Proper Question & Answer Example About History Exam

What effect did communism have on the United States at home and abroad from the end of WWII until the 1990's? What effect did it have on U.S. domestic and foreign policy? Make sure you give examples to support your claim!
The end of the Second World War marked the separation of the Allies and the beginning of the Cold War between two superpowers, the United States of America and the USSR. First of all, the Cold War was the conflict between two leading political ideologies, communism and capitalism. The key ideas of communism were completely opposite to capitalism, and Americans feared communism and perceived it as the main danger to their freedom. That fear was called “Red Scare.” In 1949, the Soviet Union got an atomic bomb and China established the communist regime, and one year later, North Korean communists invaded supported by the United States South Korea. For Americans, those events symbolized the beginning of the communist takeover. Later, in 1959, Fidel Castro led the Marxist revolution in Cuba, and communists got closer to the United States. With every year, the “Red Scare” became more notable, and The Un-American Activities Committee of the House of Representatives started to investigate communist activities across the country. One of its main targets was Hollywood, and, as the result, a lot of screenwriters and directors were sent to prison being suspected of aiding communists. Furthermore, the committee investigated and condemned a lot of individuals recognizing them as Soviet spies. One should also note McCarthyism, the policy that took place in the 1950 and referred to the communist hunt of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The distinctive feature of McCarthyism was accusation without proper evidence. McCarthy had founded and fired more than 2,000 government employees for 5 years. One should also note the threat of Soviet nuclear attack that became crucial after the Cuban revolution. Being frightened, Americans created nuclear shelters and taught their children specific skills.
The domestic policy of the United States experienced regression of social reforms and the economic growth of the military industries. Anti-communism was also the main feature of the American foreign policy. The United States sought allies and established with them diplomatic relations and relations based on military and economic aid. Furthermore, the United States adopted the containment policy that proclaimed accordance with Soviet aggression and its deterrence with the use of force. The containment policy created a bipolar world with regional proxy wars.
The mid-1960s were characterized largely by mass social movements that in the end altered the social and political landscape of the United States. Identify and discuss three examples that characterize how these popular movements helped establish today’s sociopolitical landscape in America. You must give direct evidence to support all three examples you choose.
One of the main movements of the 1960s was the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The African-American Civil Rights Movement was one of the first and one of the largest movements of those days and appeared on account of the racial discrimination that was normal practically for all spheres of American life including education, employment, health, and voting. It rapidly expanded across the country and succeeded in drawing the attention of the government to the issues that needed to be changed. One of the major results of the African-American Civil Rights Movement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act abolished racial discrimination and gave African Americans equal employment and educational rights. The following year, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and granted them the right to vote. These acts were crucial for the expansion of American rights-consciousness and became the turning point in the lives of African Americans and their social standing in the American society. The life that modern African Americans lead is possible only due to the accomplishments of their predecessors.
The other movement that impacted the modern sociopolitical landscape in the United States of America was the Gay Rights Movement. Nowadays, the United States of America is known for its support towards gays all over the world, and one should notice that this position could be achieved only due to the beginnings established by the movement of the 1960s. The major goals of the Gay Rights Movement were the abolishment of the discrimination against homosexuals and the achievement of the social acceptance of homosexuality. To gain the goals, the movement activists encouraged homosexuals across the United States to reveal their gender identity and to lead open lives. In 1973, the country had about 800 organizations that supported and protected gays and lesbians. Despite the Gay Rights Movement did not achieve the same successes as the African-American Civil Rights Movement, it reached one of its goals and made homosexuals a part of the American society. The visibility of gays and lesbians in the workplace and in the social environment resulted in the decrease of the gender identity discrimination and paved the way to the further achievements of the movement, such as the legalization of the same-sex marriage of 2015.
The last significant social movement of the 1960s was the Women’s Movement. The Women’s Movement appeared on the back of the traditional family roles and social oppression that forced women to sit at home and to raise children. Women stood on their husbands, as their natural physical weakness and the stated role of mothers did not allow them making careers and being equal with men. The most important achievements of the Women’s Movement were the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act. The Civil Rights Act abolished gender discrimination, and the Equal Pay Act granted women equal payments with men. However, the discrimination continued even when the acts entered into force, and in 1966, Betty Friedan founded the National Organization for Women that protected women rights and dealt with gender job discrimination. This organization exists up to now and continues to fight against the issues related to the modern detraction of women’s rights.