the paradox of the american character
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The Paradox of the American Character. Analyze the conflicting elements of consensus and dissent in America during the late 1940’s-1950’s. Political consensus the e lection of 1950 . Joe McCarthy. He made sweeping accusations, employed guilt by association and documents out of context - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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THE PARADOX OF THE AMERICAN CHARACTERAnalyze the conflicting elements of consensus and dissent in America during the late 1940’s-1950’s
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Political consensusthe election of 1950
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Joe McCarthy He made
sweeping accusations, employed guilt by association
and documents out of context
McCarthy’s Senate hearings created an atmosphere of conformity and fear
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Whittaker Chambers –Alger Hiss
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Whittaker Chambers –Alger Hiss HUAC created in 1945 to root out
communism during the "Red Scare" after WWII that lasted into the mid-1950s
Hiss denied being a Communist agent in the 1930s but was convicted of perjury in 1950 and sentenced to 5 years in prison.
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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were
convicted and executed for allegedly giving atomic bomb secrets to the Soviets.
Both were avowed communists.
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The “Red Scare”
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The “Red Scare” American Fears -- Paranoia regarding
communism and its sympathizers plus nuclear war.
Culture reflected these fears: movies such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Blob, and They
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“Duck and Cover”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60
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Social consensus
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Servicemen’s Readjustment Act
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 sent millions of veterans to school.
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The Baby Boom
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The Baby Boom Between 1946 and 1961, 63.5 million
babies were born Between 1931 and 1946, only 41.5
million born
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Suburbanization
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Suburbanization Grew 6X faster than cities in 1950s. Resulted from increased car production,
white flight from urban areas due to black migration.
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The Cult of Domesticity The concept of a
woman’s place being in the home was widespread in magazines, TV, and society in general.
TV shows: Father Knows Best, Ozzie & Harriet, Leave it to Beaver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sam9wP_uMEA
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Economic Abundance between 1950-60
Americans enjoyed about 40% of world’s wealth despite accounting for only 6% of population.
Americans bought cars, gadgets for their homes, vacations, etc. in unprecedented numbers
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Economic Abundance between 1950-60
TV Sets owned 1 Million-42 Mil
Automobile Registrations 40 -62 Million
Home Ownership 24 Million-33 Million
Enrollment in US School 5,000-10,000 high school 21,000-33,000 elementary
Median Family Income 3,100-5,700$ per year
Savings Accounts 2.5 Billion-24 Billion
Historical Statistics of the US, Colonial times to 1970
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Dissent in the 1950’s
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Rebelliousness in film Angst of American youth reflected by
movie stars Marlon Brando and James Dean
Movie stars became icons for disaffected youth.
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Rebel Without a Cause
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7hZ9jKrwvo&feature=related
Streetcar Named Desire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1A0p0F_iH8
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Art: Abstract expressionism Artists attempted
spontaneous expression of their subjectivity using splattered paint and color field painting.
Jackson Pollock, Willem deKooning, and Mark Rothko.
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http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/249
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The Beat generation (beatniks) - late 1950s
Group of young men Rebelled against the conformity and conservatism of middleclass America alienated by 20th-century life.
Jack Kerouac: On the Road became the "bible" for restless youth.
Other prominent figures included Allen Ginsburg who wrote "Howl" in 1956.
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Jack Kerouac
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Allen Ginsberg http://www.poetryarchive.org/
poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1548
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Rock n Roll Rock n’ Roll
became the music of the younger generation and emphasized the increasing generation gap between youth and their parents.
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Analyze the conflicting elements of consensus and dissent in America during the late 1940’s-1950’s
Assessment: Analogy Creation To see the American Character repeat
itself from era to era take 6 items of content from the presentation and find a similar aspect from a different era on American History.
Choose 3 items describing consensus and 3 items for dissent.
Each comparison should have a short write up describing the similarity.