The Cold War: An Era of Fear

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An Era of Fear
Truman had just demonstrated the raw power of the nuclear bomb, in order to end World War II, in 1945. The cost of war had immediately changed; the world had seen that whole cites could be obliterated within seconds. This would send a paralyzing shock through the world. After World War II the world was split between two economic idealities, Communism and Capitalism. This would drive America and The Soviet Union into the Cold War. The Cold War was an exceptionally distinct war that manifested a fear within Americans that was beautifully captured in the literature and films made by the people that experienced the Cold War.
Many Americans were immensely pleased that their country had risen from the horrible World War, victorious. They were ready to return to a peaceful that they had once known. During this time books like Stuart Little and Goodnight Moon had become exceptionally popular among the American public. These novels were very children oriented and conservative just like society at the time. They did not have a shred of war within the pages of these books. These books captured the mindset of a typical American, wanting to get past the war and clear their minds of the atrocities that their country had just witnessed. Though the time they were trying to return to was not the same as the one that they were in just before the war. Before the war women were gaining many rights and freedoms they hadn’t had before, but America was returning to a more traditional time. This meant that women’s rights would be reeled back. America had started to conform.
The American middle class went through a transformation and were conforming to the guidelines set by movies like It’s A Wonderful Life. This film had the image of a ...

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...of the Cold War related literature.
The Cold war was a war unlike any war anyone had ever experienced. Cold War literature was unlike any literature anyone had ever experienced before. The Cold War brought many heterogeneous ideas that no author before had because the ideas weren’t possible before. The fear was unlike any other yet the authors of this time period were able to capture it within the pages of their books perfectly. The pages within these books are a time machine into the past. When learning about history, people aren’t very excited because they know the result but the Cold War is a whole different time because before everyone knew that win or loss you would still live, maybe not the same way as before but alive nonetheless, but if even one warhead were to be launched, the enemy would launch all of theirs, ending both countries and probably the Earth.

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