Download review questions for self-evaluation

8. The Cold War Years
REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR SELF-EVALUATION
1. What were the origins of the Cold War?
The Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic
competition existing after World War II (1939–1945) primarily the Soviet Union and its
satellite states and allies – and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United
States and its allies. Although the primary participants' military force never officially
clashed directly, they expressed the conflict through military coalitions, strategic
conventional force deployments, extensive aid to states, conventional and nuclear arms
races, appeals to neutral nations, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions.
Despite being allies against the Axis powers, the USSR and the US disagreed about
political philosophy and the configuration of the post-war world while occupying most of
Europe. The Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc with the eastern European countries it
occupied, annexing some and maintaining others as satellite states, some of which were
later consolidated as the Warsaw Pact (1955–1991). The US and its allies used
containment of communism as a main strategy, establishing alliances such as NATO to
that end.
The US funded the Marshall Plan to effectuate a more rapid post-War recovery of Europe,
while the Soviet Union would not let most Eastern Bloc members participate. Elsewhere, in
Latin America and Southeast Asia, the USSR assisted and helped foster communist
revolutions, opposed by several Western countries and their regional allies; some they
attempted to roll back, with mixed results.
2. What was Truman's Fair Deal?
A/ Truman’s Fair Deal is an extension of the Roosevelt’s New Deal. With this legislative
package, Truman tried to extend the welfare to a wide range of the American citizens,
within the program was included: an expansion of social security, federal aid education, a
federal budget for public housing projects, a higher minimum wage, a national plan for
medical insurance, civil right legislation and other measures to foster social and economic
justice. Some measurements were rejected by the Congress.
3. What were the roots of McCarthyism and the Red Scare?
The roots of McCarthyism were the anti-communism. Senator McCarthy capitalised on the
anti-communism issue but he refused to release this list amid the growing fear of internal
subversion. He exploited the press with great skill.
The term McCarthyism was a word that quickly entered the American language, a shorthand for character assassination, guilt by association, and abuse of power in the name of
anti-communism.
4. What were the main effects of the Marshall Plan?
The main effects were:
-Rebuilt the economic infrastructure of Western Europe and restored economic prosperity
to the area.
-Americans were proud of the Marshall Plan, and Europeans were moved by it.
-Fostered the economic integration of Western Europe.
-Served both America’s Cold War strategy and plans for an economic internationalism.
5. When and why was the American "golden age"?
The American ‘Golden Age’ took place between 1950 and 1960. It was the result of a
series of measures taken by P. Eisenhower, as balancing the national budget, keeping
military spending in check and encouraging as much private initiative as possible.
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8. The Cold War Years
Through them American society reached a new economic situation in which the average
family income rose 30% and this allowed three out of five Americans to reach middle-class
standing. At the end of the decade, 33 million Americans owned houses -23 million in
1950- and a television set was found in about 90% of American households.
6. How did minority groups manage in the 1950s?
-STARTING POINT:
-Blacks had benefited economically form WWII, but they were still a seriously
disadvantage group. Those who moved to the northern and western cities were
concentrated in segregated neighbourhoods, working at low-paying jobs, suffering
economic and social discrimination without sharing the post-war prosperity. In the
South, conditions were much worse. State laws forced blacks to live totally apart from
whit society. Blacks attended separate schools and were excluded form most public
facilities.
-BLACK’S CONTESTATION:
-‘The Brown Case’: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
challenged the city’s segregated public schools on behalf of several black families,
including that of Oliver Brown. In 1955, the Court instructed the states to create public
school systems free of racial discrimination.
-‘The Montgomery Bus Boycott: An incident in Montgomery, Alabama, shifted form legal
struggles in the courts to black protest in the streets. Rosa Parks violated a city
ordinance by refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a local bus. The black
churches supported the boycott and they found a young eloquent leader in the
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
-RESULTS:
-In 1957, Congress passed a bill creating a permanent commission for Civil Rights. In
1960, a second civil rights act slightly strengthened the voting rights section. These
actions marked a vital turning point in national policy toward racial justice.
7. What were the main social and technological developments of the 1950s?
This was a decade of prosperity for the American society. Americans became the most
prosperous people in the world and they started to buy houses, cars, television sets and
consumer goods of every kind.
Eisenhower expanded some of the New Deal programs and in 1955, millions of
agricultural workers became had access to the Security Social system for the first time in
American history.
The labour conflict decreased and labour militancy was reduced. In key industries a ‘social
contract’ was established which lead to a period of social peace. The country made a
spectacular economic progress. Real wages and the average family income considerably
rose and ‘full employment’ was achieved.
The automobile industry increased and the number of cars and trucks more than doubled.
The Interstate Highway System was created in order to improve the interstate system of
communication. It stimulated the economy and favoured metropolitan growth across the
new highways.
8. How did the civil rights movement gain force in the 1950s?
Two main events influenced the fight for civil rights.
First, the NAACP on behalf of Oliver Brown reached the Supreme Court in the fight against
segregated public schools; and the Court concluded that in the field of public education ,
the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place and the separate educational facilities
were inherently unequal, and instructed the states to create public systems free of racial
discrimination.
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8. The Cold War Years
Then, the Montgomery bus boycott led by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. succeeded
and the Supreme Court held that the city ordinances governing bus seating violated the
Fourteenth Amendment.
Amid the Cold War, a growing movement for black civil rights aroused the conscience of
white Americans.
9. Why did the U. S. economy expand so rapidly in the post-war period?
Americans were the only people in the world that the Second World War had made better
off. Their homes had not been bombed or they land fought over, and busy wartime
factories had given then good wages.
The factories that have been hardly working at war times continued working after the war
finished; many of them were transformed to produce the goods that the new society was
demanding, as new cars, television sets, domestic machines...
This industrial development, together with the economic policy of the government, made it
possible the expansion of the economy and a period of full employment that lead American
society to prosperity.
10. What did President Eisenhower mean by "Modern Republicanism?
President Eisenhower pioneered the modern White House administration. He termed his
approach “modern Republicanism” and “dynamic conservatism,” by which he meant
“Conservative when it comes to money matters and liberal when it comes to human
beings.” In practice, this approach led the Eisenhower administration to cut spending while
not rolling back New Deal social legislation.
FURTHER TASKS
1. Present the economic, social and political aftermath of WWII.
World War II produced important changes in American life. The most important was the
increase in mobility. The war pulled families off farms and out of small towns and packing
them into large urban areas. Urbanization had virtually ceased but the war increased the
number of city dwellers. Over two million Americans went to California to work in defensive
industries.
The war marked an important watershed in the changing status of women, who joined the
armed services and worked as nurses or replaced men in non-combat jobs. The war
changed the conventional image of female behavior and it became popular for the women
who abandoned traditional female occupations to work in defense industries.
The marriage and the birth rate increased during the depression and simultaneously the
divorce rate.
Black population lived in the South in rural areas. Many of them migrated to the North and
West and found work in defense industries. The discrimination continued for African
Americans, especially in housing and employment, so racial tension deepened during the
war. Many of them responded to the rising tensions by joining civil rights organizations.
World War II, also affected Mexican Americans. They migrated to the Southwest to work
as farmers but labour unions discriminated them.
Despite outburst of violence and discrimination, WW II benefited the poor of all races.
Thanks to full employment and progressive taxation, people at the bottom had income
redistributed in their favour.
2. Describe the main features of conformity and innovation in the American culture
of the 1950s.
- There was a Golden Age in American society. Between 1950 and 1960, the gross
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8. The Cold War Years
national product adjusted for inflation shot up some 37%, while the average family
income rose 30%. According to their incomes, three out of five Americans came to
enjoy middle-class standing, twice the fraction in the twenties.
-
President Eisenhower’s major goal from the beginning was conformist: he wanted to
restore calm and tranquility to a badly divided nation.
o Unlike Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, he had no commitment to
social change or economic reform, yet he had no plans to dismantle the
social programs of the New Deal.
o He tried to balance the budget, to keep military spending in check, to
encourage as much private initiative as possible, and to reduce federal
activities to the bare minimum.
o Wealthy businessmen dominated Eisenhower's cabinet. Defence Secretary
Charles Wilson, the former president of General Motors, made this
statement. “What is good for the country is good for General Motors and vice
versa.”
o Eisenhower defined his domestic policy as “Modern Republicanism.” He
declared that he was “conservative when it comes to money and liberal when
it comes to human rights.”
o He expanded some of the New Deal programs. In 1955, millions of
agricultural workers became eligible for Social Security for the first time.
Eisenhower introduced the idea of “mixed economy” in which the
government played a major role in planning economic activity and this was
widely accepted throughout the Western countries. Most of them nationalised
their key industries like transportation, steel and shipbuilding.
-
Following the war, the nation’s economy bloomed, and everyone wanted a new car.
Americans more than doubled the number of automobiles and trucks on the
national’s streets.
o In urban areas traffic jams, delays, and accidents increased.
o Eisenhower supported the idea of the Interstate Highway System (IHS) and
they started a new system by building 41,000 miles of highway, including
approximately 5,000 urban miles.
o This interstate system of communication, which was built over the following
twenty years, had a deep influence on American life. It stimulated the
economy and shortened travel times, while intensifying the nation's
dependence on the automobile and favouring metropolitan growth paralleling
the new highways.
-
The 1950’s saw a decrease in the labour conflict of the two previous decades.
o The passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 had reduced labour militancy.
o In 1955, the American Federation of Labour (AFL) and CIO merged to form a
single organisation representing 35% of all workers except agricultural ones.
o In key industries, labour and management hammered out what has been
called a new “social contract.”
 Unions signed long-term agreements that left decisions in
management's hands, and they agreed to try to avoid unauthorised
"wildcat" strikes.
 Unionised workers shared fully in 1950s prosperity but the social
contract did not apply to the majority of workers, who did not belong to
unions.
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8. The Cold War Years
 Some companies moved their factories to less unionised suburbs to
the South.
 By the end of 1950s, the "social contract" was weakening.
-
The Americans enjoyed the abundance of the 1950’s and that legislative inaction.
o Eisenhower was sensitive to the nation's economic recessions developed in
1953 and 1957. Then, he quick abandoned his goal of a balanced budget
and introduced a policy advocating government spending to restore
prosperity.
o He maintained the New Deal legacy of federal responsibility for social welfare
and the state of the economy while resisting demands for more extensive
government in American life. Over all, the Eisenhower years marked an era
of political moderation.
-
During Eisenhower's two terms the country made steady and at times spectacular
economic progress.
o In 1955 the minimum wage was raised from 75 cents to $1 per hour.
o During the 1950s the average family income rose by 15% and real wages
went up 20%.
o And work was plentiful. During the decade, unemployment averaged only
4.5% per year, a figure close to the magical 4% economists considered “full
employment.”
o Stable prices, full employment, and steady growth were the economic
hallmarks of the 1950s. American labour had never had it so good.
o At the same time, the population increased by 28 million people, and the
country was on the whole better housed and fed than ever before.
o The output of goods and services rose 15%.
o Especially for white Americans, “Modern Republicanism” seemed a viable
alternative to “New Dealism.”
3. Write about the civil right movement in the 1950s.
The civil right movement refers to movements in the United States aimed at outlawing
racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring in Southern states.
Many of those who were active in the Civil Rights Movement, with organizations such as
NAACP, SNCC, CORE and SCLC, prefer the term "Southern Freedom Movement"
because the struggle was about far more than just civil rights under law; it was also about
fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality.
The movement was characterized by major campaigns of non violent civil resistance, a
vision introduced by their leader Martin Luther King Jr.
4. Compare the central terms of American foreign policy in the 1940s and 1950s.
1940’s
- The United States was the world's greatest power.
- Roosevelt thought that the United States could lead the rest of the world to an
international cooperation, expanding democracy, and increasing living standards.
- To promote these goals, new institutions like the United Nations and the World Bank
had been created. American prosperity required global economic reconstruction and its
security depended on the security of Europe and Asia.
- The only country that could rival the United States was the Soviet Union, whose armies
occupied the eastern part of Germany and other countries of the European area. The
Soviet government tried to establish a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
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8. The Cold War Years
-
Roosevelt thought that the United States could establish friendly relation with the
Soviet Union once World War II ended but the conflict between these two countries
began gradually. For two years these nations tried to adjust their differences through
discussion and negotiation, the division of Europe, the atomic bomb and the post-war
economic aid.
The control of post-war Europe was the most important disagreement between the
two power:
o American and British forces had liberated Western Europe.
o The Soviet army tried to impose communist governments loyal to Moscow in all
the eastern countries.
o The United States insisted on national self-determination and Stalin set up a
series of satellite governments.
o Germany was the most controversial point.
- By 1947, Britain, France and the United States were laying plans to transfer their
authority to an independent West Germany, but Russia intensified the communication
of its zone, which included the jointly occupied city of Berlin.
- The Soviet Union consolidated its control on Eastern Europe in 1946 and 1947.
- The climax came in March 1948, when a coup in Czechoslovakia overthrew a
democratic government and gave the Soviet's a position in central Europe. One of the
results of World War II was the division of Europe.
- The Russian economy was recovering from the war, but the American refusal to extend
aid, convinced Stalin of Western countries hostility and the growing antagonism
deepened.
- At the same time, a post-war nuclear arms race emerged. The development of the
atomic bomb was a very closely guarded secret. Americans started the Manhattan
Project and the Russians began their own atomic program in 1943.
- The Soviets exploited the territory they had conquered in Europe while the United
States retained its economic and strategic advantages over the Soviet Union.
o No agreement was possible between the two countries:
o America stressed the need for inspection and control of the nuclear weapons
and Russia advocated immediate disarmament. Each country concentrated on
taking maximum advantage of its wartime gains.
1950´s
- In January 1949, President Harry S. Truman called for a defence pact: Ten European
countries joined the United States and Canada in signing the North Atlantic Treaty,
which established the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). There were two main
features of NATO:
o First, the United States committed itself to the defence of Europe in case of an
attack, extending its atomic shield over Europe.
o The second feature was designed to reassure worried Europeans that the
United States would honour this commitment. In 1950, General Eisenhower was
appointed to the post of NATO supreme commander, stationing four American
divisions in Europe to serve as the nucleus of the NATO army.
o It represented a reaction to the Soviet danger although there was no evidence of
any Soviet plan to invade Western Europe. The Western military alliance
intensified Russian fears of the West and increased the level of international
tension. The USSR and its sphere nations responded to NATO with the Warsaw
Pact.
- The rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union grew in the late 1940’s and
the early 1950’s. Both countries began to rebuild their military forces with advanced
weapons and their diplomatic competition spread from Europe to Asia to enhance its
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8. The Cold War Years
influence in the Orient. By the time President Truman left office in early 1953, the Cold
War had acquired global proportions.
5. Explain what did characterize Eisenhower’s “dynamic conservationism.”
President Eisenhower pioneered the modern White House administration. Ike termed his
approach “modern Republicanism” and “dynamic conservatism,” by which he meant
“Conservative when it comes to money matters and liberal when it comes to human
beings.”
Eisenhower extended Social security benefits and raised the minimum wage. In 1953, he
consolidated the administration of welfare programs by creating the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare, but he opposed Democratic plans for compulsory health insurance
and comprehensive federal aid to education.
During Eisenhower's presidential years, the country made steady and spectacular
economic progress. In 1955 the minimum wage was raised from 75 cents to $1 per hour,
and during the 50s, the average family income rose 15% and real wages went up 20%.
And work was plentiful. During this decade, the average unemployment rate only 4.5% per
year, a figure close to the 4% that economists considered “full employment.” The country
was on the whole better housed and fed than ever before. The population increased by 28
million inhabitants. The output of goods and services rose 15%. Especially for white
Americans, "Modern republicanism" seemed a viable alternative to “New Dealism.”
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