Postwar America (1945-1960) Lesson 4 Cold War Fears at Home

Lesson 4 Cold War Fears at Home Postwar America (1945-1960) Lesson 4 Cold War Fears at Home Learning Objectives Describe the efforts of President Truman and the House Un-American Activities Committee to fight communism at home. Explain how domestic spy cases intensified fears of communist influence in the U.S. government. Analyze the rise and fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the methods of McCarthyism.

Lesson 4 Cold War Fears at Home Postwar America (1945-1960) Lesson 4 Cold War Fears at Home Key Terms Red Scare Smith Act House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Hollywood Ten blacklist Alger Hiss Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Venona Papers Joseph R. McCarthy McCarthyism

Cold War Tensions Rise at Home Americans have often faced the difficult task of balancing the need to provide national security with the need to protect people’s rights and freedoms. In times of crisis, rights have sometimes been limited. Beginning in the late 1940s, the Cold War dominated American life. For some of those years, the nation was in the grip of a new Red Scare. The hunt for communists netted some spies, but it also disrupted the lives of thousands of innocent Americans.

Cold War Tensions Rise at Home The Second Red Scare The House Un-American Activities Committee Red Scare Intensifies Cold War Fears

Cold War Tensions Rise at Home Prefabricated underground bomb shelters like the one shown here grew in popularity as Americans became increasingly fearful of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.

Domestic Spy Cases Increase Fears Two sensational spy trials drew the nation’s attention to the threat posed by communist agents working to subvert the United States. The accused in the two cases could not have been more different. Alger Hiss had been educated at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were from the poor, lower east side of Manhattan. Although Hiss and the Rosenbergs never met, their crimes and their trials have linked them in the public’s imagination.

Domestic Spy Cases Increase Fears HUAC Investigates Alger Hiss The Rosenbergs and the Venona Papers

Domestic Spy Cases Increase Fears Analyze Charts The major events of both Alger Hiss’s case and the Rosenberg case are listed in this chart. Why do you think the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death after their trial?

Domestic Spy Cases Increase Fears Alger Hiss strenuously denied that he passed on U.S. government information to Whittaker Chambers, but a jury found him guilty of perjury during his second trial.

McCarthyism The early Cold War years saw one ominous event after another. The fall of China, Soviet nuclear bombs, and the exposure of Soviet agents in the United States all undermined American confidence. At that time, as Americans worried about the nation’s security, a clever and unscrupulous man began to take advantage of this sense of fear and helplessness. He suggested that these setbacks were really caused by the work of traitors inside the United States.

McCarthyism The Rise of Senator Joe McCarthy Junior senator Accused 205 individuals – members of the Communist Party Linked to Secretary of State Grabbed attention of American public The Methods of McCarthyism ‘50-’54 Made accusations Destroyed careers Told lie upon lie McCarthy Loses Support Accused army Televised hearings - bullying

McCarthyism Senator Joseph McCarthy’s accusations that communist sympathizers worked in the U.S. government led to controversial televised Senate hearings.

Quiz: Cold War Tensions Rise at Home What encouraged the suspicion that American communists were working for the enemy? A. the AEC questioning of J. Robert Oppenheimer B. the testimony in the trial of the Hollywood Ten C. the HUAC investigations of American communists D. the spread of communism into Eastern Europe and Asia

Quiz: Domestic Spy Cases Increase Fears Why did Whittaker Chambers abandon his communist beliefs? A. the brutality of Stalin’s rule on Soviet citizens B. the anti-Semitic sentiment of the Soviet government C. the transmission of U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union D. the communist agents spying on the U.S. government

Quiz: McCarthyism What event brought an end to McCarthyism? A. McCarthy’s tactics for getting reelection to the U.S. Senate B. McCarthy’s accusations against a former Secretary of State C. McCarthy’s bullying tactics during the televised Senate hearings D. McCarthy accusing 205 government officials of being communist