Post
War Years, Cold War Fears:
American Culture and Politics, 1946-1960
The post-war years brought Americans unprecedented wealth and opportunity, but also new fears about national security.
Post War Years, Cold War Fears: American Culture and Politics, 1946-1960 picks up where the two From Rosie To Roosevelt series leave off: America has won the war and Americans had jobs, money and freedom, but the country now felt threatened by the spread of communism.
This series explores how the post war years gave birth to both conformity and the counterculture. While millions of middle class Americans settled into comfortable lives in the suburbs, the civil rights movement, the Beat generation, feminism and rock and roll were gaining momentum.
The films in this series look at how post-war economic recovery and the GI Bill contributed to a prosperous life, while presidents Truman and Eisenhower were faced with both recovery from World War II, and fighting a dangerous Cold War with the Soviet Union and China.