Interview about the Cold War

What were the cold war fears of the American people in the aftermath of the second world war? How successfully did the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower address these fears? Use the documents and your knowledge of the years 1948 – 1961 to construct your response.

During the Cold War years, the American government made extensive use of all media forums; including radio, television, print, and word of mouth, in order to interact with American society. Through the capitalist propaganda programmes carried out by the American government, they aimed to create a capitalist society which embraced the American way of life and was patriotic to their country. Furthermore, through propaganda the American government intended to inform the public about what communism truly encapsulated - oppression, deceit, and world domination – before they were exposed to Soviet viewpoints, or began to form opinions and assumptions which could have threatened America’s position as a world superpower. Moreover, the American government

This made Americans fear losing their jobs and maybe even becoming enemies of the state, even though most of them had never involved themselves with communist groups. The Cold War lead to a society where every man is against another, it divided the nation over a fight against society, and it caused a fear of a possible war.

1. What do you remember hearing about the Cold War? What did people say about it?

The Cold War was a pivotal time in American history. To a greater degree than most other wars, the Cold War affected American society in unfathomable and profound ways. More specifically, American culture transformed immensely during this time. From a constant state of anxiety, to changes in media and the arts, to McCarthyism; the Cold War fervently affected the quality of life, personal expression, and American politics. Predominantly, the Cold War inflicted fear and apprehension within the American people that was so overpowering that it affected every aspect of their lives and overall American culture.

Analyze the influence of the following on American-Soviet relations in the decade following the Second World War:

After the ravages of World War II, the United States experienced a long period of economic boom, thanks to industrial weapons work and to the low price of oil. At the same time, under this nationwide economic prosperity, Americans felt increasing fear in the looming shadow of the communist Soviet Union. The US seemed to be in a spiral. Sputnik’s successful launch increased tensions that had been building since the aftermath of World War II; while President Eisenhower and his administration instituted numerous measures to calm down the hysteria that pervaded the US, these attempts had no real effect on de-escalating tensions felt between both sides.

The hysteria of the Cold War caused for many precautions. Throughout the mid 1900s, the spread of communism was causing concern to the United States. President Dwight D. Eisenhower worked to solve these issues both politically and socially to prevent further fear from the American citizens.

Question 1: What was the first time you remember hearing about the conflict between the Soviet Union (or the USSR) and the United States? Tell me about it.

3. Why did President Truman and other Americans fear the Soviet Union, its ally during World War II, so soon after the war was over?

1. Discuss when, why and how the Cold War began. Then cite at least one factor that perpetuated the Cold War in each decade from the 1950s-1980s and discuss how the item you selected affected America at home as well. Last, discuss when and why the Cold War ended.

Television was brought during the Cold War’s early period and since the medium was slowly growing, networks would primarily find sponsorship and financing from the State, more specifically the Defense department. As a result, American television content would evidently focus on the West’s position about the Soviet Union, and thus the medium started being used quite extensively as a propaganda tool. American families now had access to a propaganda medium in their homes and watched mini documentaries on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack and how to recognize an American Communist, but also newscasts about the political position of their country. Documentaries also were being played as to what the idea of what it was to be a true patriotic citizen. It was quite an ironic that the United States were preaching democratic ideologies and a free marketplace with free debate, when in fact television networks were given over to the American State’s

Propaganda played a major role in the Cold War. In a 1947 comic book, the idea of the future was depicted as, “Communists infiltrate nearly every aspect of America, including subverting the Speaker of the House, before assassinating both the President and Vice-President...” (Document 7 caption) while showing chaos and crisis under communist rule. The cover of the book shows a frantic disarray of people screaming and a burning American flag, implying the damage Soviet Union will bring. The comic book sent a message to Americans that communism will bring horror, murder, and utter chaos to the US if allowed to spread and take over

“The Cold War became a dominant influence on many aspects of American society for much of the second half of the twentieth century. It escalated due to antagonist values between the United States, representing capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, representing communism and authoritarianism” (Tradshad, par. 1). This long lasting war had a lot of negative effects on the American people, but also helped many in a positive way of becoming free citizens. Although most people had feelings of hatred toward the Soviet Union, a sense of fear swept over the United States and many actions had to be taken to keep the enemy and their influences out. 4 done.

I can conclude the purpose of the article is to inform us why the United States and The Soviet Union are rivalries. The article gives several key doctrines, for example, The Truman Doctrine of 1947, The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957, The Nixon Doctrine and The Carter Doctrine. This article has its limitations because it is a secondary source. Since the article doesn’t mention that the authors were a part of the Cold War or that they were present when the doctrines were signed, they do not have a firsthand account of what happened.