Berlin Blockade and Airlift-
- In 1948, the three western controlled zones of Germany's(US, France, UK) were united, and grew in prosperity due to Marshal Aid.
- The west wanted the east to rejoin, but Stalin feared it would hurt Soviet security.
- In June 1948, Stalin decided to try to gain control of west Berlin which was deep inside the eastern sector
- He cut road, rail and canal links with West Berlin, hoping to starve it into submission
- The west responded by airlifting in the necessary supplies to allow west Berlin to survive.
- In May 1949, Russia admitted defeat and lifted the blockade
Senator Joe McCarthy
- Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin
- In 1950, he gave a speech where he claimed to have a list of 205 Communists in the State Department
- No one in the press actually saw the names on the list, but McCarthy's announcement made made national new s and caused panic throughout the country
- McCarthy became one of the most powerful people in the US
McCarthy's Downfall
- In the spring of 1954, McCarthy charged the US Army had promoted a dentist accused of being a Communist
- For the first time television broadcast allowed the general public to see the Senator as a blustering bully and his investigations as little more than a misguided scamp
- In late 1954 the Senate voted to censure him for his conduct and to strip him of his privileges
Supporters of McCarthy
- Republicans
- Catholics
- Conservative Protestants
- Blue-collar workers
- Joseph and Robert Kennedy
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