I. Original Message (15 pts) Post a brief (approx. 250 word) message  addressing one of the following questions. Be sure to use information and examples from the readings:

1. Radical conformists? Although the 1950’s is often portrayed as a time of “getting back to tradition” and a period of intense pressure to conform to mainstream expectations, the Fifties are also a period of radical change and challenges to the status quo, even among people who are trying to fit in. In what ways are the 1950’s a period of fundamental social, political, or cultural change in U.S. history? What aspects of life in the 1950’s are unprecedented? Another way to think of it: how was life in the Fifties very different from life in, say, the 1920’s or 1930’s? [You may have noticed this is a recurring theme in this course.

Or

2. “War is politics by other means.” How did the U.S. role in international events such as the Cold War have an effect on people back home in the United States? For example, how did the Cold War influence domestic politics and not just foreign policy? Meanwhile, how did the Cold War change the U.S.’s relationship to the rest of the world?

II. Response on other question (15 pts) In addition, post a short (4-6 sentence) response to someone else’s message about the OTHER question, the one you did not answer.

Answer 

The United States’ daily lives, as well as domestic and global politics, were drastically altered as a result of the Cold War. During the Cuban missile crisis, individuals in the United States feared a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States. As a result, bomb shelters became a common and necessary room in every home. The missile threat also altered school/work environments; fallout exercises were commonplace, and people braced for the worst. Politics in the United States changed when politicians ran for office on the promise of defeating communism and everything it stands for…Click below to purchase the full answer at $5