Red scare revision Flashcards
The US government takes action, 1947-49
Truman doctrine, the marshall plan, NATO
What is the Truman doctrine?
The US promised to help any country trying to fight communism. The USA would support any country threatened by communist takeover.
- E.g. The USA gave 400 million dollars of aid to turkey to stop communism from spreading.
What was the marshall plan?
The US gave billions of dollars to countries to bribe them into being capitalist. This promised aid to European countries to help rebuild their economies.
What was the NATO?
The US created a military alliance with other countries like Britain to intimidate the USSR.
When was the truman doctrine?
1947
When was the marshall plan?
1948
When was the NATO made?
1949
Reasons for red scare
Many people in America were against communism because they felt it went against the ideas of the American Dream. If it spread to the USA people felt it would threaten their way of life
Between 1945 and 1955 events outside of the USA led people to think that communism was spreading very quickly
Russia developed their first atom bomb in 1949, putting them on a more level footing with the USA
China became communist in 1949.
What did Truman do to stop communisim?
The marshall plan
Berlin blockade
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of the United States, Great Britain, and France to travel to their sectors
Stalin
Dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953
President Truman
Truman is the American president that ended WW2 by dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. He is also known for the Marshall plan
Capitalism
An economic and political system in which businesses belong mostly to private owners, not to the government
Communism
Someone who supports communism, a political system in which the government controls the production of food and goods and there is no privately owned property
HUAC
HUAC was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities on the part of private citizens, public employees and organizations suspected of having Communist ties. Citizens suspected of having ties to the communist party would be tried in a court of law.
Federal Loyalty Boards
Allowed the FBI to research whether the name of any of 2 million federal employees raised questions about their associations and beliefs
3,000,000 = 3,000
Investigated 3,000,000 fired or forced to resign because they were suspected to be communist with no proof 3,000
Blacklisted
A list of banned or excluded things
Who was McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy was the senator of Wisconsin.
What is McCarthyism?
McCarthyism is the name given to the practice of making accusations of political disloyalty without evidence (witch hunts).
What did Mcarthy do
He accused people of being a comminist. His accusations continued for 4 years causing fear and panic amongst the American public before he was discredited as a liar and bully.
Why did Mcarthy have so much support?
The media, the work of HUAC, fear of being labaled as a coumminist, his position, other republicans (like Nixon)
Why did people support McCarthyism
Anti communist beliefs, media intrests, McCarthys reputation, fear
