Period 8 Hyperdoc (1945-1980)
● Key Concept 8.1: The United States responded to an uncertain and unstable postwar world by asserting and
working to maintain a position of global leadership, with far-reaching domestic and international
consequences.
● Key Concept 8.2: New movements for civil rights and liberal efforts to expand the role of government
generated a range of political and cultural responses.
● Key Concept 8.3: Postwar economic and demographic changes had far-reaching consequences for American
society, politics, and culture.
Period 8 Overview
Watch the overview video for Period 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl06geWFdWg
8.1 Contextualizing Period 8
How is 1945 a turning point in the role of the United States in the world?
The Battle of Midway - The United States declared war on Japan and Germany. The U.S. was
victorious over Japan in the Battle. It was also when Truman became US President following the
death of Roosevelt, and Japan surrendered.
8.2 The Cold War from 1945-1980
Directions: Watch the Khan Academy video Origins of the Cold War and complete the questions
below.
1. What is the Cold War? A war where major combatants never shot, or resulted in weaponry. The U.S. never
met the ground formats to be labeled as a “war.”
2. What are proxy wars? Wars taking place in other nations developing nations of the world where the US
supports one side, generally precapitalist & the Soviet Union is supporting communist sides.
3. What is Stalin’s goal for Russia? Security, to not be invaded by Germany anymore.
4. What are the Eastern bloc nations? Nations that had been taken over by Hitler, and then when the Soviet
Union joined the war on the side of the allies, then were retaken over by Russia as they fought Hitler back.
5. What is the situation in the USSR in 1945? Serious economic trouble. People didn’t have enough food or
supplies to sustain themselves, especially through the winter.
6. What is the concern of the US in the years following WWII? Due to how much territory Stalin has, the U.S.
was worried that Stalin would become the next Hitler in a sense.
7. What are the differences between the US and the USSR? The US was based around capitalism and
democratic, while the USSR was viewed as totalitarian and communist. The US wanted to eliminate
communism, while the USSR wanted to keep it alive.
Directions: Watch the Cold War: Crash Course US History #37 and complete the questions below.
1. When was the Cold War? From 1945 to roughly 1990
2. What were the goals of the US? To prevent the extension of communism rule to any other country.
3. What is the policy of containment? The Truman Doctrine, which stated that the US would provide aid to
democratic countries fighting communism to prevent the spread.
4. What wars were fought during the Cold War? The Korean War, & Vietnam War
5. What was the Truman Doctrine? A foreign policy that said the US would support democratic countries
, fighting communism to prevent the spread of it.
6. What countries was it originally focused on? Greece & Turkey
7. What was the Marshall Plan? A US policy stating that it would provide aid for economic recovery for nations
after World War 2.
8. How did this help Western Europe? It revived trade and restored production. It helped Europe
economically.
9. How was Germany divided? It was divided into four occupied zones. France, Great Britain, the US, and the
Soviet Union occupied the different regions.
10. How did the US respond to Stalin blockading Berlin? Airlifting food & fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in
Western Germany
11. What was built in 1961? The Berlin Wall
12. What had happened by 1950? NATO was created
13. How did America promote American ideals like capitalism and freedom? The US promoted the ideologies of
liberal democracy and the free market.
14. How were the Soviets able to develop nuclear weapons so quickly? Soviet Spies
8.3 The Red Scare
Directions: Read the Khan Academy article linked below and answer the questions that follow.
Anticommunism in the 1950s (article)
1. What was the House Committee on Un-American Activities and what did it do during the 1950s? A speech
2. Who took advantage of the paranoia of the era? Joseph McCarthy
3. Who was tried and executed for passing information about the atomic bomb to Russia? Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg
4. How did institutions try to root out suspected communists? Teachers were fired if they did not swear on oath
that they weren’t communist, people susceptible to blackmail like homosexuals and debaters were targeted.
5. What was the purpose of Red Channels? To expose communism in the entertainment industry.
6. What allegations did McCarthy make in an attempt to improve his reelection chances? He claimed he had a
list of names of communists.
7. What was McCarthy’s downfall politically? When he initiated hearings against the US army. The
Amy-McCarthy hearing showed his erratic behavior and no evidence.
8. What does the term McCarthyism mean? To make blanket accusations with no evidence to support the
claims.
8.4 Economy after 1945
Directions: Read the Khan Academy articles linked below and answer the questions that follow.
The GI Bill (article)
1. What was the GI Bill? It allowed veterans a year of unemployment pay after their homecoming
2. How many veterans benefited? 8 million
3. Why was it called the best investment the US government ever made? It generated 10x the cost of the
program
4. What were the 3 components of the GI Bill of Rights? Educated support, unemployment benefits, loan
guarantees.
5. How did it help the American economy? It saved the US from a potential unemployment epidemic and
boosted higher education for millions of citizens.
, The baby boom (article)
1. How many new babies did the US add on average every year between 1946 and 1964? 4.24 million
2. How did boomers influence the economy? They made babies
3. What had happened to the birth rate in the early twentieth century? It increased
4. What factors led to this baby boom? Veterans came home from WW2, economic prosperity
5. What generation was the most marriage and family oriented in US history? The WW2 generation
6. What percentages of women and men got married?96.4% women and 94.1& men.
7. What were the effects of this boom? The growth of families led to a migration from cities to suburbs in the
postwar years, prompting a building boom in housing, schools, and clothing malls.
8. What was the echo boom? The largest generation of young people since the ‘60s was beginning to come of
age
9. What is the significance of the baby boom? The kids were the top of social change in the decades, including
the later times of the Civil Rights Movement, the protest against the War of Vietnam, and the second wave of
the feminist movement.
10. What long term effects of the baby boom on US society? As they age, the ratio of retired Americans compared
to working Americans will increase significantly.
The growth of suburbia (article)
1. Who built three giant “Levittown” suburbs and what techniques did they use? Levitt and the Sons, Building
the principles of assembly-line mass production
2. What is the American dream in the postwar era? 2.5 kids, a dog, and a house with a white-picket fence.
3. How did the American landscape change during the late 1940’s and 1950’s? Utilizing a 27-step plan to make
every house identical.
4. How did Levitt and Sons embark on a plan to mass-produce homes? Purchasing 4000 acres of potato fields
in Long Island.
5. What was the cost of the earliest Levittown houses? $7000
6. What kind of support did the government give veterans through the FHA and VA? Since the GI Bill insured
veterans’ mortgages, Levittown could afford to offer them unprecedented credit.
8.5 Culture after 1945
Directions: Read the Khan Academy articles linked below and answer the questions that follow.
Popular culture and mass media in the 1950s (article)
1. What new style of music emerged? Rock & Roll
2. Where would it draw inspiration from? Rhythm & Blues
3. What new technology began to compete with movies as a major form of popular entertainment? The radio
4. As baby boomers grew, how did they seek to define and redefine their identities? By listening to music to
represent their desires of young love, freedom, and oppression of middle class society
5. Who helped spread rock and roll by playing it on the radio in Cleveland? Alan Freed
6. Who were important musicians during the era? Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry , Little Richard, and Bill Haley.
7. What happened to the “Hollywood Ten”? They could not be employed in the industry until they swore they
were not communists.
8. How did the over 300 actors, screenwriters, directors, musicians, and other entertainment professionals
respond to the industry blacklist? Some never worked in Hollywood again, but most went on to write Scripts
