Hansen
U.S. History 1950s Unit- Study Guide 11-12
The Origins of the Cold War
- Why was there tension between the Soviet Union and the U.S. since the Russian Revolution of 1917? (many reasons!)
- How did World War II both ease and increase this tension? (several reasons)
- What was the Cold War a fight over? Who were the main fighters?
- What are spheres of influence?
- Why were so many countries ‘up for grabs’ after WWII? In what part of the world were these up for grabs countries located?
- What were America’s earliest attempts at winning the Cold War?
- Marshall Plan
- Truman Doctrine
- What part of the world had Stalin added to his sphere of influence after WWII?
- Iron curtain?
Early Cold War Clashes
- The Berlin Airlift
- How was Germany divided (precisely!) after WWII? Why? What problems did this division create?
- What sparked the closure of Berlin to the West?
- How did the West respond?
- Who won this showdown?
- How was this a game of ‘chicken’ or brinksmanship?
- What are NATO and the Warsaw Pact? What do they have to do with the Berlin Airlift?
- For what two reasons was 1949 so devastating to the West’s Cold War ambitions?
- Arms Race
- What is the difference between an atom bomb and a hydrogen bomb?
- What was Sputnik? Why does it belong in this category?
- What are ICBMs? Why are they noteworthy?
- M.A.D.
- What does this acronym mean?
- What is nuclear fallout or nuclear winter?
- What is CheyenneMountain?
- How could one make the argument that nukes made the world safer, based on MAD?
- Proxy War
- What does this term mean?
- Where did the U.S. fight its first proxy war in 1950-1953?
- Know, in detail, the events of this first Proxy War.
- Think: Japanese imperialism, 1949, 38th parallel, puppet governments, the three routes (butt-kickin’s) and who was involved in each, motivation for U.S. involvement, MacCarthur, Truman, Cease-Fire, DMZ, etc.
- Know the significance of the Korean War for the later Cold War
- Racial integration of military
The Red Scare
- Why a Red Scare?
- Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs
- A Russian bomb
- What actions were taken to ‘combat’ Communism in this country?
- U2 Spy Plane/ Francis Gary Powers
- Joseph MCarthy/witch hunts
- What caused his downfall?
- HUAC
- Loyalty Boards
- Blacklists
- McCarran Act
- Permanent mobilization
Suburbia and Prosperity
- Baby Boom
- GI Bill
- Suburbia/Levittowns
- Car culture
- Rise in white collar, over blue collar, employment
- ‘golden age’ of the teenager (Why? How?)
- Reflecting or refractory?
- Golden Age of the Television
- Leisure time
- Consumerism
Culture Clash
- ‘company men’
- Beat Movement
- Rock ‘n Roll
- Boomers v Greatest Generation
The Dark side of the American dream in the 1950s
- decaying inner cities, declining public transportation, minority groups not included
- white flight
Extra (added at last minute)
- Eisenhower- president from 1952 to 1960, replaced Truman, Republican, for small government , nickname Ike
- Turkey and Greece first countries that we were afraid of falling to Communism… inspiration for the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine
- NASA – American Space organization
- 22nd Amendment officially no more than 2 terms