The Culture of the Cold War

The main purpose in “The Culture of the Cold War” by Stephen J. Whitfield is to explain the impact that the United States government’s anti-communistic efforts had on our culture. These efforts impacted music, literature, politics and even education. Whitfield seems to be questioning the loss of liberties that came from these anti-communistic. The most important information shared by Whitfield is that in an attempt to control and prevent the communism at home, the US Government and the FBI regulated media so stringently, that liberties were infringed upon. It’s important to remember that when they monitored, restricted and controlled those forms of media, our Freedom of Speech was compromised.

The main conclusion in the article is that anyone who spoke out against the war or against the restrictions on their liberties was labeled a traitor or called disloyal. Most people were too fearful to speak out against the war and against the restrictions, but some artists still found a way to get their media out there with their hidden opposition to the war and the tactics used by our government. It’s imperative to understand when reading Whitfield’s article is that the fear of the spread of Communism was almost at an epidemic level during this time in history. Our government, and the large majority of society, felt that there was a real threat of communism taking over our country. They felt that the spread of negativity, or even the slightest impression of support for Communism, was going to infiltrate and take over the people of the United States. The fear was real and mostly justified.

Stephen J. Whitfield’s article would have been more clear if he hadn’t assumed that we knew what the Smith Act was and what the Marxist-Leninists group did. These assumptions can confuse the readers and cloud the purpose of