1950's magazine project

8/2/2019 1950's Magazine Project

1/18

Life during the Cold War : When the Eagle met the Bear


2/18

Who wants to be a True American?

Written by Henggao Cai

The second red scare occurred after World War Two because of disagreements between the

United States and the Soviet Union over the atomic bomb and reconstruction of Europe after the

war. The Red Scare led to the concept of a true American. A true American was someone who

pledged their allegiance to the nation through the flag salute and valued democracy, republicanism

and Protestantism highly. As a result, Senator Joseph McCarthy laid off many citizens from their

government positions. Even though Senator McCarthys rhetoric made the American people

perceive people who were communist un-american, the House and and the senate committees

contributed to the overall concept of True American.

Before Congress elected Senator Joseph McCarthy, a House of Representatives committee,

House Un-American Activities Committee, served as a basis for McCarthys argument against the


3/18

Communists. This committee prosecuted citizens who were engaged in, believed in Communism,

or interacted with communists. Other un-American activities include the practice of atheism and

the belief in Karl Marx. To the house committee, people living in America and engaged in

communism were Un American. This concept of un-American gained notoriety with the House

committee and contributed to an increase in jingoism, extreme nationalism. Like the Overman,

Fish, and Special Committee on Un American activities, the House Un-American Activities

wanted to identify people who plotted fascist schemes to take over the White House. These people

were identified by their hesitation to answer the committees questions.

Additionally, a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy used the work of the Un-American Activities committee to ruin the lives of many

people. He led the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. These investigations

rallied the American people and painted a picture in their minds that all forms of socialism and

communism are bad. This image of communism as evil made people panic and fear the anything

related to communists or the color red. The red scare part two resulted in changes to the pledge of

allegiance and inhumane interrogation techniques.

By changing the pledge of allegiance, the United States government took a step to ensure

that the Communist Party of America does not get the right to govern. The government wanted to

reaffirm Americas religious heritage and counter the atheist beliefs of the communist party and

communist states.The mandated pledge of allegiance forced all government buildings to recite the

pledge of allegiance before the start of the day. This forced Americans to swear loyalty to the

nation. It made the government feel secure about its position in the free world.

Even though Senator Joseph McCarthy laid off and questioned many citizens from their

government positions, Senator McCarthy only contributed a small part to the concept of True


4/18

American. Some of the other contributing members include the House Committee for Un

American Activities and the entire United States government. These committees cooperated with

each other to fight communism and atheism.

Advertisements:

The following advertisement is to be placed somewhere in the magazine. This advertisement is

from the airline company called Pan American Airways. In the photo, you can see the influence of

the Red Scare. Americans want to do everything they can to be perceived as American and not Un-American.


5/18


6/18

f


7/18


8/18


9/18

Henggao Cai

Period 3

March 27,2012

AP US History

Mr. Bugge

Annotated Bibliography

Chafe, William H. The Unfinished Journey-America since World War II. EHistory

Archive . Ohio State U, May-June 2003. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

.

This website has provided me with background information regarding the Cold War. The

Cold War affected everything in American society including political ideology and social

life.

History. HUAC. History . A&E Television Networks, 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

.

History.com has given me insight on the origin of the term Un-American. This article has

shown me that McCarthy only used the work of the committe to strength his own

investigations and cases.


10/18

McCarthy, Joseph. Enemies from Within. History Matters . George Mason U, Feb.-Mar.

1950. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. .

Enemies of the State is a speech given by Joe McCarthy. He stated that the communists had

inflitrated the government and he will smoke them out.

National Public Radio. Closed Door McCarthy Transcripts Released. National Public

Radio . National Public Radio, May-June 2003. Web. 15 Mar. 2012.

.

This source has provided me with primary source documents that show McCarthy and the

rest of the governments view on being a real American in the 1950s. This will be usefulfor understanding the peoples emotions as well because the representatives and senators

represent the constituents from their district or state.

Pan American Airways System. Transportation and Airlines. Advertisement. Saturday

Evening Post 1941: n. pag. Duke University Libraries . Web. 26 Mar. 2012.

.

This database has helped me provide my group with primary resources and advertisments.

These advertisments will give the magazine an authentic look.

United States. Committee on Governmental Affairs. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING

OFFICE . Washington D.C.: GPO, 11953. Government Printing Office . Web. 15 Mar.

2012. .

This government publication was released in 2003 and it was about the hidden

interrogations by Senator Joesph McCarthy. These interrogations were violations of the

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and it did not respect the suspects


11/18

right to Due Process. This resource has benefitted my research by giving me insight on

McCarthys perspective on a real American.

Westmore Hollywood Cosmetics. Beauty, Hygiene and Cosmetics. Advertisement. Life

Magazine 1952: n. pag. Print.

This resource provides me with advertisments that contribute to the authenticity of the

project.

Where have we come?

Do you remember the days when televisions were just coming out in color, the Cadillacwas just beginning to be our favorite car, and we thought it would be impossible to get a plane to

carry hundreds of people across the ocean? Well, times have changed, and today we have all of

that.

Our televisions are finally in color, and now influence almost every aspect of the average

Americans life, from news to politics to entertainment. Cars have made huge strides too, and as

Im sure, every American has been keeping up with the latest V-8 engines and newest bodies of

cars, and speculating about how great the next generation of cars will be. Just as the titanic sunk

decades ago, the first of the De Havilland Comet planes came crashing down in what became

known as Comet Crashes. While this led the industry to a shaky start, companies like Boeing

managed to bring the industry into success.

Many things have occurred in the world of science that we hardly even knew of. Im sure that

while many America watched television, drove cars, and rode airplanes, few even know what a

transistor is. Another great advent in the modern world was the creation of ENIAC and UNIVAC.

What were they? There were some of the grandest things ever created. They are giant versions of


12/18

calculators that can successfully predict election results. Today technology has come a long way,

and for only $120000, the average citizen can purchase the PDP-1, the latest and greatest machine,

capable of holding up to 144 kilobytes and playing game like Space-war.

Another technology that more of you may know is in medicine. Many of you, especially those of

you who have had or have children who have had Poliomyelitis will have heard the name Jonas

Salk. He invented the vaccine for this deadly disease, and up till now almost ended the endemic.

Even if this disease hasnt affected you, Im sure that you have heard or participated in the March

of Dimes, an organization that started in the late 30s, but has helped Salk create his vaccine of

Polio. Over 100 million of you have helped the cause and have ended polio for good.I am almost 100% sure that all of you have heard of a little thing called the Cold war.

While most of us may not like it, the Soviet Union has made many advances in the field of

technology, although the United States was quick to retake the lead. The launch of Sputnik shook

the world, and combined with the testing of the first Super bomb in 1952 brought the fear of an

attack, not from Russia, but from space. When the Explorer rocket launched, we all hoped that

America had evened the score, and even today we dont know what the Russians are planning.

Who knows what the future may bring, but I know that all of technology will make huge

strides just as it did in the decade.


13/18

You can crop of the words at the bottom, this is the book On The Road.

Rebellion!

Surveys have shown that despite the restrictive lifestyle that most Americans are forced to

live in, many Americans want to experience rebellion, whether it is sexual rebellion, literary

rebellion, or artistic rebellion. While Kinsey has paved the path for sexual understanding, several

other men were at work throughout the decade, publicly and secretly fighting the established

ideology.

Well start off with the most widely known of these people, Elvis Presley. Im sure that

every one of the teenage readers of this magazine knows who he is, admire his leg movements, and

love his music. The truth is that most of it is based off of black music, and while many people may

not think of it, it was a form of rebellion that many older Americans disapproved of and thought of

as inappropriate race music. His music had an astounding influence on everyone in America.


14/18

Because of it, people accepted those of the other race, bebop grow into the new jazz, and although

it wasnt full de-segregation, blacks began to feel more confident to fight for their rights now that

their culture was accepted.

Another inspirational group was Jack Kerouac, and the fatigued and anxious writers known

as the Beats (or possibly known to you as the Beatniks). These were a group of writers that were

simply tired with life in the post war era, and as a result wanted to let loose, go out across the

country and have fun. Such is illustrated in Kerouacs famous book On The Road. These people

approved of drug use, sexuality, expression, and buddhism. They looked down upon materialism,

and they did with wild success. Within days, Kerouac became a celebrity in the common house,and Howl, a poem written by Allen Ginsberg, would eventually create the scenes of people in a bar

listening to howl-type poetry that is common today. Almost immediately after these writers

popped up, hundreds more came up expression their own confusions, desires, and pain in the

society that they had once loved but now found plain and unoriginal.

Probably one of the least known people who changed the world in the 50s (who

unfortunately died in 1956) was Jackson Pollock. If you havent heard of him, he revolutionized

the New york School of art and brought about a new style of painting without a canvas. He was

well known for simply dropping paint wherever he pleased on a large white paper laid out on the

ground. This school of art has been gaining traction in the past year, and pretty soon this type of

super-modern art may become the image to the works of expressional music and literature being

produced at the same time.

Americans all over the country have expressed a need for rebellion, and these groups have

brought it to them in almost every way imaginable. I dont expect this new creative fever to

dissipate anytime soon. In the words of Kerouac, Love is sweeping the country.


15/18

Hollywood Reporter:

Elvis Presley: Up and Coming Superstar

By Brian Alba

It seems as though lately, the city of Memphis, Tennessee has more to offer than just

mules, spot cotton, and hardwood. The heartthrob rock and roll sensation Elvis Presley has, in the

past few months, captivated the hearts of millions of young ladies and stirred up quite a bit of

controversy among concerned parents. Elvis The Pelvis swings, sways, and churns his hips on

stage as he belts out new singles like Heartbreak Hotel and Jailhouse Rock to throngs of eager

fans at shows around the country. Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and

some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do em all together, I guess, Presley described his

unconventional dance moves in an interview with our reporters recently, and although unorthodox,

they obviously have been working. One of his first shows in Winston-Salem, N.C. left the crowd in


16/18

an orgy of hand-clapping, foot-stamping and tonsil-straining screaming, as reported by the

Winston-Salem Journal just days after the performance on February 17, 1956. There is also

substantial controversy surrounding Presleys music, with some condemning him as a successful

rip off of Afro-American artists, but regardless of this, his music and his moves have gained him

a considerable following. Bad news also to all the hopeful young ladies out there, Elvis and his

new girl, Priscilla Wagner have been spotted on multiple occasions going out together and she has

been to just about every one of his many shows in the past few months. Not to worry however! The

sensational Elvis can still be experienced at any one of his many upcoming shows, and to all our

international Elvis fans, a tour through Europe is rumored in the upcoming years. Presley has trulyrevolutionized music here in the United States, serving as the frontrunner of the Beat generation:

rebellious and nonconforming to the status quo of todays society and undoubtedly catalyzing a

new movement toward a less restrained population of youth and an evermore concerned population

of parents. Presleys stardom is only at its beginnings, and judging by the commotion that he has

stirred up already in such a short time, his fame doesnt see much of an end any time soon. Elvis

The Pelvis Presley, should well be rocking, swaying, and gyrating his way to the hearts of

millions of eager fans for a long time to come.


17/18

Presley Seen here performing at one of his recent shows, captivating fans with his

trademark hip swaying and dashing good looks

Op-Ed Section

By Brian Alba

Little Rock, Big Issue

While in our Declaration of Independence, the single most pivotal document in all of American

history, it states famously that all men are created equal, still today, almost 200 years after its

signing, our nation fails to live up to the promises it made at its beginning.

Race has been an issue pushed under the rug in American government for far too long and

the controversy right now at Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas is a prime example. I find it

nothing short of appalling that state militia has barred these 9 children from attending school, and


18/18

even more appalling that the 101st Airborne had to be sent in to permit their attendance. While yes,

in the south segregation has been a staple in society for as long as the country has existed, the only

difference between the Little Rock 9 and the rest of the students is the color of their skin. Not their

intellect, their intentions, nor their right to an education just like any other good American citizen,

and although it would be folly of me to assume that all racial implications had vanished, but the

riots, the unregulated violence, the danger that these students endure on a daily basis to fit in with

the rest of society are all beyond unacceptable.

The Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education made 3 years ago promised to integrate

schools with all deliberate speed, however the sheer intolerance of the people of Little Rock have stunted this integration unrightfully so. Hoping that all of the social stigma towards African

Americans is one that will surely not be fulfilled any time soon if at all, but to deny them the rights

of other citizens simply because of race, even when the foundational document upon which this

country was established states that we are all equal, is simply wrong, unjust, and appalling.

The turmoil we see in Little Rock is signal for the need of a great change here in America.

What kind of government grants people equal rights but does not enforce the laws they pass? The

corrupt kind, one with roots still laced with the evil of racism and a hatred for those who are

different. It is American to be different; our great nation is composed solely of people who did not

belong elsewhere. To adopt the same disparaging ideals as those who drove us away to become

this nation is hypocritical, immoral, and ignorant of the basis on which our country was built.

1950's magazine project

Documents