Socialism in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Socialism –noun 1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, 50% of the people of the world lived under a monarchy.Thirty per-cent lived under the rule of other countries as colonies. This included much of Africa, as well as India and other places where Imperialism led to the subjigation of native people by Europeans. By the end of the 20th century, 65% of the world's people lived in some sort of democracy, 25% under Communist rule, 5% under military leadership and fewer than 5% under any sort of monarchy.

During the 20th Century ideas about how government should be structured and what role government had in the lives of the people was a real issue. It resulted in a shift in Europe and other parts of the world as people went through war and social change. Socialism was a major force (and still is) among the choices people have for government. The following video clips are part of a TV documentary aired by Glenn Beck on Fox News. After you have viewed the documentary, tell me what you think about its content in the comment area below this post.

McCarthyism and Free Speech

During the Red Scare, some Americans were caught up the the witch hunt that was McCarthyism. Senator McCarthy held a series of hearings meant to find people who might be disloyal to the U.S. and who might be Communist or might sympathize with Communist views. The videos in this section are from a documentary about this time in American history. The real video footage from the time is valuable in helping us to understand what was going on during this time.












During class you will be asked to respond to the events depicted in the video and to reflect on what Freedom of Speech is and how far the Constitution goes to protect it.

Cold War: The Arms Race

Once the U.S. discovered that Russia had tested a nuclear bomb, they felt compelled to protect themselves with an even bigger weapon: the h-bomb. The video below shows the test of Ivy Mike, the first H Bomb test. On November 1, 1952 a mushroom cloud 8 miles across and 27 miles high filled the skies over the Pacific Ocean. Just as in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the explosion was followed by a rain of radioactive mud. The bomb was the first atomic weapon with a megaton yield explosion.




Some buildings survived the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings better than others. This led the U.S. Government to identify some buildings in America as safe places to go in the event of a nuclear attack. Americans were so worried about an atomic bomb being dropped on them, that the Civil Defense created films and provided training to tell people how to stay safer if an attack should occur. Check out the "Duck and Cover" film below.



Not only were school children and adults taught to "duck and cover," but special fall-out shelters also became popular. Some new homes were even built with them! The video below contains a radio commercial and images of the brochure for a company selling fall-out shelters.



Answer the questions on the hand-out "America Enters the Era of Nuclear Weapons" after viewing these videos.