People of Plenty(1945 – 1950)

Meeting 7

Matakuliah : G0862/American Culture and SocietyTahun : 2007

Contents

• American Domination: war of Ideology

• The politics of Consensus

• The trouble with kids

• The domino theory: Vietnam and Korean War

The Fifties

The 1950s was a decade of prosperity, optimism, conservatism and conformity.  But as the era neared its end, a counter-culture reared its head through American society. Rebellion and non-conformity were the reactions to the texture of American society. 

Various celebrities epitomized the defiance of youth-Marlon Brandon, James Dean, Elvis Presley, Jack Kerouac, and others. 

Trouble with Youth

People of Plenty

The War of Ideology

Nixon’s Kitchen debate

Nuclear Bomb Shelter (1950)

The Domino Theory

The Domino Theory

The Korean War showed the American government that the communist threat was not restricted to Europe. Two regions in particular, appeared vulnerable to communism, Indo-China and Latin America. Indochina had been colonized by the French in the late 19th Century but had been lost to Japan during the Second World War. Resistance groups set-up to fight the Japanese often contained supporters of the communist party and after the allied victory in 1945, France attempted to reestablish control. Western governments feared that if France was unsuccessful in this, communism might spread throughout the whole of South East Asia.

The Domino Theory

The same reasoning was applied to Latin America after guerrilla fighters, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew Fulgencio Batista, the right-wing dictator of Cuba in 1959.To justify his support for South Vietnam, President Dwight Eisenhower and Vice-President Richard Nixon put forward the 'domino theory. It was argued that if the first domino is knocked over then the rest topple in turn. Applying this to South-east Asia he argued that if South Vietnam was taken by communists, then the other countries in the region such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia, would follow.