The economic boom
The illusion of peace after the bloodbath of World War II did not last for long. After the Korean war (1950) it became apparent that another war was underway, a war by proxy against the Soviet Union (that had just exploded its first atomic bomb). The two winners of the war represented two opposing ideologies: capitalism versus communism, democracy versus tyranny. Previous wars had been largely fought over territory, resources, prestige, patriotism; not quite over ideology. The tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the confrontation all the more dangerous: a war between the USA and the Soviet Union would have caused massive destruction. China became no less hostile to the West, shutting down all communication with the capitalist world. India gravitated mostly towards the Soviet Union too. The communist countries supported independence movements by all the former European colonies, and many of them ended up being ruled by socialist regimes. Thus the "Cold War" would spread throughout the planet. Another impact of the "Cold War" on USA society was a renewed sense of insecurity. Between 1948 and 1954 senator Joseph McCarthy successfully launched a "witch hunt" against intellectuals suspected of being communist spies. When a civil war in Cuba was won by the communist Fidel Castro (1959), the paranoia only increased.
The war had left behind some good inventions. First came the computer (the first commercial computer, the Univac, was introduced in 1951), then the transistor radio (1954), then cheaper television sets (that allowed sitcoms such as the "Honeymooners" to become national phenomena), then the integrated circuit (1956), then the first artificial satellite, the "Sputnik" (1957), then the first intercontinental jet service (1958), then the first telecommunication satellite, the "Telstar" (1962). However, the symbol of the USA economy was the car. 73% of world cars were produced in the USA in 1952, and in 1956 the country embarked on a project to build a nation-wide network of freeways. Homes were built outside cities, thus creating a suburban culture.
The USA was experiencing one of its greatest economic booms. Two events of 1955 are suitable metaphors: the first McDonald's restaurant opened near Chicago and Disneyland was inaugurated in Los Angeles. In 1957 a record number of babies were born (the peak of the "baby boomers" generation, conventionally those born between 1946 and 1960). In 1958 the USA's gross national product was about half of the world's national product. In 1960 Manhattan alone had 98 buildings which were taller than 100 meters: the rest of the world had none. The spirit of the age was summed up by John Kennedy (1961), the youngest president ever, who spoke of a "New Frontier". When a few months later Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut, Kennedy launched the "space race" culminating in a program to put a man on the Moon. It was the zenith of USA optimism.
The economic boomThe illusion of peace after the bloodbath of World War II did not last for long. After the Korean war (1950) it became apparent that another war was underway, a war by proxy against the Soviet Union (that had just exploded its first atomic bomb). The two winners of the war represented two opposing ideologies: capitalism versus communism, democracy versus tyranny. Previous wars had been largely fought over territory, resources, prestige, patriotism; not quite over ideology. The tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the confrontation all the more dangerous: a war between the USA and the Soviet Union would have caused massive destruction. China became no less hostile to the West, shutting down all communication with the capitalist world. India gravitated mostly towards the Soviet Union too. The communist countries supported independence movements by all the former European colonies, and many of them ended up being ruled by socialist regimes. Thus the "Cold War" would spread throughout the planet. Another impact of the "Cold War" on USA society was a renewed sense of insecurity. Between 1948 and 1954 senator Joseph McCarthy successfully launched a "witch hunt" against intellectuals suspected of being communist spies. When a civil war in Cuba was won by the communist Fidel Castro (1959), the paranoia only increased. The war had left behind some good inventions. First came the computer (the first commercial computer, the Univac, was introduced in 1951), then the transistor radio (1954), then cheaper television sets (that allowed sitcoms such as the "Honeymooners" to become national phenomena), then the integrated circuit (1956), then the first artificial satellite, the "Sputnik" (1957), then the first intercontinental jet service (1958), then the first telecommunication satellite, the "Telstar" (1962). However, the symbol of the USA economy was the car. 73% of world cars were produced in the USA in 1952, and in 1956 the country embarked on a project to build a nation-wide network of freeways. Homes were built outside cities, thus creating a suburban culture. The USA was experiencing one of its greatest economic booms. Two events of 1955 are suitable metaphors: the first McDonald's restaurant opened near Chicago and Disneyland was inaugurated in Los Angeles. In 1957 a record number of babies were born (the peak of the "baby boomers" generation, conventionally those born between 1946 and 1960). In 1958 the USA's gross national product was about half of the world's national product. In 1960 Manhattan alone had 98 buildings which were taller than 100 meters: the rest of the world had none. The spirit of the age was summed up by John Kennedy (1961), the youngest president ever, who spoke of a "New Frontier". When a few months later Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut, Kennedy launched the "space race" culminating in a program to put a man on the Moon. It was the zenith of USA optimism.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
