The Cold War in America was the rivalry between the U.S., the Soviet Union and their allies after the World War II. The war was, however, limited to weapons. The US did not want the spread of communism in Europe. The Cold War affected not only the political aspects of the US but also its social climate.
The Cold War affected the political and social climate in the US. First, it led to the election of presidents such as Truman and Reagan who were anti-communists. They later imposed economic war with the Soviet Union. Second, it led to poor relations between the East and the West ( Dudziak, 2011) . The bad relations were mainly between those political systems that had adopted communism or capitalism. Third, it contributed to tensions in the country. Americans were mainly afraid of an outbreak of nuclear war from the Soviet Nations. Finally, Americans lost civil freedoms when the national security state was built up. Moreover, a lot of money was invested in the military industrial complex rather than in social programs that could eradicate poverty.
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The second Red Scare, well known as the McCarthyism after Senator Joseph McCarthy, occurred after World War II. McCarthyism was adopted to claim that communist had infiltrated the US State Department. His ideology was to try to minimize communism ( Fitzgerald, 2007) . During this Red Scare, many Americans, mainly government officials and some in the entertainment industry, were accused of communism and they underwent aggressive probes.
The contemporary America still faces fear and paranoia from parallel events. The rise of terror attacks such as the September 11, have proven that America can still be affected by outside forces. As a result, there is heightened scrutiny by the government ( Jackson, 2018) . Furthermore, these attacks have led to tight restrictions to the entry of outsiders in the attempt to keep US safe.
In conclusion, the Cold War had a major impact on the social and political climate of the US. Moreover, it gave rise to McCarthyism during the second Red Scare. Terror attacks have, however, led fear and paranoia in the US. Finally, the government has increased surveillance along the borders to keep the country safe.
References
Dudziak, M. L. (2011). Cold War civil rights: Race and the image of American democracy (Vol. 73). Princeton University Press.
Fitzgerald, B. (2007). McCarthyism: The red scare . Capstone.
Jackson, R. (2018). Writing the war on terrorism: Language, politics and counter-terrorism.
