Individualism and the Cold War - 1513 Words

The main reason for the cold war was because the Americans could not accept the lifestyle that the Soviet Union decided to live as communists. The cold war was heavily routed in American individualism and trying to impose our values on the Soviets. Americans value individualism. They believe in a society that associated with capitalism, and a thriving economy. They also believe that everything is possible and attainable with hard work and determination. The main priority is being individualistic. This is to make sure that everyone is in control of the way their own life will turn out. Soviets that followed communist believed in â€Å"social organization.† They believe in equality and liberty through force. All property is public domain and each†¦show more content†¦Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin was the person that was partially responsible for the fear instilled in American citizens thinking that communists lived among them. McCarthy appeared on television making countless accusations of many people ranging from politicians to actors. He made it a point to tell the citizens that the United States government was not properly dealing with communism. Although all these accusation were made, McCarthy was never able to adequately back up these claims. Aside from McCarthyism, which is now a term used for â€Å"unsubstantiated accusations,† the US Government set up a committee called the House Un- American Activities Committee (HUAC) to do investigations. One major case was the case against Alger Hiss. He was an American government official who was accused an tried for espionage and served a 5 year sentence. The creation of committees specifically dedicated to finding those that may be communist spies in the United States shows exactly how far the paranoia in our country went. McCarthy never had a single piece of evidence to expose the people he wrongfully accused but people were quick to jump and agree with him out of their own fear. McCart hy was able to convince thousands that what he was saying was true because of the status of his targets which made it more believable. Just because of all the mass hysteria that was happening overseas involvingShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s Daddy And Lady Lazarus 931 Words   |  4 Pageslife, however, she witnessed World War Two and the Cold War. Both of these events inimitably influenced her life and writing style, which can be observed in her works â€Å"Daddy† and â€Å"Lady Lazarus†, where she uses Holocaust imagery to draw connections between her life and the lives of the Jewish people held captive in concentration camps. Through her use of imagery she tackles personal and political issues encapsulating feelings of victimization, loss of individualism and fear for an impeding reoccurrenceRead MoreAn Era Of Great Conflict1375 Words   |  6 Pages(History.com Staff). In the 1950s, Tocqueville’s five characteristics of American Exceptionalism are invalidated; liberty was not attainable due to the Cold War policies like McCarthyism, racism, such as the massive resistance of integration, disproved egalitarianism, conformity, in the suburbs and women’s lives, throughout this decade refuted individualism, populism was belittled with the government’s little help for the Civil Rights Movement, and Laissez Faire Economics was replaced for a short timeRead MoreAnalysis Of Ayn Rand s The Fountainhead 1490 Words   |  6 Pagescreate philosophies to include in their novels, but Ayn Rand did. 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The saying, ‘history repeats itself’ has haunted the futureRead MoreChanges in America Between 1920 and 1960 Essay1404 Words   |  6 Pagesof two major wars and a crash of the banking system that crippled the economy greater than ever seen in this country’s history. Also the country had new insecurities to tackle such as immigration and poor treatment of workers. These events led to the change of America lives socially, economically, and politically. The people of America changed their ideas of what the country’s place in the world should be. The issues challenging America led the country to change from isolation to war, depressionRead MoreThe Cold War : Lessons Learned938 Words   |  4 PagesThe Cold War: Lessons Learned After World War II, continuing tensions between the United States of America and primarily, the Soviet Union caused the Cold War. 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The Cold War was a big issue in the 1960s, the U.S. was a big industrial country atRead MoreThe Civil War Has Changed The Country987 Words   |  4 PagesThe history of America, as a nation is connected through the wars it has entered and how these wars have irreversibly changed the country. â€Å"The Civil War made modern America†¦ [and] we remain connected to this war† (Suri, Lecture 1). This is bec ause the Civil War was an establishment of our nation’s beliefs and freedoms; fought to preserve the Union, this war shaped what America was and would become. The Civil War changed the notion of what liberty was, the transition from negative freedom to positiveRead MoreThe Is The Atomic Bomb Signaled Not Only The Commencement Of The Cold War1461 Words   |  6 PagesThe atomic bomb signaled not only the commencement of the Cold War, but also a political divide between the communist ideologies of the Soviet Union and the democracy of the Western world. A fear of communism behind the Iron Curtain and nuclear annihilation spread throughout the US, while existential views regarding the meaning of life arose. Through their texts, composers subverted dominant Cold War paradigms to †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ATQ†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Samuel Beckett’s modernist existential play ‘Waiting for Godot (Godot) (1953)’