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Describe and analyze the impact of the Cold War on U.S. foreign policy, domestic politics, and society in the years between 1947 and 1989
How the cold war changed the us domestically
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The articles “To what extent did the Cold War shape the American domestic life of the 1950s?” and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” by Rod Serling are very similar in many ways. Both texts talk about unsubstantiated accusations made by once friendly people and they both eventually ending with complete chaos and destruction. Although both texts are about different things, they both execute the same idea that most people have a monstrous side.
Both of the articles begin with people living in luxury, but end with people trying to stay safe. In the first paragraph of “The Cold War,” the author states “Immediately after World War Ⅱ, life for most Americans in the United States was as good as it had ever been: the middle class rapidly expanded, unemployment was low, and the United States (the only country with a nuclear bomb) became the most
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powerful country on earth.” This shows how before the Cold War, America was a good place to live and it was prospering.
In “The Monsters,” the article says “Maple Street, U.S.A, late summer. A tree-lined little world of front-porch gliders, hopscotch, the laughter of children, and the bell of an ice cream vendor.” This proves, like in “The Cold War,” that Maple Street was once a friendly and happy place to live until everybody turned on each other. Both carry through the idea that both places were once a good place to be. Also, in both articles everyone was waiting for the attack and knew it would eventually come. In the title “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” the word “due” implies the interpretation that since the people have not yet turned on each other, they eventually will. In “The Cold War,” it states “Americans lived in constant fear that “the bomb”might drop at any minute.” This proves how they were also
expecting a dispute/conflict/fight. The two articles also contain accusations made on doubtful/unsupported/unconfirmed evidence. In paragraph 4, “The Cold War” talks about how if people were even accused to be a Communist sympathizer, that person could be cast out from their community. In “The Monsters,” people constantly blame each other for no reason. Although the articles do not directly refer to one another, both texts are similar in many ways. In conclusion, the texts “To what extent did the Cold War shape the American domestic life of the 1950s?” and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” contain many indirect similarities. Both articles express the same idea. Although “The Monsters” is about the members of a street turning on each other and “The Cold War” is about various countries fighting against themselves, both of them show how people have a monstrous side, ______.
If you were in a situation where you had no idea what was going on, and someone proposed an idea that could help you, and give you some direction, would you believe them? In both stories, The Twilight Zone “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”, and All Summer In A Day, the theme is expressed that a single idea can turn a crowd into a mob. Something as little as one idea can turn people against one another, and get them to do things they might regret. In The Twilight Zone “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street,” this is demonstrated when everyone is in a frenzy, and Charlie ends up shooting Pete Vanhorn. In All Summer In A Day, William’s claims lead to Margot’s condemnation, and her being locked in a closet. A combination of confusion and imagination can lead to something dangerous and chaotic pretty easily.
You are on trial and your life depends on it. You and your lawyer have argued and proved that you are innocent, but the verdict is still unknown. You are told a verdict is in and your heart is racing. The judge then says you are... In the story Monster by Walter Dean Myers, is a young adult named Steve Harmon—the protagonist—is being accused of felony murder. The story is written both in first person and as a screenplay. Myers uses unique characters and settings to make the reader feel like they are in the same situation as Harmon. The majority of the story takes place in the courtroom where Harmon and his lawyer are fighting for his life. The novel also takes place in a jail and can really show the horrors of what happens there and what is
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, a teleplay written by Rod Serling, starts in the late afternoon on Maple Street USA. Something bright flies overhead and the power goes out and the people who live there get advice from a 12 year old and get scared there are aliens out there. Tommy, the 12 year old, told them about the movies and comics that he has read. The narrator is an observer that is describing what happens while everyone goes mad trying to find a scapegoat. Steve is the only person who tries to reason with everyone while they are getting suspicious and trying to blame a scapegoat. This teleplay shows some of the human flaws that the people on maple street will encounter during their little power outage.
One of the biggest fears of the American people is that the concept of communism contrasts drastically from the concept of capitalism, which the United States was essentially founded upon. The United States, as the public believed, was not a land of perfect communal equality, but rather a land of equal opportunity. However, what made communism so dangerous can be succinctly described by Eisenhower who compared the spread of communism as the domino effect. As his secretary of state, Dulles, put it, the propagation of communism “would constitute a threat to the sovereignty and independence” of America (Doc B). In addition, the Cold War also planted the seeds of rational fear of a global nuclear war. As Russia caught up to the United States in terms of technological advancements, they successfully developed the atomic bomb as well as the hydrogen bomb, which caused Americans to believe that the USSR would use these weapons of mass destruction to forcefully extend their ideologies to the USA. In fact, Americans were so frantic about a potential nuclear disaster that it...
Herd behavior is when individuals in a group make a choice and everyone else unconsciously follows them. This usually takes place when under pressure or while in danger. Either good or bad decisions can come from this. In the teleplay “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” written by Rod Serling, the article “Why Do People Follow the Crowd” written by ABC News, and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the three sources all discuss how mob mentality and herd behavior can negatively affect people’s morals and thinking process. Mob mentality and herd behavior will inevitably lead to a loss of integrity and common sense, since members will follow the group and not their on free will, which leads to a negative
During the Cold War from 1945 to 1953, the civil liberties faced many challenges as the citizens of the US faced and lived in a lot of terror. The Cold War in 1945 to 1953 brought about a period of tension and hostility due to the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period began with the end of the Second World War. The situation acquired the title for there was no physical active war between the two rivals. The probability of the tension is the fear of the rise in nuclear ammunition.
?The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street? is a story about the paranoia of regular people. When the power and phone lines stop working on Maple Street, the residents become hostile. One boy puts an idea into their heads: that aliens impersonating humans have done it. This single thought catalysts and soon all of the neighbors are ready to hurt each other for answers. ?The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street? is a good play to see for all ages.
“In the wake of the Cold War, Americans felt it was their patriotic duty to buy consumer goods to help the economy grow. In turn, the U.S. became the world’s dominant economic power” ("Cold War Influences on American Culture, Politics, and Economics").
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. In the book the Lord of the Flies by William Golding and the episode “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” by Rod Serling both revolve around a society who creates this monster in them that is made out of fear, paranoia, and savagery. They both show how just a small group of people can go mad and destroy everything out of fear.
During the late 1940's and the 1950's, the Cold War became increasingly tense. Each side accused the other of wanting to rule the world (Walker 388). Each side believed its political and economic systems were better than the other's. Each strengthened its armed forces. Both sides viewed the Cold War as a dispute between right and wron...
Works Cited Gaddis, John. The Lewis. “We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Gregory, Ross. A. Cold War America: 1946 to 1990. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2003. McQuaid, Kim.
Since the 1950s, most Americans have condemned the McCarthyite witch-hunts and show trials. By large majorities, Americans oppose firing communists from their jobs or banning communist speakers or books.[2] But over the past several years, increasing numbers of historians, writers and intellectuals have sought to minimize, explain away and justify McCarthyism. A spate of books and articles touting new historical evidence has tried to demonstrate that communism posed a real danger to American society in the 1940s and 1950s. They argue that even if some innocent people suffered and McCarthy was reckless, he was responding to a real threat.[3] As a result, Joe McCarthy doesn't look so irresponsible in hindsight.
McCarthyism is a term used to describe the American fear of communist spies during the Cold War. The original airing of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,”
It was the 1960’s in America, a time of social consciousness, fear, war, distrust in government, and rebellion. It was a time in which bomb shelter ads on TV were common place. It was a time of tension and fears for communism creping though our neighborhoods and infiltrating American ideals. We were at war with a nation. After World War 2, there were two dominant nations, the United States and the Soviet Union. Political ideals and control over Germany would separate the allies into bitter rivals and enemies. The fear of the Soviet’s use of nuclear weapons was constantly in the backs of our minds. It was a global ...