Cold War Liberal Consensus

Anna Zmood
Professor Walker
Cold War
Final Exam
24 April 2013
Cold War and the Liberal Consensus Cold War America during the 1960’s was a year of turmoil for the American government and for the American people. College campuses nationwide were plagued with anti-war protestors that began to spread to the nation’s capital. It was a turning point for society and for foreign and domestic policies. The liberal consensus began falling apart and Americans questioned whether the United States actually represented the values for which they stood for. Society questioned the government’s motives and human rights really became a hot topic, especially during the Civil Rights Movement. In the 1960s, though there was a rise in dissent, Americans didn’t speak out against the government due to fear of being labeled a communist. Though the government said they didn’t want a large, overbearing government and military, the government’s actions proved otherwise. There were many contradictions in the liberal consensus and how the government went about their business, which is why people began seeing through the “hero” façade created, by the military and the government. The transparency of the liberal consensus resulted in a decline for support for the war. The growing opposition and rise in protests were a huge factor in the collapse of the liberal consensus. There are numerous key events during the Cold War, but 1968 is said to be one of the main turning points for Cold War America in domestic and foreign policies, growing protests, and the collapse of the liberal consensus. The rise of protests in the early 1960s became more radical in the middle of the decade. Colleges nationwide saw a growing number of anti-war protests, some of which became violent and more radical in the late 1960s. These protests sparked a chain of events for domestic and foreign policies of the United States. “Berkeley equals Mississippi equals Vietnam” was an equation that really led to many doubts if America actually represented what they stood for. In 1968, students at the University of California Berkeley campus began a number of protests and riots after seeing riot police drag students out of sit-ins nationwide (Hodgson 296). Berkeley students had also connected these riots to the treatment of African Americans in Mississippi. They based their protests on The Free Speech Movement causing a worsening in events after the Johnson administration decided to escalate war efforts in Vietnam (Hodgson 297). The students compared their situation to that of African Americans in Mississippi and although they weren’t really welcomed into the black movement, they still protested against a common enemy, the government. These radical protestors then moved on to anti-war protests in Vietnam in reaction to the Tet Offensive. They felt that it was dragging on, and the U.S. was losing support a lot faster than expected. These protests became more radical and violent as the decade moved on once colleges had riot police involved. College protests nationwide increasingly became violent after protestors and even professors were arrested. Some colleges even had the National Guard come in to neutralize the situations. However, this really didn’t do much but create a domino effect. One after another, campus protests became more violent and the number of protestors grew in opposition to just about everything. There was opposition to the arrests and unnecessary violence to preceding protests, opposition to the war in Vietnam, opposition to the treatment of Blacks in the south, and opposition to just the government in general. The “Berkeley equals Mississippi equals Vietnam” equation was an easy way for radical protestors in the United States to gain supports at a very fast pace while the war in Vietnam was still going on. These protests began a whole new level of dissent in America. The liberal consensus really seemed to fall apart as Americans began seeing through their façade. American society had this image of a perfect society and that they all had a common set of beliefs and values. The fear and paranoia of Communism had infiltrated the society and any opposition was seen as influenced by Communism. Society was shown a perfect image of America that represented freedom and democracy while the Soviet Union was shown as evil, enslaved, and that Communism was worse than the devil. Any threat to American society was blamed on Communist infiltration. The liberal consensus created a blanket of naïveté for the American people and when these college protests and sit-ins began spreading, the liberal consensus fell apart. McCarthyism played a huge role in the liberal consensus because people were scared to speak out about anything, which would result in accusations of being a Communist (Lewis 1). Due to McCarthyism, Americans really began questioning if the U.S. represented the values for which it stood for and if America really was as free as they claimed to be. On top of the lack of freedom of speech (by choice), Americans saw the growing problem of civil rights in the south. This added to their questioning of America’s values and belief of being a free country. They began to think if America could really be considered free and if they can advocate for freedom if some Americans (Blacks) weren’t free themselves. Can America really be a free society if Blacks aren’t free? This question was the basis for Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement (Lewis 1). Though there was a growing sense of opposition to the American government, the protests did not necessarily change domestic and foreign policies on a large scale. President Eisenhower was not a fan of a growing military and government, but they still carried out a secret agency used to overthrow opposing governments. The American government grew drastically as well as the military even though there was no need for it. There was a sharp decline in support for the Vietnam War but military spending and growth increased. Americans did not see a point for the U.S. to be involved in Vietnam, especially for such a long period of time. President Nixon himself had expressed the ongoing Vietnam War and had mentioned he would withdraw troops in a timely manner. However, his actions were quite contradictory and the Vietnam War didn’t end until a few years later. The growing protests in America influenced a period of détente, where relations between the Soviet Union and America weren’t as strained. There was a period of calmness even though at home in America, there was disorder. As a result of détente, the Helsinki Accords and Salt I treaties were signed. The American government had growing problems at home with the Civil Rights Movement, growing opposition, and anti-war movements. The only major change in domestic policy due to the protests was McCarthyism. Although many were fearless and spoke out in nationwide protests and sit-ins, there were people who were afraid to speak out because they didn’t want to face accusations of being Communist. People had their phone lines tapped and neighbors listened to one another with more than open ears. Though the 1960s was a decade of turmoil and change for the United States, 1968 was a turning point in Cold War America. In 1968, the number of college campus protests grew drastically as well as their violent characteristic. Tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States eased, resulting in détente and the signing of the Helsinki Accords and the SALT I treaties. Though there was large growing opposition to the Vietnam War, the U.S.’s foreign policy in regards to Vietnam didn’t seem to change. The war dragged on for a few more years even though President Nixon had plans to end it sooner. Because of the radical anti-war protests in America, the liberal consensus really fell apart and American citizens began questioning whether America actually stood for and represented what they so strongly advocated. Before 1968, Americans lived in this sense of a perfect society that didn’t question anything or anyone. McCarthyism infiltrated American homes just as much as the fear and paranoia of Communism did. The year 1968 is a turning point for Cold War America because radical protests increased drastically, the liberal consensus fell apart, and the American people really began questioning their government and its motives instead of living in the darkness.

Works Cited
Hodgson, Godfrey. America In Our Time. First Edition. Garden City: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1976. 1-301. Print.
Lewis, Chris. Cold War Liberalism and the Rise of the Liberal Consensus. (2002): n. page. Print. <http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/2010/liberal.htm

Cited: Hodgson, Godfrey. America In Our Time. First Edition. Garden City: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1976. 1-301. Print. Lewis, Chris. Cold War Liberalism and the Rise of the Liberal Consensus. (2002): n. page. Print. &lt;http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/2010/liberal.htm