The Cold War and American Education

Abstract

American historians who have studied the Cold War have usually focused upon either the events on the international scene which gave rise to tensions or on the policies and rhetoric of national political leaders such as President Truman and Senator McCarthy. It is the thesis of this study that, while the role of national leaders in fostering America's Cold War consciousness cannot be ignored, in some ways the forging of that consciousness was affected only marginally by the President and other national political leaders. To anyone familiar with the course of American life during the 1960s, it must be obvious that a sturdy anticommunism bred of a Cold War mentality had a deep and lasting impact. Such a deep imprint could not have been left by the actions of political leaders alone; other American institutions must also have had a hand in its forging.

With these assumptions behind it, this study began as a search for the origins of a "Cold War culture." It soon, however, evolved into an attempt to trace the interaction between the Cold War and one aspect of that culture--American education. It is hoped that by examining the patterns of interaction between the Cold War and American education and educators, this study will contribute to a fuller understanding of the grip of the Cold War upon American life.