Part 1 1945-1963

Confrontation

The Ideological StruggleThe Ideological StruggleSoviet &

Eastern Bloc Nations[“Iron

Curtain”]

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.[George Kennan]

METHODOLOGIES:

Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]

Arms Race [nuclear escalation]

Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”

Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

Why does each side mistrust the other?

1. U.S. doesn’t trust the Soviets because…

2. Stalin’s purging campaigns… will he do the same to Eastern Europe?

3. Broken promises by Stalin4. USSR did not ensure free

elections in Poland5. USSR did not Allow for self-

determination in Eastern Europe

6. USSR would not remove troops from Iran

7. Soviet Union developing atomic weapons (how?)

1. USSR doesn’t trust the U.S. because…

2. US cut off lend-lease aid in 1945

3. Spent millions of lives in WW2

4. US avoided opening 2nd front in Western Europe to aid them

5. Claimed US and Britain had “frozen out” Soviets when developing atomic weapons

The “Iron Curtain”The “Iron Curtain”

From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an the Adriatic, an iron curtainiron curtain has descended has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lies across the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe.Europe. -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946

The Truman Doctrine 1947

• Truman’s doctrine:Truman’s doctrine: The The U.S. should support free U.S. should support free peoples throughout the peoples throughout the world who were resisting world who were resisting takeovers by armed takeovers by armed minorities or outside minorities or outside pressures…pressures…

• We agree to give money We agree to give money and aid to any country and aid to any country resisting communismresisting communism

• The U.S. gave Greece & The U.S. gave Greece & Turkey $400 million in aidTurkey $400 million in aid

Marshall Plan [1948]Marshall Plan [1948]

1.1. ““European Recovery European Recovery Program.”Program.”

2.2. Secretary of State, Secretary of State, George MarshallGeorge Marshall

3.3. The U. S. should provide The U. S. should provide aid to aid to allall European nations European nations that need it. This move that need it. This move is not against any country or is not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.poverty, desperation, and chaos.

4.4. $12.5 billion of US aid to Western $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe extended to Eastern Europe Europe extended to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this was rejected].& USSR, [but this was rejected].

Soviet Response

• Felt Germany should be punished for WWII

• Strips East Germany of its industry (for punishment and “protection”)

• Orders the Soviet Army to block all Aid to Berlin in an attempt to push out the Americans

Berlin Airlift

1. In response the U.S. and Britain begin to airlift supplies to the Berliners

Children hope for chocolates during

Berlin Airlift

Three air corridors used by the Allies

during airlift

Waiting in Line for Takeoff

Map of the Zones of

Occupation, location of

Berlin.

Marshall Plan PropagandaWho is sending money to the

European countries?

AgricultureIndustry

Foreign Trade

Fighting for Protection

1. NATOa) Policy of collective security

b) 12 Original Member Nations

c) Western Europe: USA

2. Warsaw Pacta) Policy of collective security

b) Eastern Europe: USSR

Red: Soviet Controlled,

Warsaw Pact

Blue: NATO Countries,

Lighter Blue Later Joined

NATO

Albania: withdrew from Warsaw Pact

1968

Worldwide Influence

Handling the Soviet Threat

A) 1946: NEW PERCEPTION OF THE SOVIET UNION

1.George Kennan's Long Telegram in Feb 1946 offered a historical analysis of the motives of Soviet Foreign Policy - Russian ruler had always been weak and needed to invent an external enemy- That enemy was the West- Therefore the USSR was inevitably expansionist and hostile to the West- Marxism-Leninism was the ideological basis of Soviet aggression and expansion- Because he taught that Communist States could not co-exist with capitalist states

6. THE COLD WAR STARTS

B) New policy towards the Soviet Union (“Patience with firmness” or “Get tough policy”) 1. U.S. action in Iran (CIA places the Shah on the throne)2. More stringent conditions to loans and credits requested by the Soviets3. U.S. tougher policy towards Soviets in Germanya) halted reparationsb) bilateral zonec) relaxation of restrictions on German industrial production

4. BARUCH PLAN (JUNE 1946)

4. Baruch plan (June 1946)A) the U.S.A. and the USSR attempted to work out proposals for international control of atomic weapons via the United Nations atomic energy commission in 1945B) in June 1946 the Americans presented a plan which provided for frequent inspection of atomic energy installations in UN member states. The Baruch PlanC) the Americans refused to destroy their existing atomic stockpile until inspection arrangements were firmly in placeD) the Russians refused to submit to inspection of their sites until the Americans had destroyed their atomic weapons5. The Clifford-Elsey report (July 1946) The report highlighted examples of aggressive Soviet actions and stated that the ultimate Soviet objective was world domination.

7. WHO TO BLAME FOR THE COLD WARStalin´s responsibilityDid not implement the Yalta accord on PolandBlocked economic unity in Germany Installed communist governments in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria Moved soviet troops into Korea and Manchuria Retained military presence in Iran after the war.America´s responsibilitya) misinterpreted Russian policy- All the Russian actions were defensive. they occurred on the perimeter of the Soviet Union as an attempt to consolidate its frontiers- Soviet foreign policy was driven by national security but not expansionist communist ideology- Soviet Union did not oppose American intervention in Manchuruia and Korea, withdrew their troops from North Korea, Manchuria and Iran and did not supply weapons to the Greek communists- Democratic politics continued in Hungary and free elections took place in Czechoslovakia in may 1946- The Sovietization of Eastern Europe was an effect and not cause of the cold warb) The scale of American power after the Second World Warc) Its determination to create the post-war world according to its image.

7. THE SECURITY DILEMMA

In the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union frequently misinterpreted each other’s policy. United States believed for example that the Soviet Union was systematically penetrating areas vital to US security and was engaged in a grand design to become the word’s dominant post-war power. To this extent US policy was based on fear. Policy makers saw the Soviet Union as the aggressor. They therefore took measures to underpin US security, but those defensive measures were construed by the Russians as aggressive, prompting the Russians to take further defensive measures which the Americans then saw as offensive. Thus a dangerous cycle of action and reaction came into being. Strategists call this situation the “security dilemma”. The net outcome was less security for both parties.

7. CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR HISTORICAL INTERPRETATIONSThe orthodox school

The revisionist school

The post-revisionist school.

7. CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR. STALIN´S FOREIGN POLICY. THE ORTHODOX SCHOOL

The orthodox School: Causes

- Stalin’s expansionist policy.

-Part of eastern Poland went to the USSR

-Communist governments in Poland and other Eastern European countries

- The Berlin blockade.

7. CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR: USA´S RESONSIBILITY. THE REVISIONIST VIEW

Causes:-USA’s hard-line approach towards the USSR after WWII. -The role of the power of big business and the military-industrial sector in pushing the US government towards Cold War confrontation as way of protecting the economic interests of capitalism-USA ignored the USSR’s security needs-USA’s provocative actions.

7. THE POST-REVISIONIST SCHOOL- Has sought to avoid blaming either side for breakdown in relations and to approach the topic from a more objective standpoint.

- Post Revisionists believe that since both sides believed a bi-polarized cold war was inevitable, both sides looked for reasons that made it happen.

7. CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR. ROLE OF PERSONALITYThe big three:

Churchill replaced by Attlee 1945

Roosevelt replaced by Truman 1945

Stalin.

Why does this matter? (Aimee) Because the big 3 (C-R-S) had worked together during WWII and understood each other and the needs of each others countries.

Also Roosevelt was very conciliatory toward Stalin, and Stalin more or less trusted Roosevelt, Truman was much more hard lined.

CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR: THE SEEDS OF CONFLICT 1941-1945

Difference of ideology. Communism, capitalism

Economic differences

Political differences

A) Liberal democracies

B) The communist state.

CAPITALISM AND COMMUNISM: IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES

Capitalism (USA) Communism (USSR)Limited government Strong central state

Multi party politics One party government

Individual rights

Free enterprise economy A command economy

Open society Closed society

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT 3. THE MARSHALL PLAN Announced by Secretary of State George Marshall on 5 June 1947 Massive program of economic assistance for countries of Western

Europe. Amounted 13 billion dollars between 1948 and 1952 Motives: a) Economic. Create markets for American goods b) Containment of communism. (people who were hungry and

unemployed were more likely to turn to extreme parties of the left for solution of their problems). The best antitoxin to communism was prosperity

- Stalin was offered the Marshall aid but turned it down and forced other Eastern European countries to do the same. Saw the Marshall Aid as an attempt to create an American economic empire in eastern Europe

- Prompted more aggressive Soviet policy in eastern Europe - Russian answer was the Molotov Plan and reformation of

Cominterm, now renamed Cominform. More aggressive policy in eastern Europe, Hungary, Czechoslovakia.

- Marshall Plan was a key episode in the Cold war and marked the moment when compromise between the two sides was no longer possible.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT 4. Creation of a West German state - US initiation to combine the three western occupation zones into a West

German state - 1947: Restrictions on industrial production of (West) Germany relaxed - 1948: the three occupying powers of the West met to draw up a constitution

for a new West German state - June 1948: Introduction of a new currency in the three Western zones Stalin’s response; a land blockade of Berlin - In June 1948 Russia blocked the road and rail routes to Berlin - The purpose was to force the western powers to cancel their plans for West

German state - The response of the western powers was to supply west Berlin from the air.

The Berlin Airlift - In may 1949 Stalin ended the Blockade - In September 1949: The birth of the Federal Republic of Germany (West-

Germany) - October 1949: The Soviet occupation zone becomes the German

Democratic Republic (East-Germany) - The partition of Germany reflected the division of Europe as a whole.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

5. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Established 4th April 1949 Military Alliance Article 5: Adopted a principle of collective

security whereby an attack on one or more member states would be considered an attack on them all and could be met with armed force

Purpose: To keep the Russians out, the Germans down and the Americans in.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

6. CONTAINMENT IN ASIA: A) JAPAN - The main objective of US occupation policy

towards Japan between 1945 and 1947 - Demilitarization and democratization - The Japanese armed forces were demobilized,

stockpiles of weapons were destroyed and a “no war” clause was written into a new Japanese constitution

- Some of Japan’s vast industrial combines were broken up in order to neutralize Japan’s war making capacity

- The right to strike was recognized and trade unions were legalized

- War criminals were brought to trial and Japan was forced to pay reparations to its former enemies.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

6. CONTAINMENT IN ASIA: A) JAPAN - US POLICY TOWARDS JAPAN AFTER 1947 - In 1947 US changed its policy towards Japan to win support

of the nation - Emphasis on economic reconstruction of Japan - In 1949 American’s authorized $ 500 million in aid to Japan - The program of industrial de concentration was diluted and

restrictions on industrial production were relaxed so as not to hinder economic recovery

- In 1948 government workers were forbidden to strike and US occupation authorities started arresting communist sympathizers

- The prosecution of war criminals was quietly scaled down - Responsibility for day-to-day government was increasingly

handed over to the Japanese.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

6. CONTAINMENT IN ASIA: B) CHINA - US tried to prevent communist victory in the

civil war in China by supporting Jiang Jieshi and his Nationalists (Kuomintang)

- For the American’s the Cold War was as much a conflict over the control of key resources as a battle of ideas. They believed that the recovery of Japan depended on access to the resources and markets of the Chinese interior and that the communists would prevent that.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

6. CONTAINMENT IN ASIA: C) KOREA, VIETNAM AND THE DEFENSIVE PERIMETER

- Worsening Soviet-American relations meant that neither side could agree on terms for unification of Korea.

- Policy-makers in America were convinced that USA must hold on to South-Korea at least.

- USA was supporting France in its colonial war in Vietnam in spite of the fact that one of Roosevelt’s aims for the post-war era had been decolonization.

- Americans were afraid that withdraw of the French from Vietnam would swell the rising tide of communism in Asia

- For America the first line of military defense against communism in Asia would not be the land mass but a belt of offshore islands including Japan, the Riukyu Islands, Guam and the Philippines.

- US air bases and garrisons existed on all these islands and formed a so-called defense perimeter against an Asian aggressor.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

7. How successful was the policy of containment?

1. The policy of containment had met with reasonable success in Europe in September 1949

A) Territorially communism made no gains B) The influence of communist parties within Western

Europe was in decline 2. In Asia the strategy of containment was less

effective A) Success in Japan and partly in South-Korea B) Little success in China and Vietnam.

8. THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT

8. Why was the policy of containment less successful in Asia than in Europe?

- American policy was resolutely Europe first - The communist threat was more complex in Asia than in Europe.

Americans assumed that communist forces everywhere were part of a monolithic movement answerable to Moscow and were slow to appreciate the diversity of Asian communism

- The relative failure to contain communism in many regions of Asia was the consequence more of the inherent popularity of communism based on circumstances the US could not control than of lack of American resources and willpower

- In Vietnam for example US was siding with an unpopular colonial power against a champion of national independence.

9. ESCALATION: GLOBAL COLD WAR, HOT WAR IN KOREA 1950-53

1. New communist threats: 1. Communist victory in the Chinese civil war in October

1949 2. The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb in

late August 1949. The end of American atomic monopoly

3. American reaction: NSC 68. A document produced by the National Security Council in April 1950. Proposed a substantial increase in Americas military strength, i.e. expansion of US conventional forces and its arsenal of atomic weapons and accelerated development of the hydrogen bomb.

Truman’s Domestic Policy

• Truman will offer America a “Fair Deal”, a continuation of the New Deal, focusing on housing for the poor

China

• In 1949 the Communists win the Chinese Civil War (150 million dead)

• Mao Zedong (Tse Tung) becomes to Communist leader of China and pursues the “great leap forward” its goal is to modernize China

• It results in another 100 million deaths• This is seen as a defeat for America who had

supported Nationalist China under Chang Ky Shek

• “Nationalist China” is now Taiwan Most of Asia is communist

The Korean War

The Forgotten War

1950-1953

How Did It Start?

• At the end of WWII the Communist Soviet Union attacked Japanese controlled Korea and took what is modern day North Korea

• From 1945-1950 North Korea and South Korea tried to re-unite, but North Korea wanted a Communist government and South Korea wanted a Democracy

The Beginning

• In 1950 the War begins when North Korea, invades South Korea

• North Korea is successful and corners the U.S. and S. Korean troops in the SE corner of the peninsula

The U.N. Responds

• The U.N security council orders a “police action” to contain N. Korea

McArthur Strikes Back

• General McArthur leads the U.N. forces and lands troops at Inchon a city on the west coast of the peninsula, this cuts off the N. Koreans and forces many N. Koreans to retreat and surrender

• The U.N troops then take all the land that was lost

The U.S. Moves to Pyongyang

• The U.S. moves on and attacks N. Korea trying to conquer it in 1950

• As the U.S. approaches the Chinese border China warns the U.S. to stop approaching, but the U.S. does not recognize communist China so Truman ignores China.

• As the U.S. approaches, the Chinese attack, and force the U.S. to retreat back toward S. Korea

• After this the war settles into a stalemate while the diplomats try get a peace treaty

• No peace treaty has ever been signed between North and South Korea and 23,000 U.S. troops are still stationed there

• President Eisenhower will eventually get the NK to sign an armistice

THE KOREAN WAR 1950-53

Consequences:1. Truman now supported the increase in military spending proposed in the NSC 68 memo. Korea marked the militarization of the Cold War2. NATO was strengthened and enlarged3. US started to prepare for a rearmament of West Germany4. US made arrangements to secure Japan as a post-war ally5. US support to Taiwan6. The ANZUS pact7. United States threw its weight behind the French in their war with the Vietminh8. The globalization of the Cold War.

The Eisenhower Administration

• National Highway Act- created our highway system, he copied it from the German Autobahn

• New Look Policy: Eisenhower’s attempt to re-approach Latin America and try to repair relations that had been damaged in the early part of the century.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR 1953-61

1. 1953: New strategy of containment: The “new look”. Differed from Truman’s policy.

Increased reliance on nuclear weapons. Now regarded as a weapon of first and not last resort.

The doctrine of massive retaliation. Smaller role for conventional forces. More willing to use covert operations; CIA More willing to use personal diplomacy as a

legitimate part of the policy of containment.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR Europe: There was a Soviet suppression of the workers uprising in

East-Germany in 1953. The United States did not do anything in spite of the fact that

US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, had promised “rollback” and the liberation of eastern European countries under Soviet domination during the 1952 presidential election

There was a Soviet suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956. The United States did nothing

The Rapacki Plan (1958). A Soviet proposal of a phased reduction of conventional forces and nuclear-free zone in central Europe. US rejects the plan

1958: Khrushchev’s demand that the western powers quit Berlin within six months. Rejected by the West

France refused to accept the rearmament of West Germany. But eventually (1955) Germany joined NATO.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR

Korea Eisenhower was personally committed to a

speedy end to the Korean war Negotiations for armistice foundered on the

repatriation of North Korean and Chinese prisoners

Ike applied pressure to the Chinese by hinting that the US might use atomic weapons against the Chinese mainland

In July 1953 the two sides agreed an end to hostilities.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR China, Taiwan and the Offshore Islands Major crisis in Sino-American relations in 1954,1955 and 1958 1954: Communist China’s bombed two islands, Quemoy and Matsu,

occupied by Taiwan’s Nationalist forces 1955: The Chinese communists attack the Tachen islands. US

response The Formosa Resolution: America fully supports Jiang Jieshi and renewed its commitment to defend Taiwan against communist invasion and threatened to use atomic bombs against China for the second time.

1958: Renewed bombardment of Quemoy and Matsu. US forces in the Far East put onto a war footing and a veiled threat of nuclear strike against China again issued

Explanation of US response: Any instance of communist aggression regarded as a test case of America’s determination to defend the “free world”.

American’s were aware that a firm stance on the issue of the offshore islands might create cracks in the Sino-Soviet alliance.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) American intervention in the region was justified by the domino theory (if Indochina fell

to the communists other Asian countries might follow) 1954: The French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu by Vietminh (the communist forces

of Ho Chi Minh) Negotiations opened and the Geneva Accords concluded (in1954) Vietnam temporarily divided along 17th parallel and provisions made for national

elections to unify the country within two years The United States did not sign the Geneva Accords US policy was to bolster South-Vietnam as a stable non-communist state South-East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) established. Its purpose was to

prevent communist interference in Indochina The Americans opened military mission in South-Vietnam 1956: Eisenhower decided that South-Vietnam would not participate in the nationwide

elections agreed at Geneva In the late 1950s: “Vietcong” and the National Liberation front established. Began to

conduct guerrilla warfare against the government of South-Vietnam In Laos the pro-Western government of Laos was encountering opposition from

communist group (the Pathet Lao).

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR

The Middle East; Iran 1951: Mohammad Mossadeq appointed as prime minister of

Iran Nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company which was half

owned by Britain Britain and the US then led a boycott of Iranian oil on the

world market Americans decided to overthrow Mossadeq The Shah’s attempt to remove Mossadeq failed The CIA orchestrates fake communist demonstration on the

streets of Theran to arouse fear of communist takeover Then they mounted massive counter-demonstrations in the

favor of the Shah. American money was paid to street mobs Mossadeq quit office and Iran was now clearly aligned with

the United States.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR

1955: The Baghdad Pact formed (Britain and Iraq and later Iran and Pakistan)

Purpose: Designed to exclude Soviet influence from the Middle East

After 1959 it was known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) when Iraq withdrew from the Baghdad Pact.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR Egypt President Nasser played off the two superpowers against each other in an attempt to

secure aid for Egyptian economic development The United States offered to part-finance the construction of the Aswan Dam in order to

avert an alignment between Egypt and the Soviet Union When Nasser recognized the Peoples Republic of China in 1956, the US canceled

economic aid to Egypt As a response Nasser nationalized the British-owned Suez Canal Company On 5 November Britain and France along with Israel started military operation against

Egypt to regain the Suez Canal zone Soviet Union threatened to intervene militarily in defense of Egypt. Soviets wanted

cooperation with US which Eisenhower rejected Eisenhower condemned the whole operation and put pressure on Britain, France, and

Israel to withdraw their forces which they did Soviet-Egyptian alliance emerged in the aftermath of Suez Aroused fear in the West and the response was the Eisenhower Doctrine in January 1957

which granted the president powers to send economic and military aid to friendly states in the Middle East

The Eisenhower Doctrine invoked in Jordan in 1957 and in July 1958 when Americans invaded Lebanon to halt Nasser’s influence in the region.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR

Central America and the Caribbean The United States viewed Latin America and the

Caribbean as its backyard. Its aim was to exclude communism from the Western hemisphere

1951: Jacobo Arbenz elected president in Guatemala Started land reform by seizing unused land owned by

the US United Fruit Company Eisenhower saw it as the prelude to a communist reform

program and authorized a CIA plan to overthrow Arbenz The CIA supplied the anti-communist Castillo Armas

with funds, mercenaries and the base in Honduras In June 1954 Armas invaded Guatemala supplied with

two planes flown by US pilots and Arbenz fled to Mexico.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR

Cuba On New Year’s Day 1959 Fidel Castro came to power in

Cuba He quickly initiated a program of land distribution Castro’s confiscation of US assets on the island and his

recognition of communist China aroused American fears that he might become Moscow’s ally

When Cuba signed trade agreement with the Soviet Union Eisenhower responded with an embargo on Cuban sugar imports and instructed the CIA to train Cuban exiles in Guatemala for invasion of the island

Later US blocked all trade with Cuba and in January 1961 the two countries broke off diplomatic relations.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR US-Soviet relations under Eisenhower 1953: Eisenhower’s proposed “Atoms for Peace” Plan. Khrushchev begins policy of “peaceful co-existence”. Ike’s proposal of “Open Skies”. Rejected by the Russians. The Hungarian rising and the Suez crisis soon dissipated the

“Spirit of Geneva The Russians launched the worlds first orbiting satellite, Sputnik. Ike accused of allowing “missile gap” to grow between USA and

USSR. Ike hoped for a ban on the atmospheric testing of nuclear

weapons. America ceased testing in October 1958 and the Russians immediately followed suit in absence of formal agreement

Khrushchev issues an ultimatum giving the Americans six month to leave Berlin. Ike ignored the ultimatum

Khrushchev visits the United States in September 1959 (the “Spirit of Camp David”)

On 1 May 1960 a U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet union.

EISENHOWERS COLD WAR

Eisenhower: An assessment Western Europe offered a secure frontier against communism Were successful in confining China (the doctrine of massive

relations) Friendly Iran ensured Avoided major split with Arab states because of his policy in the

Suez crisis Controlled the cost of the cold war The policy in Indochina was failure The overthrow of Mossadeq and Arbenz examples of American

imperialism CIA too powerful Authorization of U-2 flight was a major error.

Baby Boom

Dr. Benjamin Dr. Benjamin SpockSpock

and the Anderson and the Anderson QuintupletsQuintuplets

Suburban Living

$7,990 or $60/month with no down $7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.payment.

Levittown, L. I.: Levittown, L. I.: “The American “The American Dream”Dream”

1949 1949 William LevittWilliam Levitt produced produced 150 houses per week. 150 houses per week.

Suburban Living:The New “American Dream”

k 1 story high1 story high

k 12’x19’ living 12’x19’ living roomroom

k 2 bedrooms2 bedrooms

k tiled bathroomtiled bathroom

k garagegarage

k small backyardsmall backyard

k front lawnfront lawnBy 1960 By 1960 1/3 of the U. S. population 1/3 of the U. S. population in in the suburbs. the suburbs.

2B. Suburban Living

SHIFTS IN POPULATION SHIFTS IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, DISTRIBUTION,

1940-19701940-1970

19401940 19501950 19601960 19701970Central CitiesCentral Cities 31.6% 32.3% 31.6% 32.3% 32.6% 32.0% 32.6% 32.0%SuburbsSuburbs 19.5% 23.8% 19.5% 23.8% 30.7% 41.6% 30.7% 41.6%Rural Areas/Rural Areas/ 48.9% 43.9% 48.9% 43.9% 36.7% 26.4% 36.7% 26.4%Small TownsSmall Towns

U. S. Bureau of the Census.U. S. Bureau of the Census.

Suburban Living:The Typical TV Suburban

FamiliesThe The

Donna Donna Reed Reed ShowShow1958-1958-19661966

Leave It Leave It to Beaverto Beaver1957-19631957-1963

FatherFather Knows Knows BestBest

1954-19581954-1958

The Ozzie & Harriet The Ozzie & Harriet ShowShow

1952-19661952-1966

3a. Consumerism1950 1950 Introduction of the Diner’s Introduction of the Diner’s

CardCard

All babies were potential consumers All babies were potential consumers who spearheaded a brand-new market who spearheaded a brand-new market for food, clothing, and shelter.for food, clothing, and shelter. -- Life -- Life Magazine (May, 1958) Magazine (May, 1958)

5B. The Culture of the Car

First McDonald’s First McDonald’s (1955)(1955)

America became a more America became a more homogeneous nation because of homogeneous nation because of the automobile.the automobile.

Drive-In Drive-In MoviesMovies

Howard Howard Johnson’sJohnson’s

5C. The Culture of the Car

The U. S. population was on the move in The U. S. population was on the move in the 1950s.the 1950s.

NE & Mid-W NE & Mid-W S & SW S & SW (“Sunbelt” states)(“Sunbelt” states)

1955 1955 Disneyland opened in Southern Disneyland opened in Southern California.California. (40% of the guests came from (40% of the guests came from outsideoutside California, most by car.) California, most by car.)

Frontier Frontier LandLand

Main StreetMain Street Tomorrow LandTomorrow Land

6A. Television 1946 1946 7,000 TV sets in the U. S. 7,000 TV sets in the U. S.

1950 1950 50,000,000 TV sets in the U. 50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S.S.

Mass Audience Mass Audience TV celebrated TV celebrated traditionaltraditional

American values. American values.

Television is a vast wasteland.Television is a vast wasteland. Newton Minnow, Chairman of the Newton Minnow, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Communications Commission, 19611961

Truth, Justice, and the American way!Truth, Justice, and the American way!

6C. Television - Family Shows

I Love I Love LucyLucy

The The HoneymoonersHoneymooners

Glossy view of mostly Glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life.middle-class suburban life.

But...But...

Social Winners?... AND… Social Winners?... AND… Losers?Losers?

7A. Teen CultureIn the 1950s In the 1950s the word the word “teenager”“teenager”

entered entered the American language. the American language.

By 1956 By 1956 13 mil. teens with $7 bil. to 13 mil. teens with $7 bil. to spendspend a year. a year.1951 1951 “race music”“race music” “ROCK ‘N ROLL” “ROCK ‘N ROLL”

Elvis PresleyElvis Presley “The “The King”King”

7B. Teen Culture

““Juvenile Juvenile Delinquency” Delinquency” ??????

Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando inin

The Wild OneThe Wild One (1953)(1953)

James DeanJames Dean in inRRebel Without a ebel Without a

CauseCause (1955) (1955)

1951 1951 J. D. Salinger’sJ. D. Salinger’s A Catcher in the RyeA Catcher in the Rye

7D. Teen Culture

Behavioral Rules of the Behavioral Rules of the 1950s:1950s:U Obey Authority.Obey Authority.

U Control Your Emotions.Control Your Emotions.

U Don’t Make Waves Don’t Make Waves Fit Fit in in with the Group.with the Group.

U Don’t Even Think About Don’t Even Think About Sex!!!Sex!!!