Activity You will receive a piece of paper. It is either blank or has a dot on it. There are fewer dots than blank papers. Secretly look at your paper. If you have a dot, do not reveal it to anyone. Put the paper in your pocket.

Activity The goal of this activity is to form as large a group of “nondot” students as possible – the largest group without a “dot” member wins. The whole group will lose if there is a “dot” member in your group. If you suspect a classmate has a dot you should say “so-and-so is a dot!” “Dot” students can win points individually by being the only “dot” member in a group

Activity You will have 10 minutes to form your groups that exclude “dot” members. Move around the room to question each other. Those with dots should bluff to convince others they don’t have a dot. Do not show your paper to anyone until I tell you to.

Debriefing How did you feel when you discovered you had a blank piece of paper or a dot? What methods did you use to determine who had a dot? For those that had dots, how did you convince others you were not a “dot?” For those who were accused of having a “dot,” how did you feel? Given that there was no way to know for sure who was or was not a “dot,” why did you try so hard to convince others that certain class members were “dots?” What emotions fueled this activity?

The Red Scare Returns! “Communists are everywhere—in factories, offices, butcher stores, on street corners, and private businesses. And each carries in himself the death of our society.” - Attorney General J. Howard McGrath (under Truman) Fear that American communists are Soviet agents and that many are in high ranking government positions and all levels of society

HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee Find and prosecute those participating in “Subversive” activities Government, armed forces, unions, education, science, newspapers, movies, etc.

Hollywood Ten Most famous HUAC case Ten film industry directors/producers/ were sent to prison after the hearings for contempt of Congress b/c they refused to testify Blacklists: lists of movie stars who could not be hired because of their suspected ties to communism. Why do you think the Movie Business was targeted?

McCarran Internal Security Act 1950 A.k.a. Subversive Activities Control Act All communist organization must register with the government and release all records of activity Truman’s veto overruled by congress

McCarran Internal Security Act Gave the President the authority to apprehend and detain… "each person as to whom there is a reasonable ground to believe that such person probably will engage in, or probably will conspire with others to engage in, acts of espionage or sabotage.”

Alger Hiss Liberal Democrat Active member of FDR’s administration Accused of stealing government documents for Soviets Sentenced to prison for perjury –Only served 3.5 years Shows growing distrust of Liberal Democrats

“Pumpkin Papers” **Puts Richard Nixon on the map – he convinced HUAC to press the case and in 1952 he is Eisenhower’s running mate

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg Charged with passing secret information nuclear weapons to the Soviets Pleading innocent, the Rosenberg’s said they were being targeted because they were Jewish and had unpopular political beliefs They were executed in 1953.

Joseph McCarthy Known for his Communist “witch- hunts” Republican senator who faced almost certain defeat in 1950 re- election Used fear of communism as a way to promote his career Claimed to have a list of 205 names that were Communist and still working for the government Lost support when he accused the U.S. Army of being Commies “There is a conspiracy on a scale so immense as to dwarf any previous such venture in the history of man”

Life for the “Duck and Cover” Generation

Meet Bert the Turtle