Cultural and Social Historians in 1940s and 1950s

Cultural and Social Historians in 1940s and 1950s

The Cold War was an extension of World War II, between the United States and the Soviet Union. The two states supported different sides of the war at the beginning of the war, as the United States supported the United Kingdom by offering support. However, the U.S. was provoked into war against Germany due to the Pearl Harbor attack, which inevitably got it to be on one side with the Soviet Union. When the war was over, the U.S and the Soviet Union continued to be angry at each other because of the U.S delayed participation in the war leading to the death of many Russians, and the fear of the U.S that the Soviet Union would control the world by expanding communism. To control the world control by communism, the U.S. developed containment as a strategy to empower nations so that they could not adopt communism, which further deteriorated the tension between the two states. Social, cultural and cliometric historians have documented a lot of information about the life of Americans during the Cold War, giving an account of the citizens’ culture and daily lives, and quantitative economics respectively.

Cultural and Social Historians in 1940s and 1950s

The records of the period indicate that the American media pressured producers, including the Hollywood to offer anti-communism information to the public. Therefore, the movies that were produced were anti-communist, which raised a generation of Americans who believed in authoritanism, right from the time they were young. Luckily, the country’s films were consumed widely across the world, which led to increased numbers of anti-communists. Examples of the movies are ‘The Red Scare’ and ‘The Big Combo’ of 1955. Therefore, American generations were raised who believed in capitalism, which meant that they would practice it and protect it in the future, when they were in a position to make policies. Unfortunately, communists also found their way to Hollywood to rival the attack against communism, and they produced movies of equal strength against capitalism, which led to the blacklisting of some actors and producers. At one point, there was a hearing of the actors by the House Un-American Activities Committee, which ended chaotically, as many communists artists’ civil rights were abused. Surprisingly, most Americans were against the communists.

Another social and cultural aspect that characterized the U.S. during the 1940s and 1950s is the pressure by the government and society to accord the African Americans equal civil rights and treatment as the white Americans. The justification was that the U.S. was pushing nations across the world to practice equality and uphold human rights, while the country had been unable to address an issue it had been battling for over 80 years by the mid-20th century. African Americans through free, and having taken part actively in World War II were still unable to obtain the ranks of employment the white Americans got, acquire positions of power politically, and remained oppressed by the judicial system. In fact, the places that were primarily inhabited the African Americans continued to have lower quality social amenities than places where the community was very low or missing. The issue was especially rampant in the south. Due to internal pressure to comply with the demands the country placed to other nations across the world, the African Americans were able to acquire additional civil rights.

Despite the 15th amendment empowerment of freed slaves and non-white persons to vote in the United States, majority could not exercise the right until the 1950s. Most African Americans also failed to participate in the process because they felt their voice was hardly heard and had stopped voting altogether. During the War period, many African Americans could not share restaurants, beaches, and social halls with their white race counterparts. In the early 1950s, banned discrimination of the blacks, which allowed them to feel recognized as part of the society, and their lives improved, especially economically. While the process was slow, its significance in the community was huge. During the 1940s and 1950s, African Americans acquired reasonably paying jobs through the Fair Employment Practices Commission, which helped them secure jobs that required better skills that attracted higher pay. The commission also fought against overworking African Americans in making them work for long hours than the whites.

Another marker of the change of the American society to embrace the African Americans and regard their as their companions was in the ending of segregation in public schools. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown in Brown v. Board of Education case, which allowed African American children to attend schools previously utilized by the white community only. At the time, the schools where the African Americans schooled were dilapidated and lacked facilities of the class of the whites’ children. Ending segregation allowed the communities to condone each other’s’ close presence to tertiary levels of education, and birthed a generation that practiced racism to limited extents, as children who studies together with colored children since they were young can hardly doubt the blacks’ competence later in life, or feel uncomfortable working with them. Therefore, the 1940s and 1950s was a period where racism in the U.S. took a different turn.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Americans lived in fear despite the joy of having conquered in the World War II. The reason was that they had understood what a war could do to the country in terms of loss of lives and the economic impact it caused the state. The continued tensions between the U.S. and Russia during the Cold War made them fear that a war could break between the two countries, as information about the disunity between the two nations was communicated to Americans daily through the media. Specifically, the period was marked by nations arming themselves with nuclear weaponry in preparation for future wars. Governments were also empowering their militaries, as they had lost very many people during the World War II. Such efforts by the governments impacted every family in the country as many youths went to be trained as soldiers, which meant that people continually feared other nations in case there were invasions. Not just the citizens lived in fear, but political leaders hardly trusted one another, as they suspected ill will from one another, and continually suspected each other for spying, leading to unfair arrests in both countries.

While the government made a deliberate effort to influence the people’s mindset against communism, the knowledge that people acquired informed their art innocently. Therefore, the novels, art, poems like of Robert Lowell, and comic books were influenced by anti-communism knowledge. The influence went far to challenge Americans come together against communism and feel strong as one. Such were showcased during functions such as the London Olympics that was held in 1948, where the topics of capitalism and support of authoritarianism for people dominated the themes included. Most people supported the perspective for thinking it was right and superior, not understanding the impact it was intended to have. Another example is books that were written supporting the upholding of people’s rights irrespective of their difference from a majority of people in the society, such as reducing violence against the lesbians and hay communities. Children’s books encouraged them to be independent and were encouraged to speak what they felt, and be respected. Notably, corporal punishment of learners was banned in the U.S. in 1947, which allowed children’s rights to be respected, and it meant that no humans should be beaten by another, as it was illegal.

The Cold War era shaped the politics of U.S. as people sought office based on the best oppose of communism. At the time, communism was considered against the country, and people could do anything to protect it from being practiced in American and in the world. Therefore, the American presidency was taken by the candidate who convinced voters he would silence communism through realistic policies. For instance, Robert Taft, in his presidential campaign, continually accused President Truman for appeasing Russians abroad, and indirectly fostering communism on the American soil. Such debates were common among politicians who sought positions in all levels, as people wanted the character who’d ensure American remained on top, and protected the victory and success it showed during the war.

Propaganda became part of American culture, both to its citizens and to other nations in the world. In the 1940s and 1950s, the country published many books, newspapers and magazines and exported them to countries around the world. The targets were especially countries that were capitalist, in an effort to prevent them from embracing communism, as it could translate to increased control by the Soviet Union to control the world. As a result, the influenced of American’s became the determining factor in how much people knew about communism and authoritarianism. Upon weighing, most nations supported the American style, as they realized that it increased democracy and that people’s rights were upheld to great extents. The nations also understood the shortcomings of communism from the perspective of the U.S. Many Americans enjoyed the fact that they could sell their works to the outside world easily as the costs of publishing them were low, and they developed a feeling of importance sue to the extent of control they obtained over the world. The period therefore made people both locally and internationally to perceive the United States to be a very powerful nation too.

The 1940s and 1950s in the U.S. were characterized with women empowerment. There-before, women took care of all household chores, and got married early, as there was nothing to do when they completed high school. The World War had pushed them to realize their economic power, and were engaged in production and many economic activities that had been left unattended by their husband, which proved that they too were competent to work. The 1940s and 1950s, the girls who were in high school graduated to tertiary levels and gained specialized skills. As a result, they secured jobs that aid them highly, which enabled them to hire helpers in housework and raising children. Their influence in the family units was felt too as they assisted their husbands to make decisions. Commendably, women during the era begun making entry into politics. An example is Maurine Neuberger who was enaged in active campaigns for herself in 1950s and finally got a position in the Senate in 1960, where she succeeded her husband. While the fruits of the development of the empowerment of women were felt strongly, the journey was tough as women who sought political positions were attacked on the basis of neglecting their home duties. An example was Coya Knutson, who represented Minnesota in the Congress for two terms, but her abusive husband campaigned against her claiming that she had neglected her family. With the slogan “Coya come home,” the lady lost her position in 1958.

Cliometric in 1940s and 1950s

On the positive side, the Cold War era was characterized by the realization of the American dream to a significant extent. Therefore, Americans were economically empowered, and could pursue formal education to high levels with limited disruption. The change was felt especially because education had been disrupted by the Second World War, and now Americans felt the glory of their country because life could continue as they wished. People were also able to spend time in leisure, whose class and experiences grew continually as people could afford to purchase the services. Consequently, industries continued to expend, having gotten a favorable foundation during the war, and people were able to make a lot of money especially from business. Therefore, the community generally could enjoy facilities like better clothing, foods, and majority could afford cars to move to work and transport their families, which generally increased the joy levels in the country, hence increasing the quality of life they lived.

The government expenditure increased in the 1940s and 1950s. First, the amount spent on the military rose to $10 billion in 1947 to about $70 billion in 1955. The amounts were not only used to train new personnel but to buy and manufacture weaponry, including military ships that could move in water when submerged. The money was also spend on spying and understanding the plans of other states against the U.S. to ensure that the country maintained an upper hand in all wars in case any erupted. A lot of money was also used to prepare nuclear weaponry.

The Gross Domestic Product of the U.S grew tremendously in the 1940s and 1950s. Every year, the DDP increased by at least 4%, as the economy experienced a boom. The nation engaged in large scale production to export commodities, and were consumed highly by the locals, who were increasingly getting to the middle income earning category. The affordable mortgages that were offered to the returning service men increased people’s ability to acquire housing, and the sector also blossomed. Most people also secured long-term contracts with their employers. Unfortunately, the growth of the agricultural sector was unmatched, and it shrunk to only be conducted economically by a few farmers.