The Cold War touched many aspects of American social and cultural life, from the civil rights movement to survivalism, from Hollywood to the universities. The nuclear threat—and the Communist menace lurking behind it—brought the National Defense Education Act, the interstate highway system, and growing mistrust of government by both liberals and conservatives. In ways sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle, the Cold War left its mark on activities ranging from art and poetry to movies and comic books. Sports events became particularly prominent venues for rivalry, beginning with the London Olympics in 1948 and peaking every fourth year thereafter. Visiting artists, traveling exhibitions, and other cultural exchanges, both formal and informal, sometimes helped ease Cold War tensions.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere.
