The Social and Cultural Life of Americans during the Cold War

The rise of the Soviet Union (USSR) as a new world superpower brought tension between the USSR and the United States. Although the 1950’s was generally nonviolent, confined to only minor conflicts, there was a threatening, looming tension between the two world superpowers. The tension reached its peak when the US completed its first successful hydrogen bomb test. A second, more powerful bomb was successfully detonated in 1954 by the US. Public fallout shelters were established in major cities, and bomb drills were practiced as frequently as fire drills today. The nuclear war that Lord of the Flies suggested was not out of the realm of possibility at its time of publication

The Cold War propelled the United States of America into a seat of previously unattained power in the world . American citizens spearheaded the push toward advancement in their search for the epitome of happiness: the “American Dream”. Post-war paranoia was driven by the supposed threat of the spread of communism, which Americans feared could interfere with the freedoms and liberties the founding fathers fought to achieve. This paranoia eventually controlled the thoughts and actions of citizens everywhere. The Second Red Scare spread across America like a virus, leaving a trail of dread and despair in its wake. The fear of the growing communist regime, a lack of trust between citizens and the government, and a zealous streak of American pride drove the U.S. toward internal conflict and potential devastation.

By September, 1944, before Roosevelt’s death, the threat of a nuclear arms race and possible retaliation for the use of this weapon is already a point of concern. The Office of Scientific Research and Development’s memorandum to Secretary of War Henry Stimson outlines some of the dangers the United States and Great Britain face in continuing the secret development of this “art”. Realizing this technology in the hands of the Soviet Union or other countries, especially defeated enemies, would make highly populated cities especially vulnerable. They also concluded that there was a high possibility of a “major power, or former major power undertaking this development.” The threat of the Soviet Union or Germany developing this weapon was a

The Cold War created a certain desire for security, which led to conformity during the immediate years after WWII. This desire for security was brought about by McCarthyism, a theory based on the claim that Senator McCarthy had a list of hundreds of communist that had perpetrated the United States government. People became terrified that they too may be singled out, or identified as different, therefore their only response was to fit in, to conform. Americans conformed every aspect of their daily lives to fit the standards of those around them.

As the Korean War came to an end, superpowers America and the Soviet Union continued to test atomic bombs, more powerful and effective. However, after tests on an atomic bomb that had been fused, also known as the hydrogen bomb, the leaders and scientists of both countries were shocked by the results (technological advances are not always the best for the future). The immense destruction caused by this bomb would annihilate the entire human population if set in a war (which is why war is dangerous). At the same time, leaders came and went, each with their different ideas and opinions, as some believed that the bomb could only be used in total war, while others thought that the bomb could only be used as a way to threaten other countries into

Meagan Peacock brought up three main points in her discussion on the Soviet and American Politics of Childhood during the Cold War. She discussed how children played a pivotal role in the events of the Cold War. Children were widely used in American and Russian Propaganda. She argued that both sides shared the same project, the propagandist had more in common with each other than with their countryman, and the people of the two countries had more in common with each other than with their state.

After world war one peace looked inevitable. Everyone was wrong about this because a few years later world war two erupted. This great war was supposed to be the war to end all wars. In this war it was crystal clear who was the good side and who was the bad side. Almost everyone figured that if the bad side was defeated then peace couldn’t possibly escape us again. We defeated the evil Axis powers, but of course another serpent would rear its ugly head from behind the curtains. This period of a “cold war” after world war two has become one of the most complex and studied eras since America’s birth. This state of paradoxes, paranoia, and public disorientation has only ended a few years ago, but its

The influx of propaganda was not as prominent as in the United States, but still weighed heavily on the domestic lives of many Australians. Nuclear testing was occurring within Australia by the British. Australia was pushing for its allies, UK, and US to give them the proper instructions to make nuclear weapons. Both the US and UK saw the transferring of nuclear power to Australia as a potential problem. A survey of 701, 10-13year old schoolchildren in 1963 suggested that 97% of them were aware of nuclear armaments and war. The threat of nuclear war weighed heavily not only on children, but entire families. The threats were more prominent in the United States, nevertheless, had a significant impact on the lives of Australian

Ever since World War two we have feared destruction and what could be the aftermath of nuclear bombs. We had a whole era in history to dedicate being terrified of weapons of mass destruction. We had bomb drills, duck and cover drills. The United States had TV drills if an attack were to happen on United States soil. For many Americans this was not hysteria, but a reality that could happen.

The future generations were effected most of all as the thought of death and propaganda of the red scary drove their parents into a fear life they began to raise paranoid children. These children were forced to practice air raid drills and many others terrifying thing. Other thing the parent’s paranoia leads to was how so city and family would have bomb shelter at the ready a great example giving by Alice L. George as she talks about how the American began to panic so badly they began to build bomb shelters in their homes and how they were prepared to stay within these shelters for “days or weeks” (George 22). As this shows the parents paranoia the children were just pass these skill of panicking and living in fear all the time as they would practice these drills at home and school and vice versa this end turn would cause fear to anyone. These thought of nuclear wasteland where spreading threw out the youth fast as most kid within the 1960’s believe that the end of the world or nuclear end was on the way as no one could stop it. These future kids and people of these nations weren’t just the only thing that the countries had to deal with when it affected their counties but also the world and it mass chaos to this new news of coming so close to war.

Terrorist attacks were on the rise around the world and even on the United States.

The United States had basically opened the largest can of worms the world had ever seen that it could not close. The country that seemed to go toe to toe with the US in nuclear weapon research was the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). The US and the USSR competed in a nuclear arms race which started after World War II and ended in the 1980s. It was only until the 1963 Partial Test Ban did the two countries even begin start to ease tensions, but there was still a long way to go (Tucker). For what seemed like an eternity, the people of America waited with faded breath to see what would become of their country’s nuclear arms race. This time period was known as the Cold War, and in this time period nuclear policy was always at the forefront of the news. United States President Harry Truman, the man who had called for the first atomic bomb to be dropped defended his decision even after all the events that transpired afterwards because he saved so many lives and ended the war earlier than it would have gone on (Long). Truman saw the first bombing and the aftermath as a necessary evil. In Truman’s mind, the atomic bomb was retribution against the Japanese for their attacks on Pearl

Before 9/11 Americans thought that the United States was one of the biggest powers in the world. They thought that they were untouchable. However as the towers were falling and the pentagon was hit they realized that America was like every other country. The United States citizens have become aware of the fact that the world is a dangerous place, and the United States was not immune to attacks from foreigners. This created something known as the fear of terrorism which had a mental affect among many of the United States citizens. According to study done by the University of Albany in 2007.

The end of Cold War did not bring an end to the threat of nuclear

come to a nuclear war. This event it really kind of woke the United States and