The end of WWII was a significant moment in history since conflicts between several countries were no longer a deadly threat. However, after the end of WWII the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the two supreme powers which caused these two countries to compete and try to overpower the other. Although, these two countries did not necessarily declare war with one another they initiated into a proxy war known as the Cold War. The Cold War was a period of fear for these two societies competed with mass destruction weapons to overcome the other party. Soviet expansionism in Europe enabled Americans' fear of communism spreading into the United Sates and taking over their American values. The fear of communism threatened American values of democracy that fueled the Cold War into an Arms Race as these two countries competed into a space race to have a better system, economy, and science innovations to prove to be the better society and overcome the other nevertheless the cold war influenced America's culture such as the film, music, and the entertainment industry that had strong anti-communist propaganda messages and featured America as being the supreme power.
The Cold War was a time of panic in the United States since the great American democracy system was in danger due to communist beliefs overcoming the capitalist system. The protection of Capitalism caused the United States to enact a policy targeting communism from spreading and eroding the democratic system. In 1946, George Kennan's telegram warned the Truman administration about the expansionism of the Soviets. George Kennan claimed that, "only the United States had the ability to stop them"( Foner 887). As a result of George Kennan's telegram a containment policy was enacted which the United States officially pledged to stop the further expansion of the Soviet and communist party from spreading. The action of the United States to stop Soviet power from spreading caused Americans to have a strong sense of nationalism which allowed consumerism to become an important element to the American culture. The increasing fear of Soviet power expanding led to increase government spending on defense and domestic resources.
The Cold War was significant since it was a mutual assured destruction war which encouraged the United States to build more powerful weapons than the Soviet Union. The Cold War quickly turned into an arms race as the development of the atomic bomb appeared. The Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb in 1949, which led to the United States developing a deadlier atomic bomb known as the hydrogen bomb , or superbomb. The creation of such destructive weapon impacted the American lifestyle as people lived in fear, and people began building bomb shelters in their backyards. Fear quickly unraveled like a virus which led to an outbreak of films that portrayed nuclear destruction and communism as a menace. The arms race between the two supreme powers affected Americans' lifestyle as it shaped their culture and society.
The arms race became a serious concern when it evolved into a space race. The space expeditions was another form of competition between the United States and the Soviets. The tension between these two countries escalated when the Soviets launched sputnik in 1957 which was the world's first artificial satellite. The launch of sputnik was a threat to the United States as the Soviets had an advantage and power to launch a nuclear attack into United States air space which made U.S. space exploration involvement critical. The United States launched their own satellite, Explorer I in 1958 which was designed by the U.S. army. Also in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created during Dwight Eisenhower Presidency which was an agency in charge of space explorations and aerospace research. However, the Soviet Union was still one step ahead of the United States as the Soviets launched the first man into space in 1691 which soon after that Alan Shepard was the first American man in space. Then in 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon, giving the United States an advantage in the Space Race. The advantage gave Americans a sense of superiority over the Soviets, for as the soviets were portrayed as villains with an evil communist agenda to defeat America.
Communist became a serious threat to the Democratic system in the United States, which became known as the Red Scare. The fear of communism dissolving the great American system led to a series of actions in 1947 by the House Un-American Activities Committee which began analyzing and investigating accusations of communist in the government and in the Hollywood film industry. For instances, the House Un-American Activities Committee investigated hundreds of people in Hollywood that worked in the film industry to claim their connection to the communist party and testify against each other. As a result nearly 500 people lost their jobs and many workers such as writers, actors and directors were "blacklisted" which were not able to receive jobs for a long time.
Authored by: Veronica Martinez