Society in the 1950s: Teammates

Fidencio: "Unconventional War"
As the new president of the United States, Eisenhower attempted to help the nation during the Cold War. Meanwhile, Shah became the ruler of Iran. This led to the tension between Iranians and Americans when some Iranians were held hostage after they invaded the American embassy.

Alexis: "A Nation in Debt"
During the 1950s, many Americans were enticed to use the "buy now, pay later" concept, which would inevitably lead to the economy's debt problem. While credit card purchases helped the economy, private debt doubled from $104.8 billion to $263.3 billion. President Eisenhower attempted to help the economy, but it failed to benefit lower class whites and blacks who lived in urban areas.

The Impact of the Auto

"The Impact of the Auto" described the advantages and disadvantages of the invention of the automobile. Many Americans wanted to escape the cities and live in the surrounding suburbs, and cars made this dream achievable. Unfortunately for cities, 11 out of the 12 largest cities in the United States lost population during the 1950s. Buses and mass transports also saw a decrease. By 1965, only 5% of urban people were taking a bus and/or subway as a mode of transportation. Businesses that catered to car owners benefited greatly during this time period. These businesses included, drive-in movie theaters and motels like Holiday Inn.

McCarthyism

A. List three things the author said that you think are important:
"A state department spokesman recently denied this and claimed that there is not a single communist in the department."
"Your board did a pains-taking job. And named hundreds which it listed as "dangerous to the security of the nation", because of communistic connections."
"...You signed an order forbidding the state departments giving to the congress any information in regard to the disloyalty or the communistic connections of anyone in that department..."

B. Why do you think this document was written?
I think it was a threat to President Truman that Sen. McCarthy had evidence of communists in the State Department.

C. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? Quote from the document.
"I believe the following is the minimum which can be expected of you in this case... Failure on your part will label the democratic party of being the bed-fellow of inter-national communism."

D. List two things the document tells you about life in the United States at the time it was written:
There seems to be distrust and secrets between the U.S. citizens and the government.
At the time, there were "hundreds of thousands of loyal American democrats throughout the nation"

E. Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document:
Why did you type out the document in pink paper?
Why are there so many typos? You're a senator for goodness sakes.
How did you originally get the information that there were people in the State Department that were members of the Communist Party?
F. Date of document: February 11, 1950

G. Author: Senator Joseph McCarthy

H. Purpose of document
I think that the purpose of the document was to threaten President Truman and to say that Sen. McCarthy was in possession of evidence which proved that more than 200 employees in the State Department were members of the Communist Party.

Saving Private Ryan

The overall plot of the movie is a group of U.S. soldiers' duty to retrieve Private Ryan, a stranger to the soldiers but nonetheless a mission they had to see through. The men endure hardships in German territory among World War II; almost all the men of the troop are killed in action. The troop does find Ryan, who ends up being one of the survivors from the war.
A) A soldier's day would include fighting for survival and being alert 24/7. A soldier was to believe that an enemy, if seen, must be killed in order to save the life of one or one-hundred other people. Death lingered everywhere, from the bodies of fallen soldiers to the looming peril a soldier feared on a daily basis. Conditions were extremely difficult and travel was inevitable and often.
B) Private Richard Reiben, played by Edward Burns, was a soldier who had survived the difficult attack on Omaha Beach. He is seen as a rough, strong man who symbolizes a typical soldier's tough persona. While searching for Private Ryan, Private Reiben almost aborts mission after Tom Hanks' character lets go of a German who had killed a comrade of Reiben. Although he is tempted to leave the band of brothers, he sees the error of his stubborn ways and follows through the mission. Unlike many members of his troop, he manages to survive throughout the entire movie.
C) In a war, I would have not done well. If I were to be fighting in the war, I would probably not survive long. I'm more of a peace-maker and would feel that killing another individual would not be ethical, in any circumstance. I would be frozen in shock and fear in battle. In short, I would not be helpful at all to the war effort if I were a part of the WWII.