Unit 8 Homework United States After World War 2

I

8.1 After WWII, global tensions forced the United States to remain a strong global leader, causing domestic and international consequences.

8.2 Liberalist views in the 1960s were based on anticommunist sentiment and the need for social equality which stimulated political and cultural responses.

8.3 Changes in demographics, the economy, and technology impacted American society, politics, and the environment.

II

8.1 How did the United States remain a strong global leader after WWII, causing domestic and international consequences?

8.2 How did Americans respond socially and politically to liberalism based on anticommunism and the belief of social equality?

8.3 What changes in demographics, the economy, and technology impacted American society, politics, and the environment?

III

8.1 Tensions with the Soviet Union after WWII led to the Cold War. The wartime alliance between the Soviet Union and the allies had been dissolved. The United States sought foreign policy to limit the spread of communism and spread democracy by becoming a military power. This however came with great consequences for the world. Post WWII, the United States remained a strong global leader by forming alliances, militarily containing communism, and building up an arsenal of weapons to remain a top military power.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was an alliance between the U.S. and European allies to combat the spread of communism. The countries were to together oppose the goals of the Soviet Union and go to war with the Soviet Union, should one of the countries get attacked. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine gave financial support to rebuild the war torn countries of Europe to prevent them from falling to communism. However, the U.S. had permanently ended its isolationist policy, falling into entangling alliances with other countries.

The Soviet Union’s attempts to spread communism to southeast Asia resulted in military action by the U.S. in Korea and Vietnam. In Korea, the U.S. fought against communist influence from China. While General McCarthy wanted to use nuclear weapons on China, but Truman refused. The war ended with Korea split at the 38th parallel, half communist and half democratic. The Vietnam War was much more controversial, with countless American lives lost. Communist Vietnam forces were more difficult to defeat than expected, resulting in the war dragging on and more American casualties. Domestic disapproval of the war effort led to a cease fire and removal of troops from Vietnam.

The arms race in the Cold War brought America to the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Technological advancements in weaponry on both sides kept increasing. Eisenhower’s policy of “more bang for the buck” meant investing money in nuclear weapons rather than troops. The U.S. sought to become a military power by having the greatest arsenal of weapons. However, America came very close to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union that would have come with “Mutually Assured Destruction”.

With the creation of NATO and alliances with other democratic nations, military action towards communism-spreading forces, and the buildup of weapons, the U.S. became a global leadership power in the world. Communism was contained and did not spread far. However, the consequences of these actions were a loss of isolationism, countless American casualties, and the threat of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

8.2 During the Cold War, fear of communism proliferated. At the same time, African Americans pursued social equality in response to segregation