The Cold War Era

1
The Cold War Era

• Sputnik and Beyond

2
The Cold War

• Threat of the spread of Communism led to policy
  of containment
• US declared to take what ever economic and
  military means necessary to stop the spread of
  communism

3
Political Economy

• 1929-Stock Market Crash
• Prosperity following the end of W.W.II in 1945
  led to more consumerism
• Communist scare let to McCarthy hearings

4
Threat of Communism

• US declared to take what ever economic and
  military means necessary to stop the spread of
  communism
• Known as policy of containment

5
Doctrine of First Use

• US stockpiled nuclear weapons in order to
  initiate nuclear bombing whenever enemy forces
  threatened America

6
Red Scare

• A near hysteria was created in the late 40's and
  50's with hearings led by Joseph McCarthy
  accusing people of belonging to the Communist
  Party

7
DuBois Accused of Communism

• Detail of photo taken in 1951 of Philadelphia
  communists protesting the detention of W.E.B.
  DuBois. The picket sign reads
• "FRAME-UP / YOU MAY BE NEXT"

8
Spies and Espionage

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
• U.S. communists who were executed in 1953 for
  passing on nuclear secrets to the Soviet
  Union.

9
More SpiesFrancis Gary Powers

• U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot who was shot down while
  on a surveillance mission over the Soviet Union.
• Sentenced to 10 years in
  captivity but served only two before he was
  released to the United States in a spy exchange
  for Soviet spy Rudolph Abel.

10
Ideology

• McCarthyism
• Meritocracy
• Social Mobility
• Anticommunism
• Education for national interest
• Corporate liberalism

Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957), anti-Communist
crusader
11
Sputnik

• First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched
  by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of
  Soviet dominance in technology and outer space.
  It led to the creation of NASA and the space
  race.

12
Schooling Had US Schools Failed?

• This launch of Sputnik alarmed the American
  public and made them think that their schools had
  failed to teach science and math.

13
Shift in Curriculum

• Millions of dollars were allocated for upgrading
  the teaching of science and math
• Schools introduced tracking, differentiated
  curriculum, and IQ testing

14
James Conant and the SAT

• James Conant, president of Harvard, saw the need
  to develop a valid measure of academic aptitude
  to ensure objectivity in determining scholarship
  eligibility
• Decided on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
• Click to read interview

15
Comprehensive High Schools

• Conant believed that scholarships and accelerated
  classes would encourage the intellectually gifted
• He believed that vocational classes should meet
  the needs of the less academically able.
• Advocated larger high schools to serve both types
  of students.

16
Schooling for Social Cohesion

• Conant believed that putting the academically
  gifted students in schools with the vocational
  students would foster a greater sense of
  democracy.

17
Urban Education

• Conant believed that vocational education in
  urban schools fostered stability and desirable
  social behaviors of the students.
• Consequence was segregation for vocational classes

18
Conclusion

• The focus of educational concern shifted from
  realizing the all around growth of students to
  promoting political, economic, and social
  stability.
• A small group of talented students were
  provided true intellectual challenges.