4b the end of post war euphoria Flashcards
what was the The House of Un-American Activities
originally set up to deal with
Initially set up in 1938 to deal with possible German agents spying and subversion.
End of WW2, it was used in same way against possible communist subversion.
how did the HUAC monitor communist infiltrations
The HAUC investigated what they believed was communist infiltration across America, by attempting to expose communist supporters in the federal government, trade unions, and in Hollywood. Investigations carried out by the HUAC were televised and reported in newspapers; radio news also covered the investigations.
what was the hollywood 10
the infamous Hollywood 10, were sacked from their jobs and blacklisted due to their supposed ‘communist affiliations
they were accused of making films with communistic content
what did mccarthy claim
February 1950: McCarty claimed that the State Department had been infiltrated and was full of communists and communist sympathisers
He claimed that he had a list of 250 names, this then became 50 names and finally “a lot” of names.
how did mccarthy signicicantly impact anticommunist feelings
McCarthy was actively promoting anti-communism, and promoting a belief that America was the greatest, most powerful country in the world and that subversives should not be allowed to undermine this
what did mccarthy help spark
anticommunist hysteria which accused ordinary people of comunist afffiliations
what was mccarthys downfall
People turned against McCarthy after his accusations against the armed forces. They had just finished fighting against communism in Korea.
what was the china lobby
set up in 1949 to investigate what caused chinas fall to communism
some felt that the state department could have done more to prevent it
what board did Truman create in 1947
In 1947: Truman created the Loyalty Review Board. It introduced new loyalty and security checks on all federal employees to ensure employees were not communist sympathisers.
how many federal employees were dismissed as a result of the loyalty review board between 1947-1951
As a result, between 1947 and 1951 between 3,000 and 6,000 federal employees resigned and between 300 and 1,200 were dismissed.
how did the explosion of ussr first nuclear weapon increase tensions
Until 1949, due in part to Nazi scientists, the US was the only country with nuclear weapons. So, in 1949 when Russia announced it had nuclear weapons, it seemed justified that American military secrets had been passed on.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
they were a scientist team accused of passing atomic secrets to the USSR.
they were executed
how much was spent on the military industrial complex in the 1950s
between $40-50 billion
what was made illegal in Alabama 1954 that highlighted the paranoia of anti-communist feelings
1954, in Birmingham, Alabama paranoia about communism was so great it was illegal to be seen talking to a known communist
what was the reality of the nuclear age
Impacted lives of all Americans. The fear of a nuclear strike was very real, which increased the sense of paranoia throughout America.
