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Cold War Effects On America

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The Cold War and its policies had detrimental fallout effects on the American people. From the 1950s-1970s, people could see the shifting of cultures resulting from government policies and necessary adjustments to American life resulting from the Cold War. The Cold War would transform the future for America in many ways, including the religious boom, the staggering increase in defense spending, and the pushing of government control and propaganda due to ignorance and discrimination. The Cold war distorted America forever, instilling a fear of communism that would last to this day, making Americans want to try and rid the world of this evil. America, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s, main goal was to rid the world of communist control. …show more content…
During the early 1960s, the US witnessed the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold. The incident started in the middle of a nuclear arms race. Because Russia was trying to get nuclear missiles set up in Cuba, the US did not appreciate that as it threatened Americans security immensely, and launched a counter measure to try and stop the warheads from entering Cuba. This ordeal frightened America greatly, as the threat of a nuclear war was high. By now, Americans have bomb shelters everywhere, and have been practicing what to do in the situation of a bombing on American soil. The American people were terrified and losing hope, thinking doom was just around the corner. The incident lasted just about two weeks, but was a major role in the cold war. These few days were the closest the US has ever been to a nuclear war, and the victory from standing our ground to a superpower was an immense boost in pride for America. After this, America saw a surge in confidence and renewed faith in eliminating the world of communism. The 1960s also saw the involvement of the US in the Vietnam War. This created a lot of disagreement and conflict between the American people and also the government, causing countless protests against the government and the war. The US saw many violent attacks on the American people from the government and its enforcers. The US also saw the emergence of the hippy movement among Americans, which was needed …show more content…
The Cold War tension had been declining steadily since the Cuban missile crisis, and the US was in the process of pulling out of Vietnam under Richard Nixon’s command. During this time of the cold war the leading worry of each nation was a nuclear war and in 1969/1979 two treaties were brought into the picture with the central goal of limiting the size of the weapon systems each side had. This assisted with easing the tensions of the public. Much of the US in the first half of the 70s was dealing with the Vietnam War and the effects it had on the families and soldiers when they got back. The US was also trying to deal with a drug problem with the soldiers overseas and the citizens on our own soil. This was the beginning of the US government’s terrible War on Drugs, which is still unnecessarily being fought today. The US public was also going through a major transition in trying to abolish racism and discrimination from the public, and ensuring the freedom everyone deserves. The 70s were a time of change and realization, a time of peace. Most of America is very sick of all the wars and fighting the government has been doing in its journey to end communism across the world. This was seen by the many protests and people elected into office. By the end of the 1970s, The Cold War was still going on, but tensions between the two countries were much lower due to the treaties and meetings between each government

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