CH 27: Post WWWII America

WWII is Over!

• FEARS• The Soviet

Union• A return of the

Great Depression

A Return of the Soldiers

• Slow return• Fear of the soviets in Europe

• Soldiers had difficult adjustment• High divorce rate• Housing shortage

• US helps• GI Bill construction boom & college

ed.

Post War Affluence

• People “Ready to Spend”• Wartime employment $140 billion in

savings• Tired of the rations and empty shelves

• The Baby Boom

The Post War Family

• High marriage rates, low divorce• Led to baby boom

• Women’s employment gains disappeared • They wanted them, but

men were returning• Experts said their true job

was “mothering”

Suburbia

• Mass production of homes

• Levittown• Good schools• Safe streets• “Sameness” and

conformity• Reinforced gender roles

The Soviet Threat – The Cold War

• U.S. ended “Lend-Lease” after Japan• Gave England $3.75 Billion in loans

• Refused Russian requests• Stalin irritated

• Churchill gives the Iron Curtain Speech• Mentions that it was God’s will to give the

US the A-bomb to stop USSR expansion

Containment Ideology

• Communism is like an amoeba

• US must be ready to meet all attempts at expansion• Will lead to

Korea and Vietnam

The Truman Doctrine

• 1947 – Truman presents his doctrine over the Radio and to Congress

• “it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”• We’re looking at you Stalin…• Too open ended?

The Marshall Plan

• Without massive aid, Euro Govs might collapse

• Would cause chaos• Offered to USSR

• They refused• Didn’t want to be tied to

capitalist gov• Truman ok that

• Would have been hard to Convince Congress to give $ to USSR

• Might have ruined the whole plan

Effects of the Marshall Plan

• Tremendous success• Created jobs, raised standard of living• Curbed Communist influences• Increased US trade and investment in

Europe• Ominous Growing Repression in

Eastern Europe Satellite Countries• Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary

Remember the Red Scare…

• US fearful of communism• Led to less tolerance for

progressive reforms• Truman created the Federal

Loyalty-Security Program• Background checks on Federal

employees• Minimal rights for accused

• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

• Watchdog for commy propaganda• Investigated the movie industry

Domestic Policies during this time

• Alger Hiss (Communist spy) in Gov.• Democrats hurt by idea that they

were full of spies• Led to an end to national health care

and federal aid for education• Taft-Hartley act ended union power

• Truman tried to help Civil Rights efforts• Desegregated the army

1948 Truman gets re-elected…

• Northern Democrats called for strong Civil Rights Acts

• Southern Dems left the convention

• Formed the Dixiecrats• Demanded complete

segregation of the races• Truman campaigned as a

protector of the New Deal legislation

• Supported Israel• Confronted Stalin

• Supported the Berlin Airlift

Cold War Internationally

• 1949 – USSR detonated a Nuclear Weapon• Communists have the “Bomb”• US loses the “Atomic Monopoly”

• Blamed spies, the USSR was too backward

• US relied on the bomb in foreign policy• China was about to become Communist

too!

What to do?!?

• NATO formed – a group of 11 western European nations join against USSR• The USSR & satellites for the Warsaw Pact

• Also issue NSC68• Use of military force to stop communist

aggressions anywhere in the world• Develop the Hydrogen Bomb

War In Korea - 1950

• Communist N. Korea invaded non-Communist S. Korea

• US wanted to “Contain” Communism

• Needed to check this act• Troops sent to Korea• Successful, but went past the

original border• Brought China into war• US feared Russian involvement• US had to fall back and truce

settled at the original border

McCarthyism

• An extension of the Red Scare/HUAC model

• Republican Joseph McCarthy accused people in government of being Communists • no evidence• Usually made up• Eventually flamed out…

I Like Ike

• 1952 elections – tense atmosphere of Cold War

• Dwight Eisenhower accused Democrats of greed, protecting traitors, messing up the Korean War

• Ike’s VP selection was Richard Nixon• Accused of taking gifts• Went on TV to deny the charges

• Ike went on to become president in 52