Impacts of the Cold War

At the end of WWII, Europe was destroyed from constant battle and a lack of resources.

The United States and the Soviet Union both intended to expand their sphere of influence

throughout the broken continent. The U.S. approached restoration with diplomacy and a

democratic agenda. However, the Soviet Union aimed to trap the entire continent under its

totalitarian and communist regime known as the “iron curtain.” These different approaches

created tensions among the U.S. and the Soviet Union known as The Cold War. The Cold War

impacted U.S. domestic policy and American culture by increasing spending on military and

scientific developments that aimed to surpass Soviet enterprise and creating an immense

paranoia of communism.

When the U.S. dropped the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII,

global warfare was changed forever. The sheer power of the weapon shocked the world and

asserted American nuclear dominance. However, when the Soviet Union announced the

development of their own Atomic bomb, the U.S. no longer had this advantage over the world.

Thus began the competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to develop weapons and

technology that could outperform each other. This competition, known as the “arms race,”

resulted in a significant increase in American spending on military and scientific projects that

aimed to surpass Soviet enterprise. The percent of the Federal Budget spent on defense increased

from 54% to 64% between the years 1950 and 1955 (U.S.). From this information, one can infer

that the increase in defense spending was due to the pressure the American government felt to

exceed Soviet military advancements. This sudden desire to increase defense projects resulted

from the competitive nature of the arms race. The obsession with promoting American
superiority was also reflected in the subject matter of public schools. The political cartoon titled

“Hey-Don’t Forget The Bottom Part, Too” by Herb Block illustrates the overemphasis on

science in education and the disregard of other crucial subjects. The cartoon illustrates a torn

down building to represent general education and a sphere on top of it to represent the emphasis

on scientific education. The U.S. increased funding specifically in science and reduced funding

in other subjects because it contributed to the advancement of NASA which aimed to outperform

Soviet aeronautical advances. This fact exposes the extreme measures America was willing to

execute in order to exceed the Soviet Union.

Due to movements such as McCarthyism including the Hollywood Ten and the

implementation of the McCarran-Walter Act, there was a widespread fear of communists in

America during the Cold War. Spy cases such as Alger Hiss and the Rosenberg’s confirmed

America's fear of disloyalty. The political cartoon titled Say, What ever Happened to ‘Freedom

from Fear’ by Herb Block is a depiction of the American obsession to root out communists,

often without substantial evidence. The illustration includes multiple individuals in dismay over

un-American activity. Conviction of disloyalty often resulted in one losing their reputation and

facing prosecution. Americans lived in constant fear of being wrongly accused of disloyalty or

communism. Moreover, if one was accused of communism, they were often not granted their

constitutional right to due process. This resulted in the false accusation of many individuals

based on unfounded prejudices against them. “I think that it is high time that we remembered

that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we

remembered that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also

of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation.” (Chase Smith, Margaret). The American fear of

communism was exploited and led to the prosecution of innocent people.

 As has been noted, the events that contributed to Cold War changed the American

perspective on international and domestic relations. Convictions of disloyalty altered the lives of

individuals and whole industries. Fear of communism altered the American mindset and

impacted all facets of American priorities.

Works Cited:

Document 3: Herb Block, “Say, what ever happened to 'freedom-from-fear’?" printed in The

Washington Post, August 13, 1951. (Adapted)

Document 6: Herb Block, “Hey-- Don’t Forget the Bottom Part, Too,” The Corpus Christi
Caller-Times, November 15, 1957.

Document 4: United States, Changing Priorities in Federal Spending, 1940-1995.

Document 5: Senator Margaret Chase Smith, “Declaration of Conscience,” June 1, 1950.

(Adapted)