Warm Up:

1. Warm Up: What do you think of when you picture life in America during the 1950’s?

2. Chapter 15 Section 2

3. Post WWII America • 12 million men and women returned home after the war Servicemen Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill ) • Money for veterans to attend college • Loans for homes, farms or businesses • Help finding jobs • One year of unemployment benefits

4. Post WWII America • After the War, rationing of consumer goods ended • Huge increase in demand for consumer goods • After the war, many Americans began having families • Baby Boom - dramatic rise in the birthrate • Increased demand further

5. Post WWII America • After the war, unions sought to increase wages • Starting in 1946, the number of strikes rose sharply • Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act - Reduced the power of unions - Gave president power to stop strikes when national interest at stake

6. Post WWII America Executive Order 9981 • President Truman ended segregation of the military

7. Building a Better World World Bank (1944) • Organization for providing loans and advice to countries for the purpose of reducing poverty International Monetary Fund (1944) • System for promoting financial relationships between countries • Designed to prevent economic crisis, & encourage growth

8. Building a Better World United Nations (1945) • Organization which member nations agree to settle disputes peacefully • Replaced the League of Nations General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (1946) • Agreement on rules and regulations for international trade • Focused on reducing tariffs & other trade barriers

9. Building a Better World Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) • Basic list of human rights for all member nations of the UN

10. UDHR Video

11. Chapter 15 Section 3

12. The Second Red Scare • August 1949, Soviet Union detonates an atomic bomb - Ended American monopoly on nuclear weapons • August 1949, Communist victorious in Chinese Civil War

13. Population 1950

14. Fear of Communism House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) • Goal to investigate radical groups in the U.S. • In 1947, began investigation to explore influence of Communist in film industry

15. Fear of Communism House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) • Called Hollywood writers and directors to testify before committee • Hollywood Ten - found guilty of contempt of Congress, sentenced to 1 year in jail • People in Hollywood began to supply list of possible communist to HUAC • Others refused to provide names • Blacklist- a list from which major Hollywood studies refused to hire • Ruined the careers of hundreds

16. Fear of Communism • Atomic Energy Commission accused Atomic bomb scientist Robert Oppenheimer of having Communist sympathies • Stripped of top-secret security clearance

17. Fear of Communism Smith Act (1940) • made it a crime to call for an overthrow of the American government • Truman used this law to arrest leaders of the Communist party

18. Fear of Communism McCarran Act (1950) • required communist organizations to register with the government • Established board to investigate these organizations • Made it illegal to plan for creation of totalitarian dictatorship in the U.S. • Prevented Communist from entering the U.S.

19. Spy Cases Alger Hiss1948 • Former government official • Accused of being a Soviet spy • Testified before HUAC, denied the charges • Convicted of perjury, lying under oath • Soviet documents later confirmed his guilt

20. Spy Cases Klaus Fuchs 1950 • Nuclear physicist, worked on Manhattan Project • Transmitted information about bomb to Soviet Union • Sentenced to 14 years in prison, served 9

21. Spy Cases Ethel and Julius Rosenberg 1951 • Accused of passing military secrets to Soviets • Refused to answer questions about political activities • Convicted to conspiracy to commit espionage • Received death sentence and executed in 1953 • First U.S. Civilians to be executed for espionage

22. Read: McCarthy Speech Answer Questions 1-3 on a separate sheet of paper.

23. Warm Up: • Why were Americans afraid of Communist in early 1950’s?

24. McCarthyism • Feb. 1950 • Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed there were 205 known communist working for the Dept. of State • Claimed to have list containing 57 of those names

25. McCarthyism • Hunt for Communist spread • Senate hearings were televised - creating widespread fear and paranoia • FBI and private investigators produced list of people with “questionable” political views • People who refused to cooperate were blacklisted - Thousands fired for political reasons

26. Read McCarthy Documents • Answer Questions 4-8

27. McCarthyism • McCarthy spread fear and baseless accusations • Suggested anyone who questioned him was a communist

28. McCarthy- Welch Exchange Analyze Senator McCarthy’s body language during the hearing. How does this reflect on the Senator?

29. McCarthyism • In 1954, claimed the US Army was protecting communist • Public began to view McCarthy’s tactics as unfair

30. Downfall • Watch “See it Now” with Edward R. Murrow

31. Response: • Senator McCarthy responded to the criticism by accusing Edward R. Murrow of being a Communist

32. Read: Murrow’s Response to McCarthy’s allegations

33. McCarthyism • McCarthy never produced list of names • Senate committee found no evidence of Communist in State Dept. • McCarthy was censured by the U.S. Senate

34. How did TV play a role in the Red Scare and McCarthyism?