorically denied the charge. When Chambers repeated his claim on nationwide radio, Hiss filed a defamation lawsuit against him.  A federal grand jury indicted Hiss on two counts of perjury; Chambers admitted to the same offense but, as a cooperating government witness, was never charged.  In January 1950, he was found guilty on both counts of perjury and received two concurrent five-year sentences, of which he eventually served three and a half years. Hiss maintained his innocence until his death. Alger Hiss

18.  The search for spies intensified when the Soviet Union produced an atomic bomb. Klaus Fuchs, a British scientist, admitted giving information to the Soviet Union. This led to the arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a New York couple who were members of the Communist Party and were charged with heading a Soviet spy ring.  The Rosenbergs were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war and executed on June 19, 1953. Their charges were related to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.  This has been the only case in the history of the United States in which those accused of espionage were executed as a result.  In 1995, the U.S. government released a series of decoded Soviet cables, codenamed VENONA, which confirmed that Julius acted as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets but which were ambiguous about Ethel's involvement. The Rosenbergs

19.  Senator Joseph R. McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations. His investigation turned into a witch hunt as he searched for disloyalty based on poor evidence and fear. He ruined reputations without proper evidence. This tactic became known as McCarthyism.  In 1954 Americans watched televised Army- McCarthy hearings and saw how McCarthy attacked witnesses, and his popularity faded. Finally, an army lawyer named Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy. Later that year, the Senate passed a vote of censure, or formal disapproval, against McCarthy. McCarthyism

20.  A list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or associations, real or suspected.  A pamphlet called Red Channels appeared, focusing on the field of broadcasting, and the impact of Communist infiltration through the news.  The list included Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Lauren Bacall, and Danny Kaye, Leonard Bernstein, Burl Ives, Edward G. Robinson, Arthur Miller, and Lucille Ball.  10 members of the Hollywood film industry publicly denounced the tactics employed by HUAC. These prominent screenwriters and directors received jail sentences and were banned from working for the major Hollywood studios. Hollywood Blacklist

21.  The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller that dramatizes the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693.  Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, comparing the events in Salem to the hysteria of the modern day “witch hunt.”  Miller himself was questioned by the HUAC in 1956 and convicted of "contempt of Congress" for refusing to identify others present at meetings he had attended. The Crucible