The Cold War, how was it for the public?

Question

Can someone tell me how the cold war was for the public of USA?

Answer 1

It was a terrifying time for the people of the U.S.

They just got out of WWII and now were striken with fear of a nuclear war with USSR (Russia)

Children were taught nuclear drills of what to do during an explosion, that were made just to give hope to the people, that if the worst was to come, they could survive by huddling under a desk.

It was a very terryifying time.

Dr. Suess actually even made a cold war-type cartoon for kids towards the end of it....which is rather entertaining but distrubing.

When USSR seized Cuba, the U.S. was frantic because soviet bombs were just at their door step.

It can't be put into words how much it affected the mental minds of the citizens of the U.S.

Answer 2

For the average citizen, it was worrisome. Many people expected a nuclear war was inevitable.
For some others, it was great. There was actually a lot of money made from the fear. On a small scale, there were whole industries of "survival" stuff: anything from dehydrated food to bomb shelters.
On the large scale, trillions of dollars were spent building up the military.
I worked in the defense industry back then, and I can tell you, it was a racket. There are a lot of people who miss the cold war for that reason, but I am not one of them.

NATO would like to start another cold war because that was their whole reason for existing. Just watch what they do...in the coming years they will bring us to the brink, and maybe right over the edge.

Answer 3

It is funny you have no idea about that.
The Cold war was a struggle between two great powers, Communism and Capitalism, all over the world, a struggle to win over the Third World, for example, a struggle we only finally won, it turns out, because we learned to get along with our own Black people, (and poor people), back home.
The Space Race, for example was a product of the Cold War, not so much because we wanted to walk on the moon, as because if we fired off good rockets we could both wipe each other out in 20 minutes. (Somehow when both sides can do that equally we both felt safe.... )
The Cold War was a long standoff that I'm glad is finally over. The Russians gave up first. Michail Gorbachev was a reasonable man who saw no more need to carry on expensive military expendatures.
Now, it is up to us to also give up, but we probably won't, because we considered that a "victory".

Answer 4

I was 4 yrs old in 1960. I remember my dad started digging under the house for a bomb shelter. As we got older and got interested in the space race and aviation, we followed all the launches and could name all the astronauts. We kept tabs on the development of new aircraft at Edwards AFB (google the XB70 for some interesting stuff). We also used binoculars to watch the B52's fly over our house with their landing gear down and bomb bay doors open and check to see if they had any bombs in their belly. We kept track of tail numbers to see which aircraft was stationed/deployed/returning from afar. I remember doing the duck and cover in kindergarden and watching films about what happens and what to do during a nuclear attack. Took it all in stride because at a young age you really don't know what it means to die. I don't remember anything about the Cuban Missile crisis, but I do remember Kennedy's assassination.

Answer 5

Usual stuff. A frightened population is an obedient population. They are also more likely to re-elect the incumbent government. There are many advantages for a government if there is an enemy somewhere out there. I wonder if there are any modern parallels?

Many lies were told to the population, perhaps the most egregious was the non-existent "missile gap".

Answer 6

It was on television a lot, but didn't affect the lives of everyday citizens.

By being on television, I mean it inspired a heck of a lot of TV series and movies. Not a lot of real news.

I am talking the 60s and 70s. The other answers seem to be about the 50s.

Answer 7

They scared the heck out of us back then. They told us to build bomb shelters or fall-out shelters in our back yards and taught us what to do if a nuclear attack occurred. Duck and Cover we were told if a nuclear bomb hit. Alot of good that would do.