THE COLD WAR AND AMERICAN SOCIETY – Ch. 21, Section 3 By: Thomas Parsons

I. A New Red Scare A. During the 1950s, rumors and accusations of Communists in the US 1. Led to fears that Communists were attempting to take over the world. 2. The Red Scare began in September 1945 a. Clerk Igor Gouzenko defected in Canada Igor Gouzenko Igor Gouzenko b. Revealed documents pointing to a massive effort by soviets to infiltrate organizations in the US government. 3. Fear spread of Communist Subversion – an effort to secretly weaken a society and overthrow its government.

B. Truman Established the Loyalty Review Program Early in Screened all federal employees for their loyalty 2.The program’s aim was to calm Americans. 3.Instead it led to the fear that communists were infiltrating the government.

C. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover 1. Urged HUAC (The House Un-American Activities Committee) to them to hold public hearings on communist subversion. 2. The FBI sent agents to investigate suspected groups and to wiretap thousands of telephones.

D. Whittaker Chambers Testifies before HUAC 1. In 1948 HUAC heard testimony from Time magazine editor, Whittaker Chambers 2. Chambers admitted to being a communist courier between 1934 and Chambers claims that several government officials had also been communists or spies at the time.

D. Whittaker Chambers Testifies before HUAC (cont.) 4. Chambers Implicated Alger Hiss. a. Hiss had served in Roosevelt’s administration, attended the Yalta conference, and helped with the organization of the UN. b. Hiss denied the charges, but he was convicted of committing perjury, or lying under oath.

E. The search for spies intensified when the Soviet Union produced an atomic bomb. 1. A British scientist, Klaus Fuchs, admitted giving information to the Soviet Union. 2. This led to the arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s, a New York couple who were members of the communist party and were charged with heading a Soviet spy ring. 3. Although many believed the Rosenberg’s were not guilty, the couple was executed in June 1953.

F. Project Verona’s 1. In 1946 American cryptographers cracked the Soviet spy code 2. Allowing them to read messages between Moscow and United States. 3. Verona didn’t become public knowledge until It provided strong evidence against the Rosenbergs.

G. HUAC and Hollywood 1. One of HUAC’s first hearings focused on the film industry. 2. “The Hollywood Ten” ten screenwriters who claimed their 5th amendment rights rather than testifying. 3. Producers blacklisted suspected communists in order to satisfy HUAC Hollywood Ten

H. The Red Hunt Spread 1. The federal government set the example 2. Many state and local governments, universities, business, unions, and churches to start finding Communists. 3. The Taft –Harley Act required union leaders to take oaths that they weren’t communists

II. “A Conspiracy So Immense” A. In 1949, Americans felt they were loosing the cold war. 1. That year Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb 2. China fell to Communism. 3. Americans continued to believe that communists were inside the government.

B. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, 1. In 1946 McCarthy won the senate race after accusing his opponent of being a Communist. 2. In February, 1950, in a speech, stated that he has a list of 205 Communists in the state department 3. He accused Democratic Party leaders of corruption and of protecting Communists. 4. Others made similar charges, causing Americans to begin to believe them.

C. Congress passed the Internal Security Act or McCarren Act in o The act made it illegal to “combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to the establishment of a totalitarian government.” 9,500 civil servants were dismissed and 15,000 resigned; 600 teachers lost their jobs and many fine actors and scriptwriters were unable to work again. Charlie Chaplin, the biggest Hollywood movie star of the pre-war years (and also a Communist) left America in disgust.

D. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations. 1. His investigation turned into a witch hunt as he searched for disloyalty based on poor evidence and fear. 2. He ruined reputations without proper evidence. 3. This tactic became known as McCarthyism.

E. In 1954 Americans watched televised Army- McCarthy hearings 1. Once Americans saw how McCarthy attacked witnesses and his popularity faded. 2. Finally an army lawyer named Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy. 3. Later that year the Senate passed a vote of censure, or formal disapproval, against McCarthy.

III. “Life During the Early Cold War” A. Communism And The Threat Of The Atomic Bomb Dominated Life For The Americans And Their Leaders In The 1950s.

B. The Threat Of An Atomic Attack Against The United States Forced Americans To prepare for a surprise attack. 1. Although Americans tried to protect themselves, 2. Experts realized that for every person killed instantly by a nuclear blast, four more would later die from fallout, the radiation left over after the blast. 3. Some families built fallout shelters in their backyards and stocked them with canned food.

C. The 1950s Was A Time Of Great Contrasts. 1. Images of the Cold War appeared in films and popular fiction. 2. The country enjoyed postwar prosperity and optimism. 1950s Sci fi Movies