The Early Cold War

c. 1941-1962:
The Early Cold War

Essential Questions

How did US leaders respond to the threat of Soviet expansion in Europe?
How did President Truman use the power of the presidency to limit the spread of communism in East Asia?
What methods did the United States use in its global struggle against the USSR?
How did fear of domestic communism affect American society during the Cold War?
What was Truman’s Fair Deal? How did it differ from the New Deal?
Why was there a second Red Scare in the 1950s and who led the crusade?
Who are “baby boomers?”
What was Americans suburban life like in the 1950s?
What impact did the Kennedy-Nixon debate have on the 1960 election and future elections?
How did the nation experience recovery and economic prosperity after WWII?
What social and economic factors changed American life during the 1950s?
How did popular culture and family life change during the 1950s?
Why were some groups of Americans dissatisfied with conditions in postwar America?

Learning Objectives

You will learn:

How the American foreign policy of isolationism ended with United States membership in post-World War II alliances and how that involvement influenced American foreign policy during the 20th and 21st Centuries
How, why and to what extent Americans feared the spread of communism and how that fear impacted American culture in the “Red Scares” after World War II
How and to what extent United States foreign policy has been guided by international human rights and the advancement of democracy since World War I
How, why and to what extent the Cold War and the policy of containment influenced the Truman administration’s involvement in international affairs
How and why a failed policy of containment in China would help lead to United States involvement in the Korean War
How and why the Korean War ended in “stalemate” and how the war’s outcome affected international relations during and since the Cold War
How, why and to what extent Cold War policies influenced the Eisenhower administration’s involvement in international affairs
How, why and to what extent Cold War policies influenced the Kennedy administration’s involvement in international affairs
How the federal government increased its levels of intelligence services and operations through the Cold War
How, why and to what extent the consumer based economy of the United States flourished in the decades following World War II
How and why the Cold War influenced the creation of a national interstate highway system and the implications of highway construction on American societies and culture
How the Soviet launching of Sputnik fostered a space race and impacted the development of American education and culture through the 20th Century
How the race to outer space and space age technologies impacted American culture
How the post-World War II baby boom generation affected the culture, economy and politics of the United States through the 20th Century
How the development of suburbs after World War II impacted the growth of American society and culture
How the development of the interstate highway system impacted patterns of migration, settlement, and suburbanization in the 20th century
How and why the 1960 presidential campaign and election significantly changed American politics and society
How, why and to what extent a consumer based economy flourished in the United States in the 1950s
How and to what extent a youth culture driven by consumerism, delinquency, and rock-n-roll music emerged after World War II and impacted American society
How and why the role of the “military-industrial complex” was seen as a concern by significant sectors of American society
How and why the development of the United States “military-industrial complex” impacted the economic development of the western states
How the invention and use of television impacted the economic, political and cultural development of the United States
How some people of the 1950s criticized conformity and reflected on the struggle of the individual in a society of mass consumerism