1 / 57

The 1950s

The 1950s. The 1950s. Eisenhowers Election Domestic Policy The Arms Race Post War American Life. 1952 Election. Democratic National Convention Nominated Adlai E. Stevenson Gov. IL Republican National Convention Nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower WWII hero VP: Richard Nixon.

kamal-roberson
Download Presentation

The 1950s

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The 1950s

  2. The 1950s • Eisenhowers • Election • Domestic Policy • The Arms Race • Post War American Life

  3. 1952 Election • Democratic National Convention • Nominated Adlai E. Stevenson • Gov. IL • Republican National Convention • Nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower • WWII hero • VP: Richard Nixon

  4. Results of the Election of 1952 • Eisenhower won • 34 million-27.3 million • 442-89

  5. The 1950s • Eisenhowers • Election • Domestic Policy • The Arms Race • Post War American Life

  6. Dynamic Conservatism • Fiscally Conservative • Goal: • Balance the Federal Budget and Guarding Against “Creeping Socialism” • Interstate Highway Act 1956

  7. Interstate Highway Act 1956 • Cost: $114 billion over 35 years • 42,000 mi of highways 1957-69

  8. Interstate Highway Act 1956 • Cost: $114 billion over 35 years • 42,000 mi of highways 1957-69

  9. The 1950s • Eisenhowers • Election • Domestic Policy • The Arms Race • Post War American Life

  10. Sputnik 10/4/1957 Sputnik was launched in by the Soviet Union. First manmade object put in orbit.

  11. U.S. Response Vanguard TV3 was the first attempt by U.S. to launch a satellite December 6, 1957 at Cape Canaveral

  12. So, how did we get to this point?

  13. Arms Race – America Begins To Rearm • National Security Act • Department of Defense – • Housed in the Pentagon • Headed by the Secretary of Defense • Coordinate the army, navy, and air force

  14. Arms Race – America Begins To Rearm • National Security Act • Department of Defense – • Housed in the Pentagon • Headed by the Secretary of Defense • Coordinate the army, navy, and air force • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – • Gather facts on foreign countries

  15. Arms Race • 1949 – USSR exploded an A-Bomb

  16. Hydrogen Bomb • Truman ordered the development of the “H-bomb” (hydrogen bomb) • A-Bomb – Fission Bomb • H-Bomb – Fusion Bomb • 1952 – The U.S. tested its first H-bomb at Bikini Atoll

  17. Arms Race • 1953 – USSR tested their first H-bomb

  18. Delivery - SAC • Secretary of State John Foster Dulles • Advocated “massive retaliation” – included use of nuclear weapons • Strategic Air Command (SAC) • Fleet of superbombers

  19. Delivery • Bombers were in the air 24/7 • B-52 Bomber • U-2 spied on USSR

  20. Delivery • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) • Soviets made the first • R-7 • put Sputnik in space

  21. Delivery • The U.S. eventually perfected their own design • Atlas

  22. Delivery • The U.S. eventually perfected their own design • Atlas • Titan

  23. Delivery • The U.S. eventually perfected their own design • Atlas • Titan • Polaris

  24. Delivery • The U.S. eventually perfected their own design • Atlas • Titan • Polaris • Minuteman

  25. Mutually Assured Destruction • With both countries now having the atomic bomb and the means to delivery the bomb we entered an era of mutually assured destruction (MAD)

  26. Duck and Cover

  27. The Tsar Bomb • Link • Link

  28. Check Up! • Debate the following prompt: MAD created greater security for the United States.

  29. The 1950s • Eisenhowers • Election • Domestic Policy • The Arms Race • Post War American Life

  30. Postwar Economic Anxieties • Would the Great Depression Return?

  31. Postwar Economic Anxieties • Would the Great Depression Return? • Some predicted that it would return: • GDP slumped • Deflation – Prices dropped 33% • 4.6 million went out on strike in 1946

  32. Government Economic Stimulus • Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) • Pay for GIs to go to college • 8 million • cost $14.5 billion

  33. Government Economic Stimulus • Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) • Pay for GIs to go to college • 8 million • cost $14.5 billion • Veterans Administration (VA) loaned $16 billion to • buy homes, farms, and small businesses

  34. Interstate Highway Act 1956 • Cost: $114 billion over 35 years • 42,000 mi of highways 1957-69

  35. Check Up! • How did the G.I. Bill help the economy in the long run, and help stop a recession from occuring in the short run?

  36. The Economic Boom • Economy 1950s and 1960s • Income Increased • America had 40% of the world’s wealth (6% of pop.)

  37. The Economic Boom • Results of the Economic Boom of the 1950s and 1960s • Income Increased • America had 40% of the world’s wealth (6% of pop.) • Funded the civil rights movement • Surplus paid for Medicare and welfare programs

  38. The Economic Boom • What Started Economic Prosperity? • WWII • G.I. • Highway Act • Military Industrial Complex: • Aerospace • Electronics • Research and development

  39. The Economic Boom • What Started Economic Prosperity? • Cheap energy – • Electricity increased 6x • U.S. doubled oil consumption 1945-1970

  40. The Economic Boom • What Started Economic Prosperity? • Education Enrollment • 1940: 36% • 1970: 90% • Education = Productivity

  41. The Economic Boom • What Started Economic Prosperity? • Farmers • 1930 25% • 1945 15% • 1990s <2%

More Related