1. Describe 3 causes of the Great Depression, and explain the different responses to the Depression by President Herbert Hoover and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

DO NOW REVIEW

Peace after WWII led to prosperity, and as a result of both, the population boomed

The Baby Boom

1945-early 1960s

76 million babies born

What was the impact of the Baby Boomers?

Growth of suburbs (larger families)

Has become a major strain on government resources (Social Security, Medicare, etc)

THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1950S

Economically, the 1950s were similar to the 1920s

Much economic growth

Consumer-based economy

New products (tv, many brands of cars, etc)

THE ECONOMY OF THE 1950S

1956—Interstate Highway law passed

Creates national system of roads

How does this affect the US?

TradeMovement of peopleMilitary purpose—

roads can help defend US during Cold War

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM

THE HIGHWAYS CONNECT ALL THE MAJOR CITIES IN THE UNITED

STATES

Do Now Review

1. Explain how the Baby Boomer generation has had an influence on America today.

2. How was the 1950s economy similar to the 1920s economy?

3. Describe how the creation of interstate highways changed the United States.

In 1950, Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin made a speech claiming that there were Communists in the U.S. government

This sparked a 2nd Red Scare, known as McCarthyism

Influenced by fall of China in 1949, Soviet testing of an atomic bomb in 1949, and the Korean War in 1950

MCCARTHYISM

1950—Julius & Ethel Rosenberg are convicted and eventually executed of spying for the Soviet Union

Alger Hiss, a government offi cial, was convicted of perjury. He was suspected of being a member of the Communist Party

MCCARTHYISM

McCarthy sought to expose Communists in the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Many people were blacklisted (could not work in their industry anymore) in government and Hollywood

MCCARTHYISM

The accusations became more serious, and McCarthy gained more influence in the early 1950s

Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible compared the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 to McCarthyism in the 1950s

MCCARTHYISM

The decline of McCarthyism came in 1953-54.

A television program that showed McCarthy as a bully towards his enemies turned the public against him

McCarthy was censured by the Senate after the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.”

-Edward R. Murrow

MCCARTHYISM

Proved that fear can have a huge influence over policies

Led to more political division

Made Americans more distrustful of the Soviet Union

It was later proved that many American communists were in fact spies for the Soviet Union, so McCarthy was not totally incorrect in his suspicions

THE IMPACT OF MCCARTHYISM