How Did The Cold War Changed American Society

The Cold War was the political and ideological conflict between two world superpowers, the USA and the USSR, which started in 1947 at the end of the Second World War and lasted until the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991. This political and cultural war waged by Communists and Capitalists was a colossal confrontation unseen in human history. The Cold War developed as differences about the shape of the postwar world created suspicion and distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War and the communist threat drastically changed American social and political life from the 1950s to 1991. Politically speaking, the Cold War and the communist threat changed America’s domestic and foreign policies. Domestically, fear of communism greatly increased due to rising tensions with the Soviet Union. Two laws passed during the Cold War that concerned Communists are the Communist Control Act (1954), which outlawed the Communist Party of the United States and criminalized membership in or support for the Party or "Communist-action" organizations, and the McCarran Internal Security Act (1950), the aim of which was to protect the United States against certain un-American and subversive activities by requiring registration of
Firstly, Cold War instigated strong anti-communism within the USA. The hate towards Communism was so strong that it eventually led to McCarthyism, the witch hunt for Communists led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Secondly, Cold War made many Americans fearful of war, and this fear was prompted by the arms race. One example is Cuban missile crisis, which caused anxiety in America because it made the threat of nuclear war very evident. Thirdly, Cold War had an effect on American people economically. The impact was caused mainly by the increase in the amount of taxes to generate the capital needed to support the country’s involvement in foreign