The 1950s was a time of both fear of nuclear war and of the spread of communism as well as...Answer Choices: A.) a downturn in the...

Given these choices, the correct answer is clearly C.  The
1950s were a time of stunning economic success.

The 1950s
were a time of great prosperity for much of the United States.  World War II had done a
great deal to hurt the economies of all of the United States' competitors around the
world.  Conversely, the US itself had not really been touched by the war in the sense
that the continental US and its factories, infrastructure, etc. had not been bombed or
otherwise destroyed the way that those things had been in Europe and Japan.  Because of
this huge advantage that the US had (and because of other things like the GI Bill) the
'50s was a time of prosperity in the US.

One thing that you
should notice about this question is that neither A nor B can be right.  This is because
they both go together.  If there is a downturn in the economy, that means there is
rising unemployment.  So if one of them were correct, both would be.  That is the kind
of clue that can help you eliminate possible answers on multiple choice
questions.