Social and cultural impact of the cold war in the Americas

Question 1

Discuss one cultural impact of the Cold war in the Americas

Answer 1

1) Could be argued that McCarthyism and the Red Scare created the American conservative attitudes towards social change. - Obsession with communism prevented development of liberal social reform until the 1960s.

• Did stir up many of the cultural elements of the period- film, television, education, music, literature , theater and religions;s role (all reflected anti-communist mood)
• Film industry was significantly affected by blacklisting of writers and actors.
• Victor Navasky, author of Naming Names (1980) observed that social-themes films that were common in the 30s and early 40s almost completely disappeared in the initial cold war period and were replaced by either pure entertainment or anti-communist themes.
  Evil communist were the antagonists of more than 40 hollywood films → Invasion USA (1952), I married a communist (1949). Big Him McLain had Him McLain hunt down murdering communists (opening sequence shows disgust and anger by McLain and his hot headed partner Mal Baxtar as alleged communists refusing to testify are released without punishment

Significance:
any form of dissent or patriarchism was viewed as disloyalty

Impact:
- By the end of the 50s movies were no longer the dominant entertainment medium. Movie-goers declined by 50% over the decade. Television on the rise→ penetration of tv grew from under 10% of households in 1950 to 90% in 1960. Caused TV programs to be used as both an Anti-Soviet tool but also a Pro-American foreign/domestic policy tool

According to Historian Howard zinn - Cold war created a society in which “The whole culture was permeated with anti-communism”. A bit of an exaggeration

Question 2

Discuss a second cultural impact of the Cold war in the Americas

Answer 2

Public education in US viewed as an important avenue for poorer members of society to climb the social and economic ladder
System served to teach all students the norms of citizenship, US history and the thought to be common values of the society
School children around the country recited the pledge of allegiance daily
With threat of soviet “godless communism” came an increased effort by some religious groups to emphasize the importance of god in the lives of us citizens
1954, catholic organization, the knights of columbus lobbied to modify the pledge of allegiance to include the words “under God”. US congress passed law with eisenhower signature created a government-mandated acknowledgement of a supreme being as protection against communist menace

Significance:
Made anti communism sentiments a moral imperative

Question 3

Give context to economic circumstance of the US

Answer 3

1940s and 50s huge economic growth (per capita was more than double of any other country)
Transport, technology and space exploration → new career opportunities → higher standards of living
50% of the population middle-class lifestyle
Discrimination issues still present → minorities, poverty)

While America enjoyed unparalleled economic growth, individuals were afraid to speak up on social atrocities or discrimination for fear of being branded a communist or an outsider

Question 4

Discuss the social impact of Cold war Tensions in the Americas

Answer 4

1) Could be argued that McCarthyism and the Red Scare created the American conservative attitudes towards social change. - Obsession with communism prevented development of liberal social reform until the 1960s. Congress rejected law proposals by Truman that would have allowed federal aid for national health insurance
Historians claimed such liberal welfare reform with the state overseeing workers contributors and deductions might have appeared suspiciously likes eastern European state socialism with its centrally controlled economic policy
- Health reform being branded as “too socialist” led to the Forland Bill (1958) being defeated

Historians Paul Levine and harry papasotiriou stated US 1945-1961 was “an era of social complacency and intellectual darkness”

Significance:
lack of social reform accompanied by Rising incomes caused relatively affluence made Americans to focus on their family model and become relatively apolitical.
- Sometimes referred to as the “Politics of Tranquility”

Question 5

Question structure if present on IB exams

Answer 5

Argue cultural impact were far greater than social impacts

Question 6

Dicuss another social impact of the cold in the Americas

Answer 6

1) because of Soviet advances in the Space Race with Sputnik in 1957
Eisenhower realised that America would have to surpass the USSR in producing high qualified scientists → National Defense Education Act of 1953 (indirect foreign policy) issued $900 million grant to be spent specifically on teaching languages and science and contribute towards student loans for people taking science-related courses

Impact:
This dramatically increased college enrolment. In 140 there were only 0.5mil enrolled in College, by 1960 that number was an estimated 3.6 mil

Significance:
It marked the beginning of large-scale involvement of the U.S. federal government in education.
- Also drove a space race (between US & USSR)