Cold War/Eisenhower
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With the end of World War 2 came the Cold war with many controversies even between former allies. Communist Russia forced control over their section that was gained in the Potsdam conference. They set up many barriers around their portion of East Berlin and eventually around East Germany. America had dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and a new technology been revealed as a massive, deadly weapon that could wipe out thousands instantly, it was now an arms race. “Push of a button in Russia, and 35 minutes later much of U.S. could be laid to waste—with power to retaliate limited.” (Document E)
It was a new age of Atomic Power with massive capabilities. Both opposing sides had the weapons and both were on the edge of their seats to use them. “We dare not tempt them with weakness” (Document I). Their will drills in schools, much like today’s fire drills, in case of an atomic attack where students were told to get underneath their desks to “protect themselves”. People were scared, they were afraid of losing jobs, they were afraid of atomic attacks, they were afraid of spies, they were afraid of Communism; in general this was a time of fear.
Eisenhower and his administration stressed on education for the future of America to stay thriving and to “maintain our position of leadership” (Document G). With the cold war on the rise the government started spending more on the defense of America. At the end of World War 2 the government spent only 32.7% on national defense, but as the years went on and the clash between Russia and America got tenser the % got all the way up to 57.9%. Eisenhower passed Public Law 627 which was a “40,000-mile network of existing roads which compromise our trunkline highways; it connects 209 of the 237 cities having a population of 50,000 or more and serves the country’s