Agenda – 4/9 Today: the Red Scare, HUAC, and deaths Tomorrow: PSAT stuff! No school! Wednesday: space race and arms race Thursday: America in the 1950s – the good things Friday: America in the 1950s – the good things Homework: BY THURSDAY read through Ch 27 Sec 1- 3

The Cold War At Home In the 1950s!

A New Fear Attorney General J. Howard McGrath announces that communists “are everywhere-in factories, offices, butcher stores, on street corners and private businesses. And each carries in himself the death of our society.”

GAME TIME! I will divide you up into groups. The goal of the group is to get the most points and WIN! I will pass out cards telling which group you are in. You may NOT show your card to anyone. If you get a red star on your card, you are the communist in the group. Each group will have at least one communist. The goal of the communist is to sabotage your group so they don’t win. But be careful! You don’t want to them to know what you are up to. You will need to be subtle. If you think you know who the commie is, come whisper in my ear. Makes you see things that aren’t there. There were communist spies, but not nearly to what this culture developed!

GAME TIME! Try to determine: Who is the communist in your group??? I will award five extra credit points on the previous test if you properly identify the communist. Come up to me and whisper it in my ear – I’ll let you know who the real communists were at the end of the game If you think you know who the commie is, come whisper in my ear. Makes you see things that aren’t there. There were communist spies, but not nearly to what this culture developed!

Group Activities As a group develop a group cheer and group slogan. Even if you are not directly playing in the activity, you need to support your teammates! Groups will rotate between stations: Build a house of card as high as you can Make baskets using the trash can Play dough – construct something patriotic! You will compete head to head against another team. Whoever wins gets a point! The winning team, of course, gets candy.

So, who were the communists? The list you all told me: Communists – please stand up! In reality – there were no communists. Why did you think that there were?

Debrief How did you convince people you were not a communist? Were you successful? Did you accuse anyone else of being a communist? Why did you think they were a communist?  How did the behavior of people in our class change? The hysteria that surrounded the red scare – our suspicions ran amok and caused chaos. Only because I told you there was one – then you were looking for it! This caused students to interpret others’ actions wrongly – as subversive or threatening

Debrief So, what was the Red Scare really like in the 1950s in the USA? The hysteria that surrounded the red scare – our suspicions ran amok and caused chaos. Only because I told you there was one – then you were looking for it! This caused students to interpret others’ actions wrongly – as subversive or threatening

Wait, but it wasn’t all fake… There were spies! Turns out that there were more FBI infiltrators in the communist party than actual communist members! The Soviet Union set up a “US training camp” where communist infiltrators were taught basic American things Like how to order a hotdog…!

Fears of a nuclear attack and spread of communism led to a Red Scare in the late 1940s & 1950s Americans grew worried about Communists & Soviet spies living in America The Loyalty Review Board was created to investigate & dismiss “disloyal” government employees The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated suspected communists in the entertainment & other industries Appearing before HUAC committee: from left to right: Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Walt Disney, Ayn Rand From 1947-1951, 3.2 million gov’t employees were investigated & 212 were dismissed as security risks (2,900 resigned rather than face investigation)

The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Went after the movie industry saying they sneaking communist propaganda into films. The Hollywood Ten refused to cooperate and were sent to prison. Hollywood executives began blacklisting people. (over 500 had careers ruined)

Analyze it! What was the artist trying to communicate about HUAC in this cartoon? What does the car represent? What is happening to the people who are in the way of the car?

Red Scare fears in America were heightened by the discovery of spies working for the USSR: State Department employee Alger Hiss was convicted of spying for the USSR Julius & Ethel Rosenberg were executed for passing atomic bomb secrets to the USSR

The Rosenbergs Accused of giving atomic secrets to USSR First U.S. civilians executed for espionage Died in the electric chair in 1953

In 1950, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy emerged as the leader of the anti-communist Red Scare He attacked Truman for allowing communists to infiltrate the government He used public trials to make unsupported accusations against suspected communists in the State Department & the U.S. military “McCarthyism” did not result in a single confirmed communist or spy in the U.S. gov’t

QUICK DISCUSSION “I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department. . . .” – McCarthy What is the impact of McCarthyism during the Red Scare?

Mccarthy’s downfall 1954, McCarthy made accusations against the Army Senate Hearings were televised and his bullying of witnesses cost him public support 3 years later he dies of alcoholism

Other Anti-Communist Measures 39 states passed laws making it illegal to advocate the violent overthrow of the government. What constitutional right do these laws violate? Gov. investigated union leaders, librarians, reporters and scientists. The fear of Communism gripped the nation.