The Big Picture: In the years following World War II, the nation experienced tremendous economic growth and prosperity, transforming the way middle-class people lived. The Cold War arms race with the Soviet Union, however, cast a dark cloud of anxiety over the Eisenhower years.

CHAPTER 26: POSTWAR AMERICA

Main Idea: The presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower was shaped in large part by the Cold War and related conflicts.

CHAPTER 26 SECTION 1: THE EISENHOWER YEARS

Flocabulary: Cold War

The Election of 1952• Following Roosevelt’s 4 terms of president, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment that limited the number of years a president could serve to 10.• Ike Eisenhower ran on the Republican ticket for the presidency in 1952, became known as “likeable Ike.”• World War II Hero, Strong stance

against the Democrats handling of the Korean peace talks.

The Cold War Continues• Eisenhower’s Secretary of State John Foster Dulles wanted not only to contain Communism but to push it back.• Favored building more nuclear weapons, only the threat

of nuclear war would threaten the Soviet’s.• Believed in brinkmanship or the diplomatic art of going to

the brink of war without actually going to war.• Dulles advocated for massive retaliation or the pledge

that the United States would respond with overwhelming force against the Soviet Union. • Meant to scare the Soviet’s into surrender.

• CIA or Central Intelligence Agency was created to collect information and spy on foreign governments.• Collected intelligence but also were active in other nations

governments to advance American interests.

The Warsaw Pact• In 1953 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the new leader of the Soviet Union.• The Soviet Union established a new organization called the Warsaw Pact with communist Eastern European countries that created an alliance amongst these nations.• Similar to NATO, except the Soviet Union was in charge.• Soviet’s would crush many oppositions that arose in Eastern

Europe.

US and Soviet Relations• The Americans and the Soviet’s met for the first Cold War summit in 1955 in Geneva, Switzerland.• Eisenhower proposed an “open skies” policy in which each power would be allowed to fly over the other, Soviet’s rejected it.• America flew over the Soviet Union anyway to try and gain

intelligence, Soviet’s shot down the American pilot and held him captive until he was traded for a Soviet spy.

Cold War “Hot Spots” – Vietnam • In 1954 France lost the bloody battle to keep control of their colony in Vietnam, many rebels in Vietnam had turned communist.• Agreed to divide Vietnam into two parts – Northern and

Southern, this division was meant to be temporary until elections could happen in which the people would be able to choose what kind of government they wanted.

• US would did not even want to give the Communist’s the chance to come to power – US established the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization or SEATO with Great Britain, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand.• Helped to establish the anti-communist government in South

Vietnam.

Cold War “Hot Spots” – Middle East• There were many tensions in the Middle East between Jews and Arabs, only increased after Israel established independence in 1948.• Egypt and other Arab nations were upset by the creation of

Israel.

• In response Egypt took over the British Suez canal that helped Britain and France extract petroleum from the Middle East.• Soviet’s intervened on the side of Egypt, Great Britain and

France invaded the Suez canal attempting to gain control – Eisenhower insisted that they withdraw and allow the canal to remain under Egyptian control.

• In response to the crisis Eisenhower responded with the Eisenhower Doctrine that declared the US right to help, upon request, any nation in the Middle East attempted to resist Communist aggression.

Main Idea: The growing power of, and military reliance on, nuclear weapons helped create significant anxiety in the American public in the 1920s.

CHAPTER 26 SECTION 2: ATOMIC ANXIETY

Daisy Commercial 1964

The Hydrogen Bomb• The atomic bombs that the United States had dropped at the end of World War II had changed the world.• Atomic bombs would be the future of military weaponry and the US was building its stockpile and creating new and improved weapons.• The hydrogen bomb was one of these weapons, it would be

powered by fusing together hydrogen atoms, would be more powerful than the standard atomic bomb.• Some argued against even building it since it was so

destructive.

• The first H-Bomb was so heavy it could not even be used against enemies.• The development of missiles allowed for long range firing

rather than reliance on airplanes.

The Arms Race• The United States and the Soviets had roughly the same technology.• To ensure neither country had the edge the two countries

began building stockpiles.

• Eisenhower decreased spending on soldiers and tanks and increased spending on nuclear weapons as a way to protect America from it’s enemies.• New technology permitted the US to become a more formidable power.• Developed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMS)• USS Nautilus used nuclear energy to create steam to power

the engine, enabled the submarine to go months without refueling.

Soviet Advances in Technology• The Soviet Union was lacking in the number of weapons it possessed in relation to the United States.• Soviet Union launched the first ever satellite named Sputnik,

a month later they launched Sputnik II that carried the first ever live animal into space.

• Americans feared that if the Soviet’s had surpassed the United States in relation to space technology they would surpass them in weapons technology as well.• Congress established National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and launched a satellite of its own to keep up with Soviet technology.

Americans React to the Threat of Nuclear War• Truman administration created the Civil Defense Administration to help educate and prepare the public for nuclear emergencies.• Created videos for school children, air raid sirens were

installed, housewives prepared their homes for emergency.

•While the preparations ensured that America would be prepared for the threat of nuclear attack it also increased fears of nuclear attack.• In his farewell address Eisenhower warned the nation of the military industrial complex, or becoming an industrial power based upon weapons development and build up.

“Duck and Cover

”

Main Idea: Television was a major influence on American culture in the 1950s, mirroring larger changes in technology and culture.

CHAPTER 26 SECTION 3: THE TELEVISION AGE

Television Changes American Life• Televisions biggest immediate impact was on politics, politicians were now able to connect with their viewers visually as well as audibly.• They were able to experience the different political styles

presented at political debates.

• Advertisers also took advantage of the opportunity of television, allowed them to more persuasively reach viewers than radio.• Programs made TV the most attractive to viewers.• Favorites included I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners.

Other Technological Advances of the 1950s• Researchers began to develop the first computers in the 1940s, during this time the computer was as big as a large room. • The first computers were made out of a series of vacuum

tubes that broke often, transistors were developed as an alternative to the tube and would allow the computers to be smaller and more efficient.• Ten years later scientists developed the first computer chip

called a integrated circuit that allowed for the computer to be even more efficient.

• Polio was a common contagious disease during the early 1900s, Jonas Salk developed a new vaccine in order to help prevent outbreaks.

Cultural Change in the 1950s• In the 1950s America had clearly emerged as the world’s leading industrial leader producing 1/3 of the world’s goods and services.• After WWII there was also a baby boom and population in the United States soared causing an increase in housing development.• Automobile industry also boomed and they created new makes and models in order to appeal to consumer demand.

New Communities and Highways• One of the most famous communities built in the 1950s was Levittown in New York.• They were successful because the houses were made for a single

family and were affordable, often with help of the GI Bill.• Discrimination within the housing communities that developed

were common.

• Movement toward warmer parts of the United States became more common, called the Sunbelt.• California is a major sunbelt location.

• The United States started on the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s that would create standard highways across the nation to increase travel and transport “Little

Boxes”