The Fifties Conformity Cold War I A

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War I. A. B. Truman’s Struggles 1. 2. 3. C. 1. 2. 3. Harry S Truman – the person Truman’s domestic program Propose extension of New Deal programs Solve labor disputes Improve race relations Conservative backlash Midterm Elections (1946) Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 Rallying to an opportunity for the W. H.

Jackie Robinson – broke the “color barrier” (1947) in professional baseball when signed by Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War I. Truman’s Struggles D. E. The Election of 1948 Truman (Dem. ) Dewey (Rep. ) Thurmond (States’ Rights Dem. – “Dixiecrats”) Right-Wing Wallace (Progressive Party) Left-wing President in his own right The “Fair Deal”

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War II. A. B. The Republican Decade 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. The Election of 1952 “I Like Ike” Nixon & the “Checkers Speech” Emergence of independent voters Ike’s management style Chief of Staff – Sherman Adams Cabinet – “ 8 millionaires and a plumber” C. D. Democratic control of Congress – 1954 Little done in domestic policy E. Re-elected in 1956, in a Stevenson rematch 1. 2. 3. Housing Acts (‘ 54 -’ 59) Highway Act of 1956 Emphasis on science & science ed. (i. e. NASA)

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War III. A. Cold War 1. 2. B. C. 1. 2. 3. a. b. 4. 5. Setting the Stage United Nations European instability – new balance of power Regional Conflicts (3 rd World, China, etc. ) Containment/Truman Doctrine Greece/Turkey Marshall Plan NATO (1949) & the Warsaw Pact (1955) Prague Coup Berlin Blockade & Airlift Korean War Limits of containment: Hungarian revolt (1956)

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War III. Cold War D. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Arms Race National Security Act (1947) – NSC, CIA, Dept of Defense / Joint Chiefs of Staff Russia goes nuclear (1948) NSC-68 (1950) – massive military spending H-Bomb – SAC – ICBMs – DEW John Foster Dulles, The New Look and “brinksmanship” Ike & the new leader in the Kremlin (Khrushchev) – Geneva, Camp David, Paris

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War III. E. Cold War Korean War 1. Acheson’s fumble & N Korean aggression 2. June 1950 invasion a. U. N. action w/ US leadership b. Mac. Arthur & Inchon c. Chinese entrance & Mac. Arthur exit d. Uneasy truce at the 38 th Parallel

The Iron Curtain

George Kennan (1904 -2005)

The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. --Omar Bradley

Gen. Douglas Mac. Arthur

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War IV. A. Mc. Carthyism / 2 nd Red Scare C. D. E. “Better Dead than Red” or “Better Red than Dead” ? ? ? 1949 – Alger Hiss, Chinese Revolution, Soviets go nuclear Politicians of both parties fed the fire Joseph Mc. Carthy enters the picture Congress: A House of Intolerance F. G. Mc. Carthy’s Downfall The Legacy of Mc. Carthy & Mc. Carthyism B. 1. 2. 3. Mc. Carthy hearings in the Senate HUAC Blacklists, Red Channels, ruined lives

Herb Block, Joseph Mc. Carthy, Washington Post (4 th March, 1954)

Herb Block, HUAC, Washington Post (1947)

Lillian Hellman & Dashiell Hammett

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War V. A. Happy Days 1. 2. 3. 4. B. C. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Conversion to peacetime economy Buildup of savings (demand) & new products (supply) Defense spending GI Bill Stats The Baby Boom Triumph of Suburbia Factors of Suburbanization The Rise of “Levittowns” Dependence on the automobile Television The Beatniks

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War GNP Consumer Income Farm Income Federal Budget Pre-WW II $92 bil (1939) $79 bil. $11 bil. (1941) $9 bil. (1938) 1945 $213 bil. $151 bil. $25 bil. $92 bil. 1950 $284 bil. $208 bil. $29 bil. $40 bil.

The Beatniks: Allen Ginsberg The Beatniks: Neal Cassady & Jack Kerouac

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War VI. A. Birth of the Civil Rights Movement 1. 2. 3. Conditions were still poor South vs. North Racial vs. Ethnic Crumbling ladder to urban success NAACP Legal Strategy Brown v Bd of Ed (1954) Southern Manifesto Little Rock crisis C. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955 -1956) D. Civil Rights Acts of 1957 & 1960 1. 2. 3. Rosa Parks & 381 Days of protest A new leader emerges Setting the stage for a new era

Birmingham, AL – June 1963

Mass Meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church on first day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, December 5, 1955 Walkers during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 -1956

MLK Press Conference during Montgomery Bus Boycott

The Fifties: Conformity & Cold War VII. The Election of 1960 A. Democratic Primaries B. General Election 1. 2. 3. 4. JFK vs. HHH Weighing the pros and cons An historic nomination Comparing two Hawks Role of TV The African-American vote Results