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Cold War

ith the end of World War II, American culture began to see changes as the Cold War emerged in American society. America had a monopoly on the nuclear bomb until 1949. America had no reason to fear nuclear war, for the power was only in American hands. However, in 1949, Air Force planes flying over Russia detected high amounts of radiation activity in the air. Their findings soon revealed that the U.S.S.R. had detonated their first atomic weapon.

Suddenly fear replaced the feelings of control, for now America was not alone in the atomic age. C.Urey, a Nobel Prize winning scientist, put it best when he said, "There is only one thing worse than one nation having an atomic bomb, and that’s two nations having it." The Cold War had begun to rise following World War II, but with the detonation of an atomic bomb in Russia, the Cold War escalated quickly.

America had gone from the controlling force to the opponent in a matter of days. American society would also quickly change. Americans went from excitement over the Atomic bomb to anxiety, an anxiety that would only fester in the next few decades. Propaganda would feed on this anxiety.

Americans were soon bombarded with examples of what radiation could do to a human being. Of course, America could never cause damage to human beings, so the Russia was portrayed as an evil empire. Movies, cartoons, and literature would all become outlets for this propaganda. Novels about nuclear war were soon written, such as the 1957 novel "On the Beach". It was a story of how radiation fallout destroyed the Northern hemisphere, after a nuclear attack. Stories like these compounded the fear that was growing within society.

The conviction of Alger Hiss, only proved that there was truly a communist threat in the United States, though the threat was often over exaggerated. People became obsessed with searching out Soviet spies, and anyone who might be a supporter of communism. The fear of communist infiltration became know as the Red Scare. At the heart of the Red Scare panic, was senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy claimed at one point that he had a list that revealed 205 names of known Americans, who were communist. Men like McCarthy, believed they were fighting the cold war at home in the United States, although they caused panic among many citizens in their race to weed out communist supporters.

The image of the nuclear mushroom cloud hovered above the thoughts of American citizens throughout the fifties, and in to the early sixties. Propagandists would capitalize on this, by creating an immediate need in the consumer mind for a bomb shelter. The idea was planted that a bomb shelter would protect you from the horrible effects of a nuclear attack, assuming you were able to construct such a shelter. Though the idea seems ludicrous now, since the effects of a nuclear attack are fully known, people were caught in the trap that the propagandist had set.

By 1960, The Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization, estimated that a million families had constructed their own private bomb shelters. Shelters ranged in price from $1,795-$3,895, and of course many came in kits that make assembly much easier. Advertisements were found in magazines throughout the country. Many companies were capitalizing on Americans fear. Life Magazine in 1955, included a feature ad for a H-Bomb Hideaway, and the sale price was only $3000. Bob Rutske, a Michigan Sheriff at the time, remarked that "To build a home today without a shelter, would be like leaving out a bathroom twenty years ago." The amount of shelters that were built in that era, show how well propaganda had penetrated the American mind.

  This cartoon shows a group of people sitting around enjoying the day, however the caption remarks,"if only there was no Russia.". This displays how  cold war was always an underlying fear.


This is the famous image of the nuclear mushroom cloud. An image that drove many to purchase bomb shelters.

  This is a picture of the cover of a Super 8 film from the 1950's. The movie portrays a man who flys through a huge cloud of radation, and eventully turns in the the blood beast.  These films were stories of what nuclear war could do to an individual. Capitalizing on the fear of American citizens.

The picture to the left is an example of how a bomb shelter should be equipped.  This bomb shelter includes such luxuries as a televison and an exercise bike.