World War II: The Golden Era

Immediately after World War II, the world was thrown into a massive ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, which culminated into the Cold War. The Cold War ignited overwhelming, panic-inducing fears across the United States, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, elected in 1952 and remained president until 1960, was faced with the challenge of quelling the fears of the American people. Americans during the Cold War, particularly during the presidency of Eisenhower, had constant fears of Soviet expansion, the pertinent anticommunist crusade at home, the spread of communism, and the neverending uneasiness of total nuclear annihilation, all fears which the Eisenhower administration would inadequately allay.

There were a multitude of fears about the Cold War that the American people feared in the aftermath of the second World War, which it says in document A. The Americans feared the soviet union for three reasons. They were the first to put up an orbiting satellite, they had nuclear bombs, and there was a fear of communism in the US. American people feared that there was communism in there country because China turned to communism. There fears were only increased by the Eisenhower administration and the media’s actions.

Following the Second World War, the United States had gotten involved in the Cold War. The United States and Soviet Union had become the two superpowers, vividly proving their strengths in the most recent war. These strengths, however, caused a rivalry to form between the two, and would affect the United State’s domestic policy and American society throughout the Cold War. Communism and the threat of war were the most prominent aspects which affected the United States both economically and socially.

n the time period following World War 2, the beginning of the Cold War, Americans mainly feared three things: the spreading of communism in the United States, the communist investigators supposedly in America, and nuclear war between America and the Soviet Union.

I believe that World War II was a continuation of World War I because of some not resolved issues. Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by expanding the military and invading Poland. One of the events that led to the beginning of World War 1 was: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism; which stands for MAIN. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia but they then joined up with Russia. After, Germany declared war on Russia which caused the war to expand. World War I ended in 1918 when Germany surrendered. It also had a great impact on European countries after it ended.

After World War II, the American people entered into yet another war. This war was different from all before it, as it wasn't actually a war at all. The Cold War was a time of intimidation and suspicion. As America grew more fearful of Communism and nuclear war with the Soviet Union, they prepared in every way they could. People accused others of communism, they built bunkers, and they practiced “duck and cover;” a drill given in schools in case of nuclear bombings.

The aftermath of the Second World War saw the United States of America and the Soviet Union emerge as the two superpowers in a global political landscape marked by tension and conflict. This period, known as the Cold War, was characterized by a pervasive atmosphere of fear and suspicion as both nations vied for dominance and influence on the world stage. The American people, in particular, harbored deep-seated fears about the implications of the Cold War on their security, economy, and way of life. One of the primary fears of the American people in the aftermath of the Second World War was the threat of nuclear war as represented in documents C and

The fears of the American people regarding the Cold War in the aftermath of the second World War were numerous and strong, growing in power as Americans began to fear not only the looming threat posed by the Soviet Union but also potential communist activity within the United States itself. The administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully recognized and addressed a number of these fears, passing legislation which improved domestic and international defence capabilities and creating an atmosphere of relative comfort and prosperity within the nation itself. However, despite the efforts of the Eisenhower administration, a strong sense of fear pervaded much of the United States as the Cold War escalated into a greater, more critical

Throughout the 1950s, society was going through a period of post was confusion. After the end of World War, I, the first major Anti-Communist movement began in the United States, this was widely known as The Red Scare. The Red Scare was the growing fear of Communism in America. Being a Communist became illegal in the U.S. due to the fact that the Communist party was a radical movement that promoted rebellion and violence. The fear created by the development of the Soviet Union after World War I, and the rise to power of the Soviet Union after World War II caused widespread fear among many. Americans were encouraged to keep an eye on their friends and neighbors to ensure that they were not Communists or Soviet spies passing secrets to the Communists.

The Cold War, which was considered the “years of maximum danger,” lasted from 1949-1962. This period brought an increasing sense of danger to America because the Soviet Union came into possession of an atomic bomb in 1949; an idea many Americans thought to be impossible unless the Soviet Union had a spy in the United States, which they did. Because the Soviet Union had an atomic bomb, a nuclear war became a reality. In Kenneth Rose’s “One Nation Underground” he told of rising issues associated with the Cold War and the threat of nuclear bombings. The Cold War, in conjunction with the inventions of (total destructive) bombs, generated new dangers, fears, and morality issues among Americans, which led to further increased fears.

From 1953 to 1962, people were asked what the largest fear and problem is in America. For those 10 years, war was the biggest fear (document 3). When Russia had built their first atomic bomb, Americans feared for their lives. They started pouring money and resources into building bomb shelters, to prepare for nuclear war (document 5). During the Cold War, America’s defense budget jumped 1940 to 1960. It started at 18% and grew to 52% by 1960 (document 8).

Final Exam: Between the beginning of World War II and the present decade, the United States underwent significant reform through key legislative acts, which addressed race relations, poverty, and gender. Explain these different categories of reform, their early proponents, their evolution into legislation, and whether or not this legislation truly addressed the issues.

In the 1950’s during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency which was also the peak of the Cold War, The Soviet Union’s development and testing of WMD’s (Atomic, Nuclear and H-Bomb) raised fears of war around the world. The Soviet Union started to expand their idea of communism to democratic nations in Europe, this raised tensions with the U.S. which heighten fear and anxiety of the American public of an imminent nuclear/Atom/H-Bomb war between the super powers.

During this time, Americans focused most of their fears on communist subversion throughout the country and the possible threat of an atomic war with the detonation of the Soviet Union 's first atomic bomb in 1949. There was a constant unease within the people that made it extremely difficult to trust one another without the suspicion that they supported the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) or had some sort of communist ties. The nationwide suspicion led to surveillance and exposure

In fact, the United States had enjoyed an extended period of economic expansion during the war, and following the war the U.S. economy continued with great strength for more than a decade. Life in America, consequently, was arguably better than it had ever been. The middle class had swelled, unemployment rates were some of the lowest in history, and the “American Dream” was for many families a reality.