Reflection of this conflict was apparent in the American ethos, in which Americans feared that if “world communism captur[ed] any American state…a new and perilous front…will increase the danger to the entire free world and require even greater sacrifices from the American people” (Document B). As illustrated by Eisenhower, “the hysteria” of communism propagating into American society and threatening the American way of life was a very prevalent fear at the forefront of the Cold War (Document A). McCarthyism, a system established by Senator Joseph McCarthy in which he made unsubstantiated accusations of subversion or treason to America, acted as the culmination of this hysteria, directly reflecting the sentiments driving the American people. Eisenhower did not engage in any domestic policies to quell these “multiplicity of fears” (Document A). Instead he compounded them with legislation such as the “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways…connect[ing] 209 of the 247 cities having a population of 50,00 more and [serving as] the country’s principal…defense” (Document D).
The fierce battles that occurred after the Tet offensive were heavily televised, exposing the inability of the American government to bring about a victory despite promising “victory to be ‘just around the corner” (Foner 1015). Television, once again, played a major role in informing the American people about the state of the war and creating support for the anti-war movements. By broadcasting the fighting, the public would have been able to witness firsthand what the war was like through something other than text on a newspaper. With the government unable to hide the televised battles, the American people were clearly able to see that the war was not progressing as smoothly as they had thought. Despite America’s military might, the fights showed that America could not solve all of its problems through force and that no matter how brutally the Americans fought, they still could not force their Vietnamese enemies to surrender.
Source A shows one countries fear of communism, whilst the other demonstrates the need to be ready for “work and defence”. Each source heavily relied on patriotism to inspire the population. In essence propaganda played a vital role Cold War, spreading influence and essentially almost as important as the
This negativity towards the war was only further fueled by how the television was covered in the war. As the war progressed, television coverage began to show aspects of the war that were never before seen on television, shocking the American people. Therefore, television’s role in reporting the Vietnam War ultimately caused
In an attempt to enhance backing for World War II among American soldiers and people, the U.S. government wanted Hollywood to produce films to sell the war. These movies were either based on the war itself, or movie that possessed a war atmosphere. Most famously, Frank Capra produced and directed a series of several propaganda war films called, Why We Fight (1942-1945). The film series were used to promote how American soldiers fighting in the war as well as means to get U.S. citizens to support the war was justifiable. The movie faced both domestic policies and society and the international order.
How did the Cold War affect United States domestic policy and American society? Both socially and economically the Cold War affected the U.S.. It changed our foreign policies, and it forced us to go to space. So I will go over how exactly were we affected by this war. First off domestically, before the Cold War the U.S. was loose with their domestic policy but after it they were very strict with their domestic policy.
The spread of communism had always been an issue in the United States. Once World War II had ended, the United States faced another period of fear about the spread of communism and the fear of over throwing the government. U. S Senator Joseph McCarthy felt that there were communist agents in the government so the Federal Government created a program that required all employees to take loyalty oaths. Alleged communist spies were called forth to give a testimony before a Senate subcommittees.
The Korean peninsula is still divided today, the border is known as the D.M.Z. or Demilitarized zone. Americans involved themselves in these foreign affairs against communism because of the paranoid attitude of McCarthyism. McCarthyism both reached its peak and began its decline during the “McCarthy hearings”: 36 days of televised investigative hearings led by McCarthy in 1954. After first calling hearings to investigate possible espionage at the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, the junior senator turned his communist-chasing committee’s attention to an altogether different matter, the question of whether the Army had promoted a dentist who
Violent imagery is quite key to the strategies of propaganda in the Cold War. As mentioned in the earlier post, both sides based their propaganda on the criticism of the opposing ideology and state. However, the more extreme strategies were employed in raising hostility towards the opponent among the population and in the world. One of the examples is the period of ‘Hate America’ campaign that showed a lot of aggression towards the US, for instance, as in the course of the Korean war communist propagandists were accusing the United States in torturing the prisoners of war and using biological warfare. (Belmonte, 47) Nevertheless, violent images used by the propagandist were usually linked to the ideas of murder, weapons and, sometimes, rape:
Lastly, it gave the public a new method of receiving national news and political events that was more readily available instead of newspapers or the radio show. Live events including the Army-McCarthy hearings filled the screens during 1954, revealing Senator Joseph McCarthy’s accusations of Communist supporters within the army, bringing awareness to the public and ultimately leading to his decline. Broadcasting companies covered many political activities and speeches as well as aired political ads promoting different candidates. The first presidential campaign to place ads on TV was that of Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 elections. In conclusion, television of the 1950s greatly influenced American culture and politics with its new forms of entertainment, commercials, and it’s broadcasting of news and political