1. Using information from the essay questions dealing with "The New Era" and
“The Affluent Society” determine when the Consumer Culture became a fixture of
American life. Was it in the 1920s or the 1950s?
You may want to compare and contrast similar elements from each essay
question. Some possible topics to discuss are: Who participated in the consumer
economy? What impact did mass media have in the two eras: radio, movies, TV,
advertising? How did each era deal with pluralism? What type of leisure activity
did each era tend to favor? Remember that consumerism means people are
identifying themselves based upon their ability to buy things.
2. Using any five of the items listed below, discuss the ‘Long Peace’ thesis. To
what extent could you say that the Cold War represented a period ‘free from war’
or ‘free from conflict’? Is the ‘Long Peace’ a useful description of the Cold War?
Truman Doctrine
Marshall Plan
Containment
NSC-68
Korean War
Brinksmanship
Massive Nuclear Retaliation/Mutual Assured Destruction
Eisenhower’s Farewell Address
Vietnam War
Flexible Response
Vietnamization
Nixon Doctrine