HIUS 2002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Elia Kazan, Dewey Defeats Truman, House Un-American Activities Committee
25 Oct 2016
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The prosperity that followed world war two turned americans into the people of plenty. Americans engaged in a battle at home against any trace of communist sympathies. No aspect of american life was left unchecked. I have three goals for this lecture: understand the postwar consensus; understand the anti-communist witch-hunt; present some of the 1950s troublesome aspects: the two ways of life, concept of national character. National character a concept underscored by governor bradford, daniel webster, Henry adams: free nature of america what makes america different, vision of american history american exceptionalism america had always been prosperous (great depression quickly forgotten in prosperity of post-war, american occupation of japan, 1945-1952. General douglas macarthur, supreme command for allied powers (scap) Alexis de tocqueville"s democracy in america (1835,1840); his concept of the. Aristocratic chain : little mobility, born into a class and you stayed there, from generation to generation americans (and democratic nations) broke this chain.
