The Cold war &

The 1950sUnit 16

Post WWII events…the conferencesTehran Conference (1943): Allies agreed to split Germany after warBretton Woods Conference (1944): Allies agreed to set up IMF and an international

monetary system after warYalta Conference (Feb. 1945): Stalin wants to expand soviet empire U.S. calls for the creation of the U.N.

Post WWII events…the conferencesPotsdam Conference (July 1945): U.S. calls for free elections in all of Europe;

Stalin rejects All agree to hold criminal trials for war crimes

Discuss… How will these conferences shape a post

war world?

The Cold war begins…US diplomatic actionsDefine and evaluate each of the followingAtomic Diplomacy (1945-1949)Truman Doctrine (1947)Marshall Plan (1947)Containment (1947)Berlin airlift (1948)

New Alliances 1945: Creation of the United Nations 1949: Formation of the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization (NATO) 1955: Warsaw Pact signed

Arms Race 1949: Soviets test first atomic bomb 1952: UK test first atomic bomb 1952: US tests first Hydrogen bomb 1953: Soviets test first Hydrogen bomb

Results…Introduction of Mutually Assured Destruction

Atomic Bomb figures WW II ATOMIC BOMBS:

1000 TONS OF TNT = 1 “KILOTON” WW II BOMBS = 13,000 TONS = 13 KILOTONS

1952 “HYDROGEN” BOMB: 1 MIL. TONS OF TNT = 1 “MEGATON” HYDROGEN BOMB = 3 MIL. TONS OF TNT = 3

MEGATONS 1955: U.S. HAD 30,000+ MEGATONS OF

NUCLEAR WEAPONRY

20-KILOTON BLAST ESTIMATE

Korean War (1950-1953) 1949: North Korea becomes Communist 1950: North Koreans invade South Korea N. Korea pushes south to Pusan MacArthur takes US/UN forces north to Chinese border Chinese push US and S. Korea south to Pusan border 1953: Armistice signed…38th parallel settled as the

border

Post War Economy Lack of wartime products causes a brief

recession (1948-1950) Major disputes over labor 1944: GI Bill passed…

Aid for education, home purchasing, small business loans

Short term impact? Long term impact?

1950s economyMajor boost in GDP and GNP fueled by: Government & Defense spending

1940: 1.6 billion (17.5% of fed budget) 1960: 48.1 billion (52.2% of fed budget)

Growth of the middle class 1955: 60% of pop

Consumerism Impact: Service industries received largest boost

1950s economyHow will the economic progress impact: American politics American families American education

1950s society Baby boom

1945 US Pop: 139 million 1950 US Pop: 152 million

The American family…how has the role of women changed since the days of WWII?

1950s society Consumerism

Housing Suburban sprawl…Levittowns TV Materialism (McDonalds)

Impact on society and politics? Elvis (link 1 & link 2)…notice the

difference?

1950s Politics…Eisenhower “We like Ike” WWII hero and 1st 5 star General Policies:

Interstate highway system Balance the budget Stabilize the economy Build up for cold war Control labor unions

1950s Politics…McCarthyism

A hunt for “card carrying communists”

The Congressional Committee targeted people suspected of being members of the communist party Publicly humiliated innocents citizens Very harsh on Hollywood

Space Race Key questions:1. What fueled the race to space?2. How did US react to Sputnik?3. Why has the US cut back on their space

program?

The Space Race 1957: Russians launch Sputnik 1958: NASA begins training for the Mercury

7 project April 12 1961: Russians launch Yuri

Gagarin into space May 5 1961: US launch Alan Sheppard into

space

Space Race Key questions:1. What fueled the race to space?2. How did US react to Sputnik?3. Why has the US cut back on their space

program?