What Occurred During The 1950's

2. The 1950s was a period of both consensus and discontent, which impacted the political, social, and cultural history of the decade. There were numerous things that the people agreed and disagreed on, like anticommunism and McCarthyism, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and the Civil Rights Movement. The country seemed divided about almost every event that occurred during this time period because the air was filled with so much tension from the Cold War.

During the 1950s, the anticommunist movement was alive and kicking. Americans were terrified of the Soviet Union and their newly acquired nuclear power and disagreed about how the government was handling the situation. On one hand, some were pointing fingers at possible Soviet spies, while others were quietly praying that no one accused them of espionage. During this time period, thousands of people were investigated by the FBI as Soviet spies, most of which had nothing to do with the Soviet Union or communism at all. Some argue that people went crazy during the 1950s, indicting tons of innocent people, but some claim that their actions were justified. Whether someone was

on one side or the other, however, all Americans agreed that something needed to be done about the Soviets and communism. So, while most Americans were not content with how the government was handling the whole situation, there was a consensus among the people that action needed to be taken.
The Korean and Vietnam Wars were pretty controversial talking points during the 1950s and decades to come.

The Korean War proved to be fairly heated for numerous reasons, including the firing of General Douglas MacArthur. When President Truman fired the general because he defied the President’s orders to make no public statements, the White House was flooded with calls and letters in support of General MacArthur. The Korean War was also highly debated and unpopular because of the way it ended. The war itself had been brutal, with thousands losing their lives, and when it ended, things pretty much stayed the same as Korea remained divided and communism had yet to invade South Korea. The Korean War reshaped the Cold War period, transformed the foreign policy of the government, and militarized a war that had no actual fighting

beforehand.
The war in Vietnam was far more controversial than the Korean War because it lasted much longer, costed more, and resulted in more deaths. A lot of Americans felt that the country was interfering with a civil war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and had no business of being there. Many opposed the wartime tactics employed by the American military, especially the use of chemicals, which had terrible consequences for innocent civilians. There were other reasons that Americans opposed this war, including the way that the military draft was used. Those who were affected the most by the draft were the young adults, lower class citizens, and African Americans. These disputes and disagreements descended onto the country as the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to grow rapidly.