The Atomic Age

The Atomic Age 

By Celeste Nelson

      The Atomic Age was the time period in America directly following the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the power and destruction of nuclear energy was discovered, the general public went into a tailspin of new cultural and societal changes. Americans were living on the brink of what they thought would be nuclear war and while coping with the fear, they also took the idea of atomic bombs and warped it into a new 'atomic style'. In my research paper, I will be delving into America during the Atomic Age.

       The Atomic Age began directly after the two atomic bombs: Fat Man and Little Boy, were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The dropping of the bombs on August 6 and August 9, 1945 were what ended the Second World War and sparked a beginning to the Cold War. The two bombs killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki in the immediate months following; the long term the affects of the bombs killed many more due to the burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries. Despite the massive destruction and brutal murder of two cities and millions of people, the bomb got the Japanese to surrender, thus ending the Second World War. But directly after one ended another started and that was the Cold War.

       Shortly after the dropping of the bombs it was found out that the soviets had successfully tested their own atomic bomb. This ensued the nuclear arms race. The general public of America was living in fear of the nuclear bomb. The government reacted by putting out a Civil Defense campaign to teach Americans how to protect themselves in the midst of a nuclear attack. They showed a movie to kids in school of 'Bert The Turtle' that taught children to duck under their desks to avoid being part of a certain death that a nuclear bomb would ensue. The government also encouraged many families built fallout shelters where a family could retreat to be protected against atomic bombs and radiation. They were stocked with food that would last for weeks. These government encouragements were only to help Americans have peace of mind. Of course ducking under your desk would not help you in a nuclear explosion. The government portrayed the possibility of a nuclear attack as something easily survivable, when in reality the likelihood of someone surviving an atomic bomb is next to none.

      In my research, I watched the movie 'The Atomic Cafe' (1982) . This was a collection of government issued propaganda. While the film had all real footage, it made it into a satire. A lot of the footage was of people being shamed for being a communist. Much of the Governments influence was to tell the Americans who and what to be and not to be scared of. They let out a lot of propaganda saying that the soviets got the information on how to make an atomic bomb because an American leaked it to them. The whole film turns a very serious topic into a type of irony. When you know the government is lying about something it makes you wonder about what else they lied about.

     In just a few hours after the bombs were dropped on Japan, a new Atomic Style erupted in America. First there was the 'Atomic Cocktail' being served by the Washington Press Club. Next Los Angeles burlesque clubs were offering 'Atom Bomb Dancers'. There was a New York jewelry line that release the atomic inspired pin and earrings set. Atomic became a symbol for Americans about a new age where anything was possible and they were in control because they had won the war. Many furniture sets were modeled after the atom as well. Clean lines and organic shapes were very popular.  The iconic 'boomerang' style coffee table was directly made as an atomic inspired piece. And the atomic style clock was made to directly resemble an atom.

      The Atomic Bomb inspired many things and among them being the Miss Atom Bomb Pageant from 1952 to 1957. As the Atom Bomb fever swept the nation it also flooded into the pageant world. The first Miss Atom Bomb was Candyce King who was a Las Vegas dancer. I find this pageant do significant because the Atomic Bomb was so destructive and it killed millions of innocent people, but the Americans are praising it as if it is a compliment. The Americans did not think that the deaths of all those people were a good thing, but the fact that it had saved them from the war, They didn't know what else to do than to praise the bomb.

     Despite the Atomic Bomb bringing such mass destruction and a new type of fear, it also inspired a new wave in America; one that meant innovation and power. Much of the Atomic age still lives today whether it's in the retro vintage style or the atomic bomb threat coming from some Middle East countries.

Boomerang Table modeled after one found in the Atomic Age

A Fallout Shelter ad for what one might look like

                           

The cover for The Atomic Cafe movie

The last Miss Atomic Bomb

Bert The Turtle from the film that taught kids to duck and cover

                                                   

Annotated Bibliography

This article talked had information on how the bomb shaped American culture


This source was from the Nevada Department of Energy about the history of Miss Atom Bomb

A website that talked extensively about decor in the 1950's and how it was influenced by the Atomic Age

A website about the reaction America had to the bombs dropped on Japan

An article about the effects the bombs had on Japan as a country

A Huffington post article talking about the nuclear threat in modern America

The Youtube video showing the film - The Atomic Cafe

Cinderella Man

  I agree with the statement "The movie, Cinderella Man, takes place during the Great Depression, but it ultimately does a much better job of telling us an emotional and inspirational "fairy tale" about one man than it does exposing the audiences to the facts bout the Great Depression as it was experienced by most Americans. As I read up on the historical accuracy of the film, I find that while the facts are more or less true, but the characters development is exaggerated.

   In most films there is a 'good guy' that everyone wants to succeed in life, and a 'bad guy' that everyone wants to ultimately fail at their  mission which is usually to cause the 'good guy' problems and to get in their way to their goal. In Cinderella Man's case, the 'good guy' is James Braddock and the 'bad guy' is Max Baer. The goal of Braddock is to keep his family afloat in the hard times of the great depression through the means of boxing for money.

  Through my research, I found that the most inaccuracies of the film lie with the character Max Baer. The first fact being that he had killed two men in the rink before. In real life he had only killed one man before. In the movie, the Baer seemed proud of the death while in real life, he was tormented by it for the rest of his life. Baer came off in the film as a ruthless, villain. There is a scene where Braddock is having a nice dinner with his wife and manager, and Baer walks in. Braddock goes to talk to Baer and Baer is rude and makes a pass at Braddocks wife. There is no documentation that this event ever occurred. The scene was only there to further demonize Baer as a character. In the film he did not care about the torment he caused others, and his only real purpose was to pose a threat to the underdog, Braddock.

  When there is such a clear 'bad guy' in a movie, it makes it easier for the audience to root for someone and to hate someone else. In reality, there was no 'bad guy'. There was just two men trying to get by in the midst of  The Great Depression. The whole point of the fight to both Braddock and Baer, was too earn money so they could keep food on the table.

  Ultimately It makes me upset that they demonize the character of Max Baer to make the film more like a fairytale. The whole point of having a 'bad guy' is to make the movie more dramatic and emotional, while in the real Great Depression, everyone was just trying to survive through an economic disaster.





 "The Biggest Thing 'Cinderella Man' Got Wrong - Boxing News." BoxingScenecom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.

Birmingham Civil Rights Field Trip

    On the field trip to Birmingham this year I learned very many things. While in the Church, I enjoyed watching the short documentary. It is so interesting, to watch old footage of people from that era, knowing that I am standing in the exact same spot, not a replica or looking at a photo. I believe that's the value of going to the historic landmark, it makes it more personal and meaningful. The way the stained glass picture of Jesus was all held intact through the bomb except for his face mad me feel kind of creeped out, to be honest. I don't think anyone can prove or disprove the existence of God, but when thing like that happen, it really makes me wonder about that guy in the sky.

   While in the Civil Rights Institute, I liked seeing the objects that one of the little girls had in the bombing. The glass case that had a pair of shoes, bracelet, cross necklace, pocket bible and shard of brick that was lodged in her skull. That made the whole event much more real to me. It's just so hard to even comprehend such a horrible thing happening. Also I thought that the mannequins were really creepy.

   Lastly, I very much enjoyed the trip and just getting out of Huntsville and the classroom. Everyone should have to go on this trip.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Questions About World War I

   World War 1 began in 1914 and the immediate cause was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria. The two groups were know as the Triple Entente (Britain, France, and Russia) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy).

   The United Sates entered the war on April 6, 1917. One of the reasons the US entered the war was because a German submarine sunk the Lusitania, a British passenger liner, that killed 128 Americans. This greatly increased tensions.

   World War 1 ended on November 11, 1984. Germany surrendered due to lack of food, supplies, and manpower. After that, eventually the Treaty of Versailles was negotiated and signed.

   The Treaty of Versailles was not signed by the US because it did not agree with the high price Germany was to pay for its role as an aggressor.

  World War 1 makes me wonder if I'll ever have to live through a world war and what that would mean in a 21st century lifestyle. It makes me wonder about drafting and if they would change it so women can be drafted for gender equality. If I'm going to be completely honest, a potential draft really scares me. And I hope it never comes to that.

3rd quarter research

Celeste Nelson
3rd Quarter Research Paper

 Oxygen, water, food, shelter, sleep; these are the five basic things one needs for survival. Food is ranking on number three, which makes it pretty important. I mean, it's a simple idea, if you don't eat, you won't survive. Hunger strikes happen all over the world to protest for basic rights. By 1910, women everywhere were hunger striking for the right to vote.

I think that a hunger striking for something you believe in is very admirable. It's like dying slowly and painfully for the good of humanity. If one were to die from starvation, in would not be in vain because that death is another tick on someones record, another death that someone is responsible for. Another reason I find hunger striking to be admirable is because it is a peaceful protest. It is hard to get your point across without using abrasive and sometimes even violent ways. I don't like or believe in violent protest because I think if people use violent tactics, it gives the government reason to respond in violent ways. It doesn't always get a point across or catch everyone's attention to picket or march. A hunger strike is a very powerful and also peaceful way to protest conditions. But because it is to intentionally cause bodily harm to oneself, I also believe that a hunger strike should only be used in the worst conditions, or as a last resort.    

 The hunger strikes were meant to get women recognized by society.  President Woodrow Wilson refused to help with getting a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote, despite his pledge to support women's suffrage. Alice Paul was the leader of the National American Women's Suffrage and staged silent protests outside the White House in 1917. This ultimately  led to her arrest and in protest of jail conditions, she began a hunger strike. in response they relocated Alice to a psychiatric ward where she was force fed raw eggs through a plastic tube. After that, other women joined the strike and put Wilson in a negative light for letting people starve.

   On March 3, 1913, Inez Milholland led the great woman suffrage parade on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC. There were twenty four floats, nine bands, four mounted brigades, three heralds, and more than five thousand marchers. The women were dressed as their occupations, in nurse, farm woman, pharmacists, students, actresses and more. They wanted to show all the things that were being done by women, but still they could not vote.  They marched for a few blocks with out hassle until mostly men overtook the streets making it almost impossible for the marchers to move. They grabbed, pushed, made fun of, and assaulted. The policemen, instead of helping them would join in with the others taunting the marchers. over one hundred marchers were taken to the emergency hospital that day. Even through the ridiculous struggle, the parade got to it's end at the Treasury Building.

   At the Treasury Building, the marchers had a pageant or play to show that over the years men and women have been fighting for the same things in co-operation and they will not stop till they get justice. The pageant began with the performance of the star spangled banner and then Colombia, dressed in national colors came out from the top of the steps. After her, Charity entered, walking over a path of rose petals. Then Liberty came and a 'dove of peace' was released. In the finale, Colombia was surrounded by Justice, Charity, Liberty, Peace, and Hope. They were all dressed in flowing robes and beautiful, colorful scarves, trumpets were playing. The  New York Times described the event as "one of the most impressively beautiful spectacles ever staged in this country".




  You can't really see the picture, but it is of the pageant.

The march and play that the women put on was truly amazing, it had so much media and controversy around it, that a few blocks away at a railroad station where a party was supposed to welcome the newly elected president, Woodrow Wilson, stood empty. Everyone was at the parade.

people were slowly beginning to support women's suffrage for different reasons. Some supported women's suffrage because they believed that women were morally superior to men.  


 A political cartoon depicting a woman being force fed

 


Another political cartoon depicting a woman being force fed


Women protesting 


 Women protesting for liberty  

 
 Woman Suffrage Headquarters

Works Cited

"The History Project." At UC Davis. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

 "American Women: MARCHING FOR THE VOTE: REMEMBERING THE WOMAN SUFFRAGE PARADE OF 1913." American Women: MARCHING FOR THE VOTE: REMEMBERING THE WOMAN SUFFRAGE PARADE OF 1913. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.