Monday, March 12, 2012
1950s
You are going to become experts on the 1950s in American history. Your task is to research life in America during the 1950s and post once about two of the following topics using EVIDENCE and ANALYSIS: Joe McCarthy, the Rosenberg trial, the increasing tensions between the USA and USSR, civil rights, and domestic life. Remember that all your entries must be original and you need to read and build off of one another’s posts. Let you intellectual curiosity guide you and include links/videos that help to expand your understanding of the 1950s.
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Joseph McCarthy was the Senator of Wisconsin who led the hearings on Communism that were brought up to the Senate.In his earlier political life, McCarthy was a strong supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the "New Deal". Although McCarthy was known for many things while sitting as Senate; such as calling a press conference, on his first day in the Senate, to propose a solution to the many coal- strikes taking place at the time, he said that the coal- strikers should be drafted into the army so that they may serve a purpose instead of causing problems.What Joseph McCarthy was infamous for was the "Communist witch hunts" called McCarthyism. McCarthyism is when one makes accusations upon another about disloyalty, subversion, or treason without any proper form of evidence. Here is a short video of an interview of Joseph McCarthy on McCarthyism:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LwEZxDqfJc
The next thing I will talk about is the Rosenberg trial. This is a trial on the Rosenberg couple, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were accused and later admitted to the sharing of nuclear information regarding the atomic bomb. Although these were not the only names handed over to the FBI by Elizabeth Bentley, others who were never mentioned, Julius and Ethel were the first two executions dealing with espionage during war time. The couple was said to have recieved information from David Greenglass, supposedly Ethel's brother. It was said that he had given Julius sketches of "Fat Man", the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, and "Little Boy", the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. With the evidence, and finally admitting everything, the two served seventeen years and nine months of a thirty year sentence. After the seventeen years and nine months, the couple was sentenced to the electric chair, where they both died on June 19, 1953 at Sing Sing Prison.
McCarthyism, as Kerry said, is when one accuses another of treason against the government during the 1950’s. Mainly this was used to find and eliminate any possible threat of Communism within the country. This way of accusing others without any form of evidence other than the person accusing can be looked upon as the exact same thing that happened during the Salem Witch Trials during the late 1600’s. Neighbors started accusing neighbors. Friends began to turn on each other. A person would accuse another to just try and avoid being accused themselves. People who were accused and convicted of being a communist were put on a blacklist. Not many people who were put on the black list got their names of it. This destroyed many lives because a person on the blacklist would be rejected at job offers. People were basically shunned from society.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing I would like to talk about would be the Civil rights movement in the 1950’s. African Americans were segregated from a lot of public facilities in the South. They were treated harshly by most whites. The African Americans were not treated fairly compared to White Americans. These feelings of segregation were shown by the African Americans in the Brown v. Board of education which attacked the Jim Crow Laws of school segregation. This law stated “The schools for white children and the schools for negro children should be conducted separately. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the African Americans saying that it was unconstitutional to have two separate schools for blacks and Whites.
To add to Rians point about segrigation the idea was separate but equal. However during this time everyone was given teh same facilitites such as Schools and parks and evensegrigated restrooms. However this was never truley the case it is true that African Americans were given same facilities the quality, sanitation, and bugdet was drastically lower in comparision to the facilities open to White Americans. The Brown vs. Board of Education that Rian mentioned repelled Plessy vs. Ferguson descision of 1896 that gave the right to state sponcered segragation. The Brown vs. Board of Education was origannaly brought about over a third grader. This third grader, Linda Brown had to walk six blocks to the bus stop that then took her to her "black" school 1.6KM away. While the segragated school for perdominatly white students was only seven blocks from her house. This supreme court case started as a matter of travel distance an soon became a national debate. When ebrollment in the closer school was denied Oliver Brown took the issue to court. The Brown V.board of Education combined a total of five cases. all of which were NAACP sponcered cases. The court met in spring of 1953 with no desicion the re-met in the fall. As a result of these cases the schools Oliver Browns Daughter wanted to attend was there for intagrated in 1956 anlong with the other four cases resulting in intagration.
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DeleteBeside the segregation of schools and other facilities like restrooms and parks,there was also segregation in suffrage. Blacks were being heavily suppressed and it was shown in their votes, only 20% of the eligible blacks voted in elections and this was due to the racism in America. They were intimidated into not voting along with discriminated and taxed harshly to vote, this made its mark and kept black suffrage down. Because of such suppression the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized voter registration groups to help Blacks make their votes count. The SNCC is an organization that used a method to combat segregation and racism, the method was nonviolent protest's, this method was used by many and mostly all the civil right movement leaders and groups. This method was a combined strategy of direct action with nonviolent resistance, labeled civil disobedience. This was strongly believed by civil rights movement leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, he was the most important leader in the civil rights movement. One of his protest’s was the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and it used a nonviolent approach, this event not only raised awareness of the segregation but created momentum in the hard fight for racial equality. Leaders were born during this movement, like Rosa Parks and Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King. Attention was put to America’s internal struggle, racism by Gunnar Myrdal, a Swedish scholar, exposed the hypocrisy of American, noting that in America’s constitution had stated “every man [was] created equal,” but that truly it was not the case. Him, along with several other people and other dramatic events had the ball rolling, the ball that would end segregation and prejudice in America.
ReplyDeleteTensions of the cold War escalated during the 50's between the Soviet Union and the U.S. The blockade of Germany was the unofficial declaration of war. U.S.S.R and the U.S.A were the worlds only two superpowers post world war two, so the fight for world dominance began. Underlying tensions are evident from early in WW2 and escalated in the fifties. For fear of mass destruction ion a global scale the war was not fought directly but through other countries not capable of such damage. During the 50's as countries allied with either the U.S.S.R or America would receive help (supplies, equipment ect.) from either nation an as a result the opposite country would back the opposing country. As China fell to communism, tensions rouse through Americas fear for other countries to follow. to combat this America joined the war effort in South Korea to prevent further spread. All out war could not be attempted between America and the Soviets. The war escalated into an arms race to develop the best weapon and strongest machinery. Weapons of mass destruction were produced at an alarming rate enough to destroy the planet many times over. The cold war reached its height in as the soviets shot an American spy plane out of the sky, this was May 1960. The climax of the cold war resulted from heightened tensions throughout the 1950's.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ODrPL9-kEs
ReplyDeleteIn response to Colin's discussion about the cold war, there are a few major instance where we find ourselves in a position where we are absolutely needed to be involved in. We were forced to pick our battle in this situation because in the cold war we couldn't attack Russia head on. One instance, or flair up, between the United States and the Russians was through the Korean Conflict. This was a proxy war between the two countries. This meant that both countries were backing a side in this war because of our political and ideological beliefs. We backed the South Koreans who were democratic and the Russians backed the North Koreans based on their Communist beliefs. Through this war we fought to contain communism in the eastern part of the world. This was our first chance to prove that we are going back everyone up that is willing to become a democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing i would like to talk about is the domestic life in America in the 1950's. There was some monumental inventions and developments in this time period. An obvious one is that of the television. It was an invention that was extremely popular an grabbed the attention of just about every family in America. This was a luxury for everyone and it brought America together. However there is more serious things going on in the domestic lives of Americans during this time period. Actually it is what is not happening at this time. After WWI there was a severe economic downturn and everyone was nervous that the same would happen again. But, this time America kept its economic composure and held itself together at wars end. This was mostly because most Americans were better off after the war. For the first time White collar workers outnumbered those who worked blue collar jobs. This kept incomes high and kept the demand of the American people high as well.
An important part of the domestic life of the 1950s was the change in popular culture. The greatest example of this would be singer Elvis Presley. The young man burst onto the music scene in the late ‘50s, causing an instant sensation. America at this time was very economically stable this allowed increased spending money for teens. So, his success was due in part to the music industry being controlled by teenage consumers. Regardless, his style forever changed the face of popular music. He drew much inspiration from African-American music which in turn brought much recognition and acceptance to black artists. In turn Elvis served as inspiration for the many “rock and roll” singers who followed him including Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others. There was also much controversy involved with the performer. Most of this controversy stemmed from his appearance on the Milton Berle show on June 5, 1956. People across America were outraged by his gyrations calling him talentless, vulgar and a pervert. Teenagers however went wild for him. This only further angered their parents who believed that his obscene ways would have a negative effect on their children. In fact during his appearance on the Ed Sullivan show on January 6, 1957 he filmed from only the waist up to avoid further controversy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5JALwwaASg
DeleteThis is Elvis' performance on the Milton Berle show. It's pretty funny to think that this is what caused people to become so outraged with him because compared to what is allowed to be televised today this isn't a big deal at all.
With rising tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R on the Middle East and Vietnam, a high point in the tension hit when things changed drastically, politically, socially and technologically. On October 4, 1957, the Russians launched the world first satellite, Sputnik I, into space. This launched the space-race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., and with the later launch of the Sputnik II into orbit it showed that the Russians had the upper hand technologically. This was also concerning since with this new technology it could launch attacks on the U.S. from space. This Russian advancement caused a major effect on Truman’s presidency since critics were angry that America had not done it first and were concerned on Americas technological knowledge; they also criticized that America had used to much of his time on technology of the television. America had then after four months launched its first satellite into space, but it was technologically inferior to the Russians. This raised concerns on America’s education system, since it was seen that Russia’s educational system was better than America’s. A result to this was America’s investment of $887 million dollars in improvements to schools. Socially, Americans now became more technologically savvy and scientifically interested with the unknown. The development of the computer showed America’s interest in technology and the space-race showed America’s unity as they wanted to be the Russians in the space-race and reach the moon and beyond. As well as creating a greater emphasis on education as many now went to college causing “white-collar” jobs to be greater in numbers than ”blue-collar” jobs. America’s space-race with Russia changed America’s focus dramatically as technology and science was now a tool to defeat the Russians, politically, and to the ”final-frontier”.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Colin forgot to mention one aspect that played a crucial role in the cold war. This is the Berlin Airlift, and the combined response of the US and Britain the Berlin Blockade. The United States air force and the royal air force flew over 200,000 flights in one year to Berlin delivering nearly 5,000 tons of food and supplies daily!!!!!! That’s a lot of stuff
ReplyDeleteGeneral sir Brian Robertson had some concrete numbers and calculations prepared when asked about a possible joint airlift by American forces. His calculations indicated that they would need to supply seventeen hundred calories per person per day, giving a grand total of 646 tons of flour and wheat, 125 tons of cereal, 64 tons of fat, 109 tons of meat and fish, 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes, 180 tons of sugar, 11 tons of coffee, 19 tons of powdered milk, 5 tons of whole milk for children, 3 tons of fresh yeast for baking, 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 38 tons of salt and 10 tons of cheese. In total, 1,534 tons were needed daily to keep the over two million people alive. Additionally, the city needed to be kept heated and powered, which would require another 3,475 tons of coal and gasoline!!!!!! Again, a whole lot of stuff
By the spring of 1949, the airlift was clearly succeeding and, by April, the airlift was delivering more cargo than had been transported into the city by train. The success of the Berlin Airlift brought embarrassment to the Soviets who refused to believe it would make a difference. The blockade was lifted in May 1949 and resulted in the creation of two separate German states. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) In remembrance of the airlift, three airports in the former western zones of the city served as the primary gateways to Germany for another fifty years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ON9SEAqL08
ReplyDeleteI think this is the most hilarious video ever. I can understand the point of this video is to help the people feel safe. But it is hard to take most of it for real. They talk about the blast knocking you over it is so powerful and how it can be like sun burn. They try and reassure the people by saying how hiding fast right against a wall or under a desk will save you. It is hard to believe that covering your head or putting a jacket on can save kids from a nuclear blast. The video also is a great look at the people of that time and the fakeness of our culture. There were a lot of lies that were told to try and hide the truth from people. This “duke and cover “ is one of them. It is understandable why the government did it. If people knew they could die at any minute and there was no way to be safe and try and save yourself how would they live their lives. So these dumb videos and safety techniques helped people a lot. There was some other good that did come out of them. The building of shelter was actually a good idea that would work. If anything did happen it would have saved lives. These events show how close we where to nukes. If the government was putting these videos in every school, that’s how you know how high the treat was. It is a very good thing the nuclear war never happened or a lot of people would have died. The work done by the government at this time was very smart thinking and keep the public safe with lies and a fake sense of peace.
During the 1950’s, racial segregation was a huge issue in the US. In 1955, the African-American Civil Rights Movement had just begun and this was aimed at eliminating racial segregation against blacks and giving them the rights to vote. African-Americans were completely separated from the white people in our country. They had separate schools, work places, and even bathrooms. One famous example of segregation is the Montgomery Bus Boycott. A black woman named Rosa Parks was told to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger, but when she refused, she was arrested and tried. After this happened, black citizens requested a more humane transportation system.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing I want to talk about is the Rosenberg trial. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were an American communist couple that had been accused of spying and giving out information about the US’ atomic bombs to the Soviet Union. Ethel’s brother, David, had actually supplied her husband with documents about plans for “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” bombs. The Rosenbergs weren’t the only people that were involved with spying for the Soviet Union during this time, but they were the first to be executed in the US for espionage. In the end, the Rosenbergs served 17 years and 9 months out of their 30 year sentenced and died on June 19th, 1953. They were sentenced to the electric chair.
http://www.archive.org/details/DuckandC1951
ReplyDeleteIn 1949, the United States felt most vulnerable when U.S.S.R began testing their first nuclear weapon, even though we didn’t share our information with them. This began a race for newer technology and bigger and more dangerous weapons, like other people mentioned. Soon after this was discovered, the domestic lifestyle changed dramatically. The American public prepared themselves for the worst case scenario. The American public, from children to the elderly, practiced Civil Defense drills in the case that nuclear war would start. The Federal Civil Defense Administration created the movie called Duck and Cover, which was released in schools in 1951 to the entire generation of the baby boom kids. It was a public awareness campaign that stated that nuclear war could happen at any time without warning so the public should keep that constantly in mind and be ready. It promoted the “duck and cover method” when any signs of nuclear attacks would show. This method consists of a person curling up into a ball and protecting their head and neck. The video I posted along with this post can further explain. In any case, this video gives the public some type of safe zone in their minds. It gives the public hope that they might actually survive, when in reality if a person is on ground zero within 5 to 20 miles aren’t likely to survive.
The more effective counter action to a nuclear bomb attack is the bomb shelter. This was a shelter built underground, at least 3 feet below the soil, to protect people from nuclear threats. If there is indeed a nuclear bomb attack, a person should stay in the shelter for at least 4 days. The shelter should be completely stocked for a long period of time.
Aside from segregation and any hardships during the 1950's domestic life, there were many great things to come during this era. For example, this post-world war II era is now looked at as the "Baby-Boomer" era, in which many childbirths were happening and creating and bringing families closer together. This was due to a true believing that peace and tranquility had arrived and been restored to the country, making it no better of a time than to start a family. With that said, there was also another "boom," which was taking place in the economy. Shortly after the war had ended, the economy began to rise and it didn't go unnoticed. New goods began to be traded, expanding companies all over America, and creating more and more jobs for the people. Technology, such as the television, was breakthrough and people didn't miss out on anything. With more jobs meant a lower unemployment rate, enabling people to spend more and worry less. Many new laws were passed; one in specific would be the G.I. Bill which provided great benefits to returning soldiers in the US. The middle class was becoming bigger and families were able to spend personal income on goods they wanted like a new automobile or even several.
ReplyDeleteTo touch upon Civil Rights in the 1950's, segregation was worsening and discrimination was on the rise. Looking back at it now, it's a bit ironic for our country to have been fighting WWII for freedom, yet discriminating other colored races, such as African Americans, inside of our own country. Harry S Truman saw this and tried his best to put an end to this. Southern Democrats were angered by this and began a storm of criticism towards Truman. Harry S Truman replied to them saying "My forebears were Confederate... but my very stomach turned over when I had learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of Army trucks in Mississippi and beaten." This was sickening to his knowledge and it's a grave image to think of. Even after risking their own lives and fighting for America's freedom they were treated as minorities and discriminated as if they had done something wrong. In 1948, Truman made three executive orders, one specifically was the second one, which made it illegal to discriminate against persons applying for civil service positions based on race. Unfortunately, with many foreign affairs at hand, Truman wasn't able to resolve as much as he may have wanted to. People (mainly white Americans) continued to ignore these laws passed and continue the split between races. Not long after Truman's attempts did the case of Brown v.s. BOA of Topeka Kansas come about. The end result would prove to be rather successful as all schools in the US were to be consolidated with multiple races attending at one time. The South, overall, was outraged by this and would continue their acts of segregation up until the early seventies, although the first integrated school in the South was in 1956 (Clinton High School in Clinton, Anderson County, Tennesse).
The 1950s was a very progressive time period for America. Medicine and transportation were both pushed forward during this decade. In 1954 Dr. Jonas Salk created the first successful polio vaccination. The paralytic virus had previously affected 58,000 people including late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Many of the antibiotics that we use today were discovered in the 50s. For example the first synthesis of Penicillin was done in 1950. In the late 50s it became known that smoking was a heath risk and had connections to lung cancers. Despite this 48% of the American people continued to smoke. Another important advancement was Enovid. This was a birth control pill which was tested in 1955 and, despite its severe side effects, became the first one to be widely distributed. In the 50s transportation began to develop and expand making travel even easier for the American people. In 1956 the Federal Highway Act was signed. This created the interstate highway system which made travelling across the country much less easier. Also, during this time commercial airlines began to spring up with Boeing’s creation of the passenger plane, inspired by the jets of World War II. This brought the speedy travel of airplanes to the average American.
ReplyDeleteThere were many domestic changes in the 1950s. After World War II, women shifted from working for the war effort to back into the home taking care of the children and housework. These were looked upon as the ideal female role during the 1950s. Many women were marrying and becoming mothers, this caused the “baby boom” as Adaobi previously mentioned. The average age of marriage at this time was only 20 years old. Shows like ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘Father Knows Best’ convinced women to return home and be a house wife. Although the ideal role for women was in the home, many women returned to the work place in the 1950s. The rate of working women climbed at a rate of a million a year. By 1956, 35% of all adult women were working.
ReplyDeleteI will also be talking about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. Many people talked about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Brown vs. Board of Education case so I decided to do a little research and I found another protest that took place in Little Rock, Arkansas that is similar to the Brown vs. Board of Education in where, in 1957, nine black students were attending an integrated school. These nine students had been chosen to attend Little Rock Central High School because of their good grades. On their first day attending the new school, only one of the nine showed up. She was faced with harassment form white protesters outside of the school and had to be taken away in a police car for her own safety. After this incident, the students had to be escorted by military personnel to school. Many people felt that Arkansas should be in compliance with the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. This was brought to the attention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower federalized the National Guard and ordered them to return to their barracks. He also sent the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to protect the students. This action helped the students a little however they were still harassed when the guards were not around. One of the students was eventually expelled because they were verbally abusing a white female student. Only one of the original nine graduated from the school.
She was “the mother of the freedom movement,” the “first lady of civil rights.” She was Mrs. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks. December 1, 1955 was the day that most know of about this great woman. On the bus, specifically the Number 2857 bus in the National City Lines system, returning home from work, she openly refused the bus driver, James F. Blakes’s, order to give up her seat to a younger white man. Her defiance of the bus driver got her arrested. She wasn’t the first to stand up for herself however. In fact, on the same bus system only nine months prior, Ms. Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat as well. Clearly, most don’t know Ms. Colvin even though she did the same exact thing that Mrs. Parks did. Mrs. Parks’ incident of civil disobedience sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was intended to oppose the city’s policy of racial segregation on public transit systems. The effect of this boycott on the transit system was devastating. The bulk of the city’s black population used these services frequently which crippled the financial deficit of the system because the system’s frequent customers refused to ride transportation. The boycott lasted from December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested to December 20, 1956, the day when the Supreme Court put into the effect Browder v. Gayle case. This case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court; the Supreme Court dubbed the Alabama and Montgomery laws, which segregated buses unconstitutional. Obviously fighting for freedom was a big price to pay. Since Mrs. Parks fought for her rights she lost her job as a seamstress. However all was not lost because she soon became the secretary of multiple groups like the Montgomery chapter of the NCAAP.
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