What was the political climate of the US in the 1950s?

Answer 1

One income families,with wife at home supporting as many as five or fewer kids was normal. One income was adequate. It was baby boomer producing time. We had a do nothing President who golfed frequently who helped win World War II. The culture was conservative until Rock and Roll music enter the scene. There was a lot of talk about the Communist threat from Joe McCarty and friends. The Soviet Union was the major concern. We had the worry of the Atomic Bomb with people building bomb shelters. We became the most powerful country on earth the main reason being we were never invaded. It was a happy time for most people.

Answer 2

During the 1950s a very prosperous and conservative climate existed. The United States had risen to the level of world power, unemployment was low, and because of the Cold War, Americans were very patriotic. The average household had a sole family breadwinner, and the average role of women, at the time, was as homemaker. Racism was prevalent, especially in the deep south

Answer 3

mostly liberal but the religious right started to organize around then leading up to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Margaret Thatcher around the same time. ANSWER

During the late '60s and '70s there was a terrible split between the generations in Europe and North America. The parent and grandparent generations had lived through two wars and the Great Depression. The period of economic prosperity following WWII was the first time in the parent's memory that any man that wanted one could get a good, well paying job - and the grandparent generation had to look way back to its early adulthood to remember such a time.

As a result, the primary interests of the two older generations were economic. The parent generation set about making up for lost time, and wanted a home of their own, a settled family life, a car, and all the etceteras of the American Dream. Women, who had made great strides in the workplace, went back into the home to become wives and mothers - a further attempt to recapture the Dream that this generation felt it had missed out on. All this resulted in the "Leave It To Beaver" lifestyle.

Their children, on the other hand, born after WWII, had never gone hungry, never suffered any deprivation, or fought a war. Further, they had the opportunity to go to college, which most of the parent generation had been unable to do, since their educations had been cut short either by the need to go to work, or the War. The one deprivation that the younger generation Had suffered was the lack of emotional support from parents, who had no time for "frou frou" emotional stuff when they were busy getting and keeping that American Dream.

The result was that the two older generations had a practical outlook, where Dollars and Cents mattered far more than hugs and kisses. They felt that they were showing their love to their children by giving them the material things They never had. The older generations also had a traditional view of Patriotism, as they looked back to their experiences in the two World Wars.

The younger generation, however, had a far different view of both Life and Patriotism. They put far more value on relationships and people than their parents, having suffered the privations of fathers who could never Be there because they were Working, and mothers who had realized too late that housewifery was Deadening and so had crawled into a booze bottle, or had their little blue pills to lean on. Also, the younger people's Patriotism was idealistic. America was, to them, a grand Idea, with certain inviolable Principles.

The result was an awful clash. When the U.S. went to war in Vietnam, the older generations saw that America had again called her young to duty. For them it was a simple thing, without need for soul searching. The young people saw America not only violating its most sacred principles by engaging in an imperialist war, but murdering people, both Asian and American, for nothing more than Money - Economic power. Since the younger generation had very sharp memories of being emotionally abandoned by their parents for that Same reason, they went ballistic, and turned on both parents And the government of the Country.

The older generations were totally confused. After all they had given their children, how Could they turn on them like this? Didn't they have any Appreciation? Any Gratitude? The younger generation saw their elders as Hopeless. They would Never understand. Neither generation could talk to the other in the language it understood.

Answer 4

The political scene in the United States was dominated by the Cold War. This impacted both domestic and international politics in many ways. The beginning of the 1950's began with a war. This surprised allot of WW II Vets as people in a sense were in many ways winding down from the end of that war in 1945. Yet, here 5 years later, a new war came to be. Here is a look at US politics for the 1950's:

* In June of 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. The intent was to unify both Korea's into a communist country;

* In response, the United Nations faced its first test as a peace keeping organization;

* The United States and its allies decided to halt the North Korean advance as North Korea pays no attention to UN demands & sanctions;

* Most of the forces sent to keep S. Korea a non communist country were from the USA, however, troops & aid from other UN member States also participated;

* The UN forces were mainly from:

1. USA 1. S. Korea 3. Australia 4. Canada 5. New Zealand 6. UK 7. Belgium 8. Luxembourg 9. Colombia 10. Ethiopia 11. France 12. Greece

13. Netherlands 14. Philippines 15. Thailand 16. Turkey

For the most part the war ended in a Truce. America, however, lost as many 34,000 troops.

On the domestic political side, the chief UN Commander of the war was former WW II veteran, General MacArthur. He wanted a more aggressive war, however, US President Truman, did not want to extend the purpose of the war. Truman had to relieve his top commander and the US public was outraged. The General was given a ticker tape parade in NYC when he returned.

The next US Presidential election was in 1952. The Korean "peace treaty" was signed in 1953. WW II hero General Eisenhower became the new president and he was re -elected in 1956. His first election he won handily with an electoral vote of 442 - 89

The fear of communist expansion became very real due to the Korean War. To add to the flames, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried and convicted for giving atomic bomb secrets to the USSR. They were sentenced to death. There was much politicalcontroversy over this.

There was also an idea that domestic communism was present in the USA. With that in mind, Senator McCarthybegan hearings on this in 1954. Among his staffers was Robert F. Kennedy. The public soon had enough of searching for domestic communists and the senator was condemned by the US Senate and the hearings ended.

In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This caused political controversy in the USA, both in the South and the North.

In 1955, this ruling is called on to be enforced by the US Supreme Court. Schools, which were mostly in the South are ordered to end public school segregation.

In 1956, Eisenhower is reelected by a wide margin again.His Democrat opponent in 1956 was Adlai Stevenson, the same man who ran in 1952.

The political mood is lightened in the USA by "Ike's" reelection but there are political problems in the Southern segregated schools.

In 1957, Eisenhower has to send troops to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce de-segregation there. The nation is in an uproar. Politics has split the Nation.

In 1958, the USA has lost the race to launch a space satellite. The USSR is first in space. This becomes a political issue. America finally has a successful one in January, 1958.

In 1959, the 49th State, Alaska, joins the Union.

Early in 1959, the US recognizes the new government in Cuba led by revolutionary Fidel Castro. This becomes a political controversy as some believe that Castro is leaning towards making Cuba a communist country.