The spirit of that prevailed after World War II was short-lived.

True, very true. During and shortly after WWll, Americans were all for the war cause. Everyone was patriotic and proud to be an American. Then, during the 1950's prosperity was to be found everywhere, but this was the first time that suspicion in the U. S. government became prevalent. The McCarthy hearings caused mistrust in the government because government officials were accused of being Communist. Plus, the Cold War heating up when the U. S. became involved in the proxy war we know as the war in Korea. Tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union and Americans began questioning the government policies.