The end of WWII marked the start of the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. During this time period there was a clash between Capitalism and Communism that engulfed the world. These two very different ideologies caused thousands to dye, billions of dollars to be spent, and great advancements in technology. As a result of the Cold War and the fear of the spread of communism, America’s citizens and culture were changed drastically.
During the 1950s a Senator named Joseph McCarthy went on a national witch hunt trying to find communist loyalist within America. McCarthy’s witch hunt caused the fear of communism to become even stronger in America. This fear of communist spies taking over America, spread to other places besides the Federal …show more content…
After the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Japan the Soviet Union felt that they need to create their own nuclear weapon to ensure that the U.S. would not use one on them. Then in 1949 the Soviet Union set off their first nuclear weapon. The Soviet Union’s nuclear bomb test scared America because now the U.S. was not the only one with a nuclear weapon and now it felt threatened. As a result of the Soviet’s test the U.S. started to produce more nuclear weapons under the idea of deterrence. “The stockpile of both the United States and the Soviet Union increased in a nuclear arms race as each sought to develop a deterrent to the other, involving a second-strike capability” (Carlisle). American citizens were greatly affected by the policy of deterrence because it meant that the threat of nuclear war became greater every time the U.S. or Soviet Union created a new nuclear bomb. As this arms race progressed U.S. citizens felt scared that a nuclear war might occur. Some people started to build bomb shelters so that if a nuclear war happened, they had a place to go and to survive a nuclear blast (Greenberg). During the same time, children and adults were told if a nuclear bomb went off that they should duck and cover. This propaganda of duck and cover helped American’s feel safe, so they did not worry about nuclear war. American’s during the time period faced the fear of a nuclear attack every day. The fear of nuclear weapons changed America 's way view of security of the world and it caused a lot of change in their everyday
During the 1950s a Senator named Joseph McCarthy went on a national witch hunt trying to find communist loyalist within America. McCarthy’s witch hunt caused the fear of communism to become even stronger in America. This fear of communist spies taking over America, spread to other places besides the Federal …show more content…
After the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Japan the Soviet Union felt that they need to create their own nuclear weapon to ensure that the U.S. would not use one on them. Then in 1949 the Soviet Union set off their first nuclear weapon. The Soviet Union’s nuclear bomb test scared America because now the U.S. was not the only one with a nuclear weapon and now it felt threatened. As a result of the Soviet’s test the U.S. started to produce more nuclear weapons under the idea of deterrence. “The stockpile of both the United States and the Soviet Union increased in a nuclear arms race as each sought to develop a deterrent to the other, involving a second-strike capability” (Carlisle). American citizens were greatly affected by the policy of deterrence because it meant that the threat of nuclear war became greater every time the U.S. or Soviet Union created a new nuclear bomb. As this arms race progressed U.S. citizens felt scared that a nuclear war might occur. Some people started to build bomb shelters so that if a nuclear war happened, they had a place to go and to survive a nuclear blast (Greenberg). During the same time, children and adults were told if a nuclear bomb went off that they should duck and cover. This propaganda of duck and cover helped American’s feel safe, so they did not worry about nuclear war. American’s during the time period faced the fear of a nuclear attack every day. The fear of nuclear weapons changed America 's way view of security of the world and it caused a lot of change in their everyday