Topic 10 Study Guide
McCarthyism Impact on Society - McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion, treason, or disloyalty without proper regard for evidence. It originated in the U.S during the Second Red Scare (1940s-50s) by the influence of U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy. During this era, thousands of Americans were being accused of Communism and propaganda was used to deceive/brainwash society into believing it.
Communist Witch Hunt & Impact on Accused - The Second Red Scare brought along paranoia, fear, and many accusations. The Hollywood Ten consisted of ten famous writers & directors in Hollywood who were charged with being communist and spreading their ideas through movies and scripts. The people accused lost their jobs and went on trial, the HUAC also did investigations to check for communists.
Space Race & Impact on Gvmnt Policies - In October of 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik as the first human-made object to orbit the Earth. This was the first time another country had beaten the United States at a technological advancement/achievement. After this, we pushed education and the space program. In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first person to land on the moon. This was a great success for the U.S considering it has not been repeated to this day.
U.S Cold War Mindset - The U.S mindset for the Cold War was based on absolute trust in a two-player game theory, the integrity of command chain, in control of nuclear materials, and the mutual destruction assured in the case of war. Most people considered this mindset a prevention of attack.
Suburbs, Automobiles & Roads - The 1950s was a time when people moved from the cities to the suburbs farther away. Traveling out in a radius from a major city brought better housing developments with more land and wealthier families. Levittown was the first established area for the American DreamIn Long Island, the farther east you live, the more expensive and elegant the houses are. Houses and families closer to the City on the western part of the Island have lower incomes and mainly live in small apartments or houses. Since workers and families were expanding their living areas away from their jobs in the cities, new needs of transportation were necessary. The automobile became very popular during this time and thousands of roads were built around the U.S to better our transportation system.
Baby Boom - When soldiers returned from WWII, they went back to their wives and decided to start families. This is referred to as the "Baby Boom" due to the significant population increase of children being born. The peak of the baby boom was in from 1950-1955 in which one baby was born approximately every seven seconds!
Urban-Suburban Pattern - This was a business district with low income families in the city, middle income families in the suburbs, and high income families further out in the suburbs. As more jobs were available in the cities and more workers came, families expanded out to get away from the city hustle and population.
G.I Bill - The G.I Bill provided college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans (referred to as G.I.s) as well as one year of unemployment compensation. This bill also allowed many different types of loans for the returning soldiers to buy homes and start businesses.
Expansion of Middle Class & Product Affordability - Soldiers who returned home from the war went home and started families, causing the baby boom. More jobs were available in cities and new families wanted better places to live located farther from where they worked. Homes were less expensive in the suburbs (specifically Levittown where homes could be bought for approximately $8,000). Credit cards also became very popular at this time, a big increase being in the 1940s-1960s. Since the population increased due to the baby boom, the amount of consumers increased as well.
