McArthy Flashcards
What external events amplified the red scare
- soviet expansion in Europe
-Truman Doctrine and Marshall plan
-atomic bombs
-Korean war
-china becoming communist
Who set up federal loyalty boards
J Edgar Hoover ( told president Truman that spying was a real concern)
What were the federal loyalty boards
FBI started creating files of evidence on gov members suspected of spying for communist Russia
How many people were investigated by the fedlob
over 3 million people
How many people were fired or forced to resign despite there being no evidence of actual spying taking place
3,000
What year was HUAC created and why
1938 , to monitor extremist groups
-in 1947 public hearing against the communist party of America presented
why were the Hollywood ten investigated
concern that communists would use the film industry to spread propaganda
who were the Hollywood ten
ten actors who refused to answer questions and pleaded the first amendment (the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly)
-all jailed for one year and blacklisted
effect of Hollywood ten
-brought huge publicity to the red scare eg Walt Disney investigated
-increased anti-Communist hysteria
Who was Alger Hiss
was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union
What happened to Hiss
- despite his denial and fact he was never convicted of spying he was sentenced to 5 years in prison
-Pumpkin papers -found guilty of lying
How did the Hiss case further anti-comunist hysteria
member of the state department
Who were the Rosenbergs
scientists which worked on the atomic bomb , accused of giving the Russians nuclear secrets
-convicted and sentenced to death
-executed 1953
Who was senator Joseph McCarthy
-chairman of the government committee on operations of the senate
-took advantage of mass hysteria to elevate his position and influence
What did Mc do
-conducted public hearings of suspected communists using bullying and agressive questioning
-said he had the name of over 200 communists working in the government , was eventually only able to name 57 suspects
-his claims strengthened his reputation as an anti communist
what happened to people who criticised him
- accused by McCarthy of being communist or un-American
-eg senator tydings who was defeated in the senate elections after called him a ´fraud and hoax´ , scared others into speaking out
-destroyed people´s lives with accusations which scared others
What was the downfall of Mcarthy
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ARMY - hearing broadcasted on TV , target was general George Marshall ( US veteran ) , public saw what a bully Mc is , aggresive questions with no evidence
ROLE OF THE MEDIA - Tv program showed Mcarthy to be a liar , was called a communist , gave ed murrow (journalist ) confidence to speak out against him
Impact of the work of FBI and HUAC
-Americans believed communists were everywhere , even in highest positions of goverment
-many people believed they were surrounded by communist spies
-people suspicious of everyone and scared of being accused
What was the Macarran act
-all communists had to declare themselves
-not allowed passports or certain jobs
(USA couldn´t bad comm as it would be against their commandments )
2 effects of HUAC on red scare
- increased paranoia
-more extreme gov acts (macarran)
Why did other members of the republican party show their support for Mcarthy
being tough on communism got you more votes
against communism meant loosing your job
role of the media in red scare
intensified fear of communism eg red menace movie , therefore made more people believe Mcarthy