red scare Flashcards
reasons for red scare (cold war)
Fear of communism - many Americans were afraid that Eastern European immigrants would try to take over and make the USA communist, much like the Russian Empire in 1917 Soviet expansion in Europe - by 1950, all the countries of Eastern Europe had communist governments
The Truman Doctrine and the Berlin Crisis - publicised demonstrations of the fight against communism and the effects of the war against the European communists increased fear for many American citizens
The Soviets developed their atomic bomb not long after the USA - many were afraid that their country’s biggest enemy now had a weapon capable of mass destruction
reasons for red scare (hiss and rosenberg)
The Hiss case - Hiss was a member of the State Department and worked in the highest level of the government, who was jailed for 5 years for lying to the court when he denied leaking information to the USSR, showing Americans that communist spies were apparently everywhere, even the most important offices in the country
during Hiss’ trial that news arrived of the Soviet Union’s successful
testing of an atomic bomb. This, combined with the Hiss case, meant that US
fears of communists had neyer been greater.
The Rosenberg case - the couple were sentenced to death for leaking information to the Soviets on how to develop an atomic bomb, leading many to fear the corruption they were being shown within their society
the weak evidence used to send the Rosenbergs to their deaths led to large protests against their sentence. However, these were unusual reactions as most Americans seemed to believe their country was in the grip of a communist conspiracy. International events seemed to support this.
reasons for red scare (fbi)
The role of the FBI - the Federal Loyalty Boards were established to investigate government employees, forcing up to 3,000 people to be fired or have to resign as they were considered a security risk and many states, cities and even private businesses began investigating their workforce, resulting in thousands of people losing their jobs if they were suspected of even being sympathetic towards communists
reasons for red scare (HUAC)
HUAC - public hearings on the threat presented by communists in America
The number of prosecutions due to the work of the FBI and HUAC, and the
public nature of HUAC’s hearings combined with international events, made
Americans worry that communists were everywhere. Many people believed
that they were surrounded by communist spies looking to bring down the
USA. People were suspicious of colleagues and neighbours and afraid of being accused themselves.
the trial of the Hollywood Ten, causing the ten (very famous) Hollywood workers to be jailed for one year
The impact of investigating Hollywood was that it gave huge publicity to HUAC’s work and increased anti-communist hysteria. It also had a big impact on Hollywood as film makers increased their production of anti-communist films.
methods used
McCarthy held hearings, firstly in private and then in public. He used bullying
and aggressive questioning of many suspected communists, especially
attacking high-profile figures to gain more publicity. He tried to get them to
confess. McCarthy gathered evidence, much of which was fed to him by the
FBI. He also fabricated more evidence against those he accused. There were
Democratic senators and journalists who spoke out against him, but he simply
attacked them for being communist themselves or being ‘soft on communism’.
Even though nobody accused by McCarthy was ever convicted of spying,
he continued to win popular appeal. Thousands attended McCarthy’s
speeches and millions watched his television appearances. Just being called
by McCarthy for questioning ended people’s careers as others assumed
they were guilty.
why did the red scare fade away (downfall)
Role of the Army McCarthy accused the Army of being infiltrated by communists The
army itself fought back, finding evidence of McCarthy abusing his privileges
as a member of Congress and sending this to reporters who were known to
be critical of McCarthy. More anti-McCarthy material then appeared in the
press. Televised investigation revealed McC. As a bully with no evidence to back claims Claims seen as unfounded
Role of the Media TV examination of the Army On 9 March, Ed Murrow broadcast an entire episode of his See It Now show on McCarthy, using video footage of McCarthy’s speeches and actions to criticise him. Ed Murrow’s expose led to other journalists attacking McC. 1954 Public reprimand by the Senate (he was a member) Lost chairmanship of the Committee on the Operations of the Senate. Died in 1957.
overall impact
The international reputation of the USA was damaged as they were seen as intolerant of people with different ideas so more people became anti-American
The State Department lost hundreds of intelligent and talented workers who could have steered US policies in a completely different direction
Trade unions were seen as communist organisations, which hugely reduced their influence - they rarely called for strikes and fewer workers joined unions for fear of being accused as communist
Held back Civil Rights reforms Any reformer considered a “pinko” Fuelled traditional dislike of “egg-heads”
The Red Scare had a huge impact on people’s careers and social lives, impacting their freedom of speech as the whole country grew fearful of a communist takeover just like they were seeing happen in Eastern Europe.
red scare background
Feb 1950: addresses Republican meeting in West Virginia. Claims to have a list of 205 communists working in State Dept. No list ever seen. Senate Committee set up to investigate. Decided McC was “fraud and hoax”. Committee chairman branded as communist. Defeated by pro-McC in Senate election. McCarran Internal Security Act passed. McC made chairman of Government Committee on Operations of the Senate. Now had the power to investigate state bodies. 100s of people interviewed. Being accused, even if found innocent would destroy lives and careers. Helped Republicans to an election victory. Nixon fuelled concerns to win votes. Congressional House un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) continued to investigate communist infiltration. Writers and actors blacklisted. 50 anti-communist films made by Hollywood.
