Unit 7 Lesson 4: The Cold War Intensifies Flashcards
When the Soviet Union successfully exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949, Americans were shaken. Shortly thereafter, the government of China became communist, and the United Statesâ hope of containing communism dimmed. What did this led to in America military wise
A growing fear of communism fueled the growth of the military-industrial complex, which is the network of relationships between the U.S. Department of Defense and the private contractors and firms in the defense industry that benefit from increased military spending.
What led to higher prices and higher paying jobs in the miltary
In addition, the government had to ensure that its military contractors would remain viable businesses, which led to less market competition, higher prices, and, in some cases, the movement of skilled workers from nonmilitary jobs to high-paying jobs with military firms.
The growing fear of communist infiltration also resulted in the
Second Red Scare
What was the Second Red Scare about?
The Second Red Scare began in 1939 and was fueled by the suspicion that spies had passed U.S. secrets to the Soviets.
The first Red Scare was in 1919
The first Red Scare was in 1919 during the Bolshevik Revolution, when Russia became the communist Soviet Union.
What happened as military spedning increased
As military spending increased, weapons production moved from publicly owned companies to private firms, typically based in the United States.
How were people feeling during the second red sccare
American citizens were concerned that there were communist sympathizers in the U.S. State Department. People wondered if those sympathizers had concealed information that might have enabled the United States to stop the communist victory in China.
What did the second red scare result in
This resulted in the investigation, arrest, and conviction of a number of Americans. They were accused of spying for and sympathizing with communists.
The Alger Hiss case is one example of the anti-communist investigations occurring during this time.
In 1948, Hiss, a State Department official, was accused of being part of a communist espionage ring. Though Hiss insisted on his innocence, he was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to five years in prison.
Margaret Chase Smith
Margaret Chase Smith was a Congresswoman who fought for government unity when the country was torn by suspicion of communist interference.
What does Margaret Chase Smith mean by âirresponsible sensationalismâ?
She thinks Senate members are behaving foolishly in their pursuit of communists. Republicans and Democrats easily throw accusations at each other, ruining reputations for personal gain.
Why does she believe that âRepublicans and Democrats alike are playing directly into the Communist design of âconfuse, divide, and conquerââ?
She believes that the smears, witch hunts, whitewashing, and cover-ups that senators are engaging in will only weaken the country, and communists will take advantage of the chaos.
During the Second Red Scare, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was given broad powers to investigate federal employees. How did FBII director J. Edgar Hoover take forceful advantage of these powers.
Under his direction, the FBI created new information-gathering tools and systems to surveil suspected traitors.
Under Hooverâs leadership, the list of suspected traitors was very expansive, why?
because he saw many types of activism as subversion. He threatened civil rights groups and leaders who had no relationships with the Soviet Union, such as Martin Luther King.
In 1947, President Truman formed the Federal Employees Loyalty Program. What did this do
. Government workers suspected of associating with groups deemed subversive were investigated. In many cases, they were forced to resign. City and state governments soon followed by enacting their own loyalty boards to find and dismiss workers they believed to be disloyal.
One infamous trial that resulted from an FBI investigation during the Second Red Scare was that of suspected American spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
They were convicted of passing military secrets to the Soviet Union, despite a lack of evidence against them, and were executed in June 1953. Several decades later, evidence was found proving that Julius, but not Ethel, had in fact given information to the Soviet Union.
Espionage was common during the Cold War.
While the United States and the Soviet Union were each vying for power, they relied almost exclusively on their intelligence communities to uncover what the enemy was up to.
During the Cold War, intelligence was one of the worldâs largest industries. . New intelligence bureaucracies
New intelligence bureaucracies were being created not only in the United States and the U.S.S.R. but around the world.
What was the name of USâs intellegence agengy and the Sovetiâs
Perhaps most notably, the United States created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Soviet Union established the Committee for State Security (KGB).
What did espionage consist of during the Cold War?
Espionage in the Cold War consisted of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R relying on their intelligence communities to gather information from the enemy.
Why was espionage common during the Cold War?
Espionage in the Cold War was very common because it was the only way for nations to learn about the enemyâs activities.
Why was the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) formed
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938 to investigate Nazi sympathizers.
After World War II, the committeeâs focus turned to suspected communists in business, academia, and the media. What did HUAC do about this?
a. The HUAC was particularly interested in Hollywood, fearing that motion pictures might begin promoting pro-Soviet propaganda to unsuspecting movie audiences.
What would happned if one redused to witness for the HUAC
Witnesses were subpoenaed, requiring them to appear before the committee. Refusal could result in imprisonment.
(HUAC) What happened to Actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters who used the Fifth Amendment to protect themselves
Actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters who used the Fifth Amendment to protect themselves often lost their jobs.
Why did the HUAC used blacklisting
The HUAC used blacklisting as a way of preventing those who would not comply with their questioning from getting employment. Many famous performers and writers were blacklisted in the 1940s and 1950s.
Why did many anti-communist investigators believe that gay men were likey to betray the country
Many anti-communist investigators believed that gay men were morally weak and thus were particularly likely to betray their country. Many also believed that lesbians and gay men were prone to being blackmailed by Soviet agents. At the time, psychiatrists regarded homosexuality as a form of mental illness.
The effort to expose these suspected radicals employed by the U.S. government and elsewhere became known as the
Lavender Scare
McCarthyism
This was the era of McCarthyism, named for Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, who claimed to have evidence that the State Department was filled with communists.
What led to the downfall of Joseph McCarthy
. In June 1954, he turned his attention to ferreting out communists in the U.S. Army. But accusing members of the military of communist leanings went a step too far. The hearings that resulted were instrumental in McCarthyâs political downfall.
Why was McCarthy able to act as âjudge, jury, prosecutor, castigator, and press agent, all in oneâ at his anti-communist hearings?
Many of the hearings were called on short notice or held out of town, so Republican senators stopped attending them.
What event during the Army-McCarthy hearings prompted attorney Joseph Welch to ask, âHave you no sense of decency?â
McCarthy charged one of Welchâs attorneys of having communist ties.
Once the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb, a deadly arms race ensued.
. Both the United States and the Soviet Union started building bigger and bigger bombs.
The United States tested its first hydrogen bomb in 1952. It was much more powerful and destructive than the bombs that had destroyed the large cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. What did this lead to
The Soviet Union responded by testing its own hydrogen bomb in 1953.
The Soviet Union responded by testing its own hydrogen bomb in 1953. How did US conuter
Americans countered by developing long-range missiles. Their Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) could carry nuclear weapons more than 3,000 miles.
Who held the lead in the arms race
The United States maintained a lead through most of the arms race. The Americans were fearful of the Sovietsâ aggressive attempts to outdo their own aggressive attempts to arm themselves. Once both countries possessed the hydrogen bomb, the possibility of an all-out war between the two seemed to threaten the end of human civilization.
In 1950, Congress enacted the Federal Civil Defense Act, what did that do?
In 1950, Congress enacted the Federal Civil Defense Act, which called for the creation of the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA).
what was the FCDA
The FCDA began a number of programs to help state and local governments, as well as families, prepare for a nuclear attack.
What impact did the FCDA have on evreyday life
Towns established community bomb shelters and stocked them with supplies. Some homeowners built and stocked their own personal shelters as well. Schoolchildren throughout the 1950s practiced the âduck and coverâ The FCDA also published materials to help people build their own bomb shelters.
In part what was the aim of the FCDA
. In part, the aim was to calm the publicâs fears about a nuclear attack.
By the late 1950s, the Soviet Union had enough nuclear weapons that the two countries entered a stalemate. If either of them were to start a nuclear war, both would be obliterated. What was mutually assured destruction
This idea that the best deterrent to nuclear war was the threat of complete annihilation became known as mutually assured destruction.
What was spuntink
The playing field changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the worldâs first artificial satellite.
How did Sputnik make Americans feel
The idea that the Soviets could send a vehicleâor a weaponâinto orbit around Earth alarmed Americans.
How did congress repsond to Spuntink
The United States already had a satellite project in development, but Sputnik was a wake-up call. Technological sophistication in weaponry was about to take place. As a result of the furor over Sputnik, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act in 1958. The âSpace Act,â
The âSpace Actâ called for the creation of
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The arms race between the two nations had just become a space race as well.
Why did the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union begin?
It began after the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. Neither nation wanted the other to get the upper hand in terms of military strength, so each country tried to build a bigger and better nuclear arsenal than the other. The stockpile of nuclear bombs kept increasing on both sides.
Identify and compare the tactics the U.S. government used to oppose communism. Which one do you believe was most effective, and why?
The U.S. government investigations concentrated primarily on government employees, academics, and people in the entertainment industry. Many people were blacklisted, but few of them seemed to be a true threat. More effective was the pursuit of actual spies who had stolen American military secrets. Julius Rosenberg really was a spy who stole military secrets for the Soviet Union. However, more thorough detective work would have shown that his wife, Ethel, who was also convicted, was not a spy, so even here, U.S. government tactics were not wholly effective.
How do the account of the Army-McCarthy hearings and the pamphlet âFacts About Falloutâ help you identify the fear of communism and nuclear war during the 1950s?
They both show that Americans were concerned about the possibility that they were surrounded by communist spies. As brutal and unfair as McCarthyâs tactics were, the public supported him until the Army-McCarthy hearings. The pamphlet reflects how terrified people were of nuclear war and how concerned they were that theyâd be able to survive one.
What was Margaret Chase Smithâs purpose for delivering her Declaration of Conscience to the U.S. Senate?
As early as 1950 she could see the bad effect the Second Red Scare would have on the government and American citizens. She was trying to show both sides the rash, irresponsible statements and actions they were taking against each other. She wanted them to see how their internal attacks distracted them from fighting the real enemy.
