Mcarthynism and the red scare Flashcards
Causes of the Red scare
- cold war
- soviet spies
- political ambitions
- paranoia and hysteria
how was cold war a cause of red scare
Americans were scared by the rapid spread of communism to E Europe and chine
- increased by the Berlin Blockade and Korean war
when was fear of nuclear war increased
1949
who were famous communist spies
Klaus Fuchs, Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs
soviet spies cause of red scare
scared soviets found out how to make atomic bomb
- the conviction of spies made people realize there was a threat
who did the red scare give publicity to
McCarthy
HUAC
House of Un-American Activities Comittee
who did the HUAC target
high profile figures like Hollywood Ten
how did Republicans gain votes
accusing Democrats of not standing up to USSR and communism
who was reluctant to oppose McCarthy
Eisenhower
who came into prominence in his role for convicting Alger Hiss
Richard Nixon
what was hysteria fuled by
HUAC and McCarthys accusations
what was hysteria increased by and one example
media
eg. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
what was developed to anyone who opposed McCarthy
A witch hunt- accused people of being communists
Federal Employee Loyalty programme date
1947
Federal Employee Loyalty programme details
3 million gov employees investigated
- led to 300 job losses
Hollywood ten date
1947
hollywood ten details
19 screenwriters and producers accused
- 10 refused to answer
- imprisoned for 11 months
what did Hollywood 10 imprisonment lead to
black list
conviction of alger hiss date
1950
conviction of alger hiss details
- convicted for pergury
- US delegate of Yalta
- accused by Whittaker Chambers
- Richard Nixon persued case
conviction of Klaus Fuch for espionage date
1950
conviction of Klaus Fuch detail
worked on US nuclear programme and gave detail to USSR
McCarran Act date
1950
what was the McCarren act
prevented communists from having a passport
– passed over Trumans veto
Conviction of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg for Espionage date
1951
Conviction of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg for Espionage details
- executed in 1953
- passing atomic secrets
- julius recruited as spy in 1942
what was McCarthyism based on
bullying, false accusation and intimidation of opposition
what were McCartys accusations based on
non-existent, old or exaggerated evidence
‘Wheeling’ Speech by Joseph McCarthy date
1950
‘Wheeling’ Speech by Joseph McCarthy details
- he was a republican senator of wisconsin
- he made a speech saying he had a list of 205 ppl of being communist
- speech casued media frenzy
Tydings committee date
1950
tydings committee details
committees report concluded accusations were fruad
- senate established an inquiry into McCarthy
Impact of McCarthism
1) Damage to lives and careers
2) fear of McCarthyism
3) Republican gains
who had their passports removed
Paul Robeson and Arthur Miller
how many people were blacklisted by Hollywood ten
100
eg. Dalton Trumbo
when was the Blacklist broken
1960
what did the Blacklist force people to do
name names
eg. Elia Kazan
what was politcs and public life dominated by
culture of fear, distrust, accusation
why were people afraid to speak out against McCarthy
anyone who opposed was accused of being communist
what coudlve cost Eisenhower the presidential elections in 1952
opposing mccarthy
who campagined against McCarthy
Tydings
who rose to power due to Red scare
Richard nixon
Ronald reagen
1st See It Now Programme on McCarthy- date
october 1953
McCarthy Attacks on Army
February 1954
2nd See It Now Programme on McCarthy
March 1954
Start of Army-McCarthy Hearings
April 1954
Censure of McCarthy by US Senate
December 1954
who was Ed Murrow
journalist who was McCarthys most prominent critics
what was a key turning point in McCarthyism
ed murrows programmes
what did the programmes include
publicised McCarthys intimidatory tacctics and lack of evidence
who sent evidence of McCarhys corruption to the media
army
how many people watched the hearings
20 million
what did Welch say
“Have you no sense of decency sir? At long last, have you no sense of Decency”
