Vietnam War

From the late 1800s until WWII, the French ruled most of Indochina, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. the tension increased when the french took away freedom of speech, public assembly and jailed many Vietnamese nationalists. During the French retreat, America intervened and assisted the french. The Eisenhower and Kennedy administration provided economic and military aid to South Vietnam. The South's president, Ngo Dinh Diem, was given financial aid and thousands of American troops to train the Vietnamese. By the end of 1963, there were more than 16000 American advisers in Vietnam.
Shortly before his death, Kennedy announced his plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Vietnam. "in the final analysis, it's their war. However, President Johnson escalated the nation's role in Vietnam and eventually began America's longest war. Johnson believed that communist takeover of South Vietnam would be disastrous. In the years following 1965, Johnson began sending large numbers of troops to fight the North Vietnamese.
Working with the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara and Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, Johnson sent thousands more U.S. soldiers to Vietnam. The conflict was simply getting out of hand.
Protests against the draft continued until President Nixon phased out the draft in the early 1970's. The two opposing views of the war became even more split. The people who opposed the draft were called Doves, and the pro-war advocates were called Hawks. Despite the anti-war protesters, many American citizens in 1967, still remain committed to the war.

Mccarthyism

Joseph McCarthy was a anti communist activist. He was a republican from Wisconsin. After learning he was an ineffective legislature he looked for a winning issue in order to be elected in 1952. Looking for an issue McCarthy stated that communists were taking over the American government. He took advantage of peoples fear of communism and made countless claims against innocent people. These attacks on the "suspected" communists became known as McCarthyism.
During the period he was in the senate, he made accusations of having in his hands the names of 57, 81 and 205 communists in the senate, but he never actually gave a single name. He also accused the entire democratic party of 20 years of treason for allowing communist infiltration of the government. Another tactic he used was only stating his accusations in the senate, where he had legal immunity from being sued for slander.
Republicans did very little to stop the madness because they wanted him to win the presidential election based on his popularity. However, in 1940 his plan backfired, when he made accusations against the U.S. army. This resulted in a nationally televised investigation, and because of this he lost public support. The senate condemned him for improper conduct, and three years later he died from alcoholism.
There are a wide variety of effects McCarthyism had on the American people. For example, millions of Americans were forced to loyalty oaths and undergo investigations. It also caused many people to be scared and question their right of free speech. Anti-communism continues to drive U.S. foreign policy even today.

1950's Culture

During 1950's the economy boomed and many Americans enjoyed material comfort. The business expanded rapidly, economy prospered, and new technologies and business ideas created opportunities for many Americans.

More people worked at higher paid jobs than ever before, especially in sales and advertising. Franchises were born and companies started to mass produce. Mcdonalds, for example was one of the biggest franchises in the 50's, mass producing hamburgers at 15 cents each. Large corporates and a board of directors were brought about in the business world. Xerox, American telephone and telegraph, and General Electric were a few of the major companies.

Americans enjoyed the highest level of living in the world. Franchises standardized the way of living. Most Americans also had stable jobs and steady income. Employees worked 40 hour weeks, and earned several weeks vacation per year. Most Americans worked in cities, but few lived in them. Due to highways and affordable automobiles, suburban lifestyle was ideal for Americans. The suburbs embodied the American dream of affordable single family housing, good schools, and a safe and healthy environment for children. Most people owned dishwashers, dryers and power lawnmowers. These labor saving devices allowed more time for recreational activities. More fans attended football and baseball games and others watched on tv sets.