Reasons for the Red Scare Flashcards
How was the Cold War developed?
- After WW2 became the two most powerful nations
- Too much distrust
- Developed into Cold War (involved no physical fighting but tension)
- High tensions over Poland
What was happening abroad that contributed to the Red Scare in the period of 1945-1950?
- Civil War in Greece, Britain not strong enough to protect, feared would affect neighbouring countries
- ‘Iron Curtain’ speech (Churchill), necessity for USA + Britain to protect peace (1946)
- Stalin cut road and rail links between West and West Berlin, where British, French, Americans had zones of occupation
- China became communist after nationalist troops were defeated by the Red Army
- Successfully tested an atomic bomb
- Communist leader invaded southern part of Korean peninsula, an attempt to unite the country under communist rule
What did the Americans think Stalin was aiming for?
World domination
What is a capitalist democracy?
- Government voted by people during regular elections
- Businesses are owned privately by individuals
What is a communist state?
- Candidates in elections are communist
- No privately own property
What was the ‘Truman Doctrine’?
- Policy made by president
- Ask congress for millions of dollars
- Combat communist attempts to seize power in democratic countries
When was the Truman Doctrine made?
1947
When was WW2?
1939 - 1945
What was the ‘Marshall Plan’?
- Policy created by Truman (again)
- Lending money and credits to Western European countries
- Ensured they recovered after WW2 and did not become communist
Two effects of Cold War on the USA?
Military + Defence Spending
- Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan
- Arms race
- Allocate money for nuclear weapon development
Social + Cultural Change
- Context: US + abroad
- Climate of fear and suspicion
- Led to Red Scare, McCarthyism, Paranoia
Who was J.Edgar Hoover?
- Director of the FBI
- Strong anti-communist views
- Arrested suspected communists
What did the FBI do during the Cold War?
Created files of evidence on those suspected of spying for Russia
What was Hoover’s first impactful post war act?
- Warned Truman about communist spies working within the Federal government
- Truman took Hoover very seriously
- From 1947, government workers could be sacked on ‘reasonable grounds’ if they were believed to be disloyal
What were the Federal Loyalty Boards set up for?
- Investigating government workers suspected of having links to communism
- 1947-1951, 3 million government workers were investigated, roughly 3000 fired or forced to resign
- No actual evidence of spying was found
How were the FBI’s actions impacting US society?
- Hoover’s investigations were copied by other institutions and businesses nationwide
- Many workers lost their jobs as a result
- Ruined families through shame and economic ruin
What was the HUAC originally set up for?
- Set up before the cold war
- To prevent Nazi infiltration
- Monitor extremist groups suspected of ‘Un-american’ activities
What was the HUAC’s purpose in the development of cold war and who did they work with?
- Hunting communists
- Worked closely with the FBI
- FBI passed ‘intelligence’ (suspicion rather than hard facts) when public hearings began
What happened in HUAC hearings?
- Asked if they had been a member of the Communist party
- If pleaded 1st or 5th ammendment, interpreted as evasive or guilt
- Jailed for contempt of Congress
What was the impact of HUAC on American society?
- Creating and sustained wave of anti-communist hysteria
- Destroyed reputations and lives
- Blacklisted, forced into exile, committed suicide in despair
Who were the ‘Hollywood Ten’?
- Millions of people went to cinema, fear communists would use film industry to spread propaganda
- Ten artists summoned for interrogation by HUAC
- Refused to answer questions, pleaded first ammendment
- Jailed for contempt, $1000 fine
- Blacklisted, could not work for Hollywood
When was the ‘Hollywood Ten’ summoned?
October 1947
Who was Dalton Trumbo?
- Part of Hollywood Ten
- Worked abroad, wrote for Hollywood under assumed names
- Won Oscars he could not accept in person
Who was Alger Hiss?
- Member of the State Deparment
- Important adviser to Roosevelt at wartime conference at Yalta
- Named by ‘reformed’ ex-communist as being a communist and highly placed in Soviet spy ring
- Nixon worked hard to expose Hiss, hoping for political reward
- HUAC called him for questioning, but he denied
- Trialed and convicted for lying to HUAC and not spying
- Served 3 years of 5 year sentence
When was Hiss convicted?
1950
How did the Hiss case impact American society?
- Context: outbreak of Korean war, atomic bomb testing
- Intensified nationwide communist conspiracy,
- Hiss always regarded as traditional member of East Coast Establishment, even he was communist
- All his career highlights seen as fictitious communist plot for world domination
How did the Americans link things happening in America and abroad?
- ‘Pro hoc propter hoc’ (Rosenbergs were blamed for helping Soviets to make atomic bomb and it led to Korean war)
- Reds lurking everywhere (all levels of society - shown by cases)
- Viewed cases as a collective
- What happened in the US in conjunction with things abroad
- Created context which made McCarthyism possible
What happened in Britain that led to the Rosenberg case?
- February 1950
- Fuchs arrested in Britain for giving information to the Soviet on how to development atomic bombs
- Confessed
- Named other spies involved
What happened to the Rosenbergs?
- Denied all charges of spying 1951
- Weak evidence
- Found guilty and sentenced to death
- Executed by electric chair in 1953
How did Americans view the Rosenberg Case?
- Viewed in context of Hiss case, atomic bomb, Korean war
- Further reiterated that no one should be trusted, not even next door neighbour
- Many people saw direct link between leaking of atomic secrets with what happened abroad
What was the McCarran Internal Security Act?
- 1950
- Forced all communist legislations to register with the government
- Denied passports
- Limited to certain jobs
- ‘Emergency declared by government meant placed in detention camp without trial
