McCarthyism and the Red Scare Flashcards
What was the Red Scare?
Form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise, supposed or real, of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism.
What was the Loyalty Program?
(1947): Federal employees were investigated for communist ties.
What was HUAC?
(House Un-American Activities Committee): Investigated alleged communists, leading to Hollywood blacklists (the Hollywood 10).
What was the Alger Hiss Case?
(1948): A former government official accused of spying; increased fears of communist infiltration.
What was Truman’s response to the Red Scare?
He condemned McCarthy’s tactics but struggled to contain the hysteria.
Who was Joseph McCarthy?
Senator from Wisconsin, claimed 205 communist party members were working in the US state department in 1950.
He continued to make claims of communist conspiracies but never proved any, censured by congress in 1954 and died of alchoholism in 1957
How many people were fired for being ‘communist’?
500 state government employees, 600 schoolteachers and 150 college professors lost their jobs.
Called democrats ‘commiecrats’
Who were the Rosenbergs?
- Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were arrested for betraying secrets including some relating to nuclear weapons to the USSR
- They were executed
What was the impact of McCarthyism?
- Mass hysteria
- 1952 Internal Security Act- communists could be denied passports- Truman vetoed but on 58 members of Congress supported him
- Executive Order 9835- federal loyalty boards- rooting out Communists from federal government
- Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan cast USSR as the enemy
- Republicans used his lies to attack and weaken the Democrats and managed to win the precidenct fro the first time in over 20 years
- Restrictions on freedom of speech and even attacks on the writings of icons such as Mark Twain
