Cold War In The Mid 1900's
Effects of the Cold War in the Mid 1900’s
In the mid 1900’s the term Cold War would be used to describe the relationship between the United States and the USSR. With the United States possessing a powerful weapon known as the atomic bomb; the USSR would not be long behind them after World War II with their own atomic bomb. During this time period the USSR and the United States relationship would dissolve because of the United States holding back information at the Yalta Conference. The Cold War would greatly affect the civil liberties and the election politics in the United States. Although neither side ever fought the other if one side attacked the other it would lead to World War III. Until the Cold War, Communists never made much of
an impact on American life. Most Americans despised the Communists, but weren't particularly preoccupied with them. Senator Joseph McCarthy, the most prominent Communist-hunter of the period; unknown numbers of innocent people had their lives ruined. The tactic he would use would be known as McCarthyism. This was an effort to root out Communists from every corner of American society by any means necessary; even if those means violated traditional American values such as: due process and constitutional rights. In 1947 The House of Representatives voted to approve citations of contempt against ten Hollywood writers, directors, and producers. These men had refused to cooperate at hearings dealing with communism in the movie industry held by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Hollywood quickly established the so-called "blacklist" a collection of names of Hollywood personalities suspected of having communist ties. Those on the list rarely found work in the movies. The blacklist was not completely broken until the 1960’s. In the early years of the Cold War government spending went up for both the United States and the USSR due to the arms race and the space race. The nuclear arms race was central to the Cold War. Many feared where the Cold War was going with the belief that the more nuclear weapons you had, the more powerful you were. Both America and USSR massively built up their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. In 1952 the
United States would gain a step on the USSR with the creation of the H-bomb. This nuclear bomb was smaller in size than the Hiroshima atomic bomb but 2500 times more powerful. One year later the USSR would have successfully created a H-bomb of their own. Towards the end of the Cold War in 1986 the United States defense spending was 367 billion dollars. Although the Cold War was a war not fought; today it is know as brinkmanship. This was a diplomatic art of going to war without actually getting into war. The cold war brought many scares to the United States and wrongly accused some people. It made many fear the coming of a World War III, a nuclear war that that many thought would cause the end of the world. If things was handled the way it was the world wouldn’t be the way it is today. In the movie “13 Days” he said: “If the sun comes up tomorrow it is because of good men”. He is referring to the deal that would be made between the United States and the USSR to lead to the end of the Cold War.
In the mid 1900’s the term Cold War would be used to describe the relationship between the United States and the USSR. With the United States possessing a powerful weapon known as the atomic bomb; the USSR would not be long behind them after World War II with their own atomic bomb. During this time period the USSR and the United States relationship would dissolve because of the United States holding back information at the Yalta Conference. The Cold War would greatly affect the civil liberties and the election politics in the United States. Although neither side ever fought the other if one side attacked the other it would lead to World War III. Until the Cold War, Communists never made much of
an impact on American life. Most Americans despised the Communists, but weren't particularly preoccupied with them. Senator Joseph McCarthy, the most prominent Communist-hunter of the period; unknown numbers of innocent people had their lives ruined. The tactic he would use would be known as McCarthyism. This was an effort to root out Communists from every corner of American society by any means necessary; even if those means violated traditional American values such as: due process and constitutional rights. In 1947 The House of Representatives voted to approve citations of contempt against ten Hollywood writers, directors, and producers. These men had refused to cooperate at hearings dealing with communism in the movie industry held by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Hollywood quickly established the so-called "blacklist" a collection of names of Hollywood personalities suspected of having communist ties. Those on the list rarely found work in the movies. The blacklist was not completely broken until the 1960’s. In the early years of the Cold War government spending went up for both the United States and the USSR due to the arms race and the space race. The nuclear arms race was central to the Cold War. Many feared where the Cold War was going with the belief that the more nuclear weapons you had, the more powerful you were. Both America and USSR massively built up their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. In 1952 the
United States would gain a step on the USSR with the creation of the H-bomb. This nuclear bomb was smaller in size than the Hiroshima atomic bomb but 2500 times more powerful. One year later the USSR would have successfully created a H-bomb of their own. Towards the end of the Cold War in 1986 the United States defense spending was 367 billion dollars. Although the Cold War was a war not fought; today it is know as brinkmanship. This was a diplomatic art of going to war without actually getting into war. The cold war brought many scares to the United States and wrongly accused some people. It made many fear the coming of a World War III, a nuclear war that that many thought would cause the end of the world. If things was handled the way it was the world wouldn’t be the way it is today. In the movie “13 Days” he said: “If the sun comes up tomorrow it is because of good men”. He is referring to the deal that would be made between the United States and the USSR to lead to the end of the Cold War.