The Political Climate of the 1950s Essay -- History Historical Politic

The Political Climate of the 1950sWith the dropping of the Atomic barrage that ended WWII and the beginning of the Cold War, there was an irony of stability and rumpus in the United States. The start of the 1950s brought well-nigh many another(prenominal) changes, from the inflammation Scare and threat of the possible spread of communism in the States, to changes in political movements, cultured experts movements, and another possible war, there were many monumental events and passel during this time.Joseph R. McCarthy was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin with an enormous political agenda. With the fear of communism ignited by the Cold war, McCarthy and his supporters began to instill in the American people the fear that communism was taking root in the United States. In February 1950, McCarthy announced at a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia that he had obtained a list of card-carrying American Communists in the State Department (Davidson et al., 2002). For the near s e veral months, often referred to as the Red Scare, McCarthy led a committee that investigated various government agencies and questioned a large number of people about their political associations. It was later found that the McCarthys charges were unsubstantiated, but the effects of this ravish hunt would impact the United States even after the charges had settled. One the kickoff impacts of McCarthyism was the win of Republican candidate Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election. The McCarthy campaign, which has accused many democrats including Harry S. Truman of taking a liberal stance on communism, injury many democrats in the election. The infringement of well-mannered right on the American People was yet another impact of McCarthyism. By 1952, 32 states had laws requiring teachers to impress oaths of loyalty and government loyalty boards were wanted to now personal expatiate of their employees such as what newspaper they subscribed to and what music they owned (Davidson et al. 2002). It was not until hearings against those thought to have communist association were aired on rudiment and the public had the opportunity to see the badgering and mockery of these proceedings that the McCarthys popularity fell quickly and the Red Scare receded as well.The Eisenhower presidency prosecute dynamic conservatism or modern republicanism in his new term. In his own words, Eisenhower declared I will be conservative when it ... ...nt, it is without motion that it is more historically significant. Even though slavery had been abolished, equality was faraway from typical. The events of the 1950s seemed to say that minorities would no longer tolerate an unequal America. The strategies of the civil right movement made more of a statement than ever before in history and paved a way for civil rights activists to make a real impact on desegregation and equality.No one could have realized that what seemed as an insignificant gesture to portion out in trai ning South Vietnamese armies and Americas occasion in Southeast Asia would one day have the impact it did on America. Although at the time when Eisenhower was trying to stop of the spread of communism it seemed the right thing to do, the repercussions of that decision and the war it eventually led to was devastating to America politically, socially, and culturally. Works CitedDavidson, J. W., Gienapp, W. E., Heyrman, C., Lytle M. H., Stoff, M. B. (2002) Nation of Nations . The McGraw-Hill Companies.Schultz, S. (1999) American History 102 Civil War to the Present. Retrieved April 10, 2005 from http//us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture25.html.