McCarthyism and the Cold War at Home

Bomb Shelters

Duck and Cover

The Red Scare Hysteria caused by fear and anxiety about the Soviet threat. Many Americans came to believe that there were communists working within their society to undermine the United States.

The Red Scare

McCarthyism The use of the charge of communism to discredit political ideas, cultural values, and individual’s lives and reputations. At the height of McCarthyism in the 1950s, Americans from all walks of life were accused of being communist.

Joe McCarthy Senator who charged that there were 205 communist spies in the state department who were selling out the United States. “When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of the enemies from without, but rather because of the enemies from within.”

McCarthy investigated prominent American writers, actors, directors, government officials, and influential American cultural and social leaders. He even charged President Truman with being a communist agent. If the President and other prominent and influential Americans were under suspicion of being communists, any and every American could be a communist!

Federal, state, and local governments and private organization created blacklists of people and organizations suspected of being communists. You could lose your job, your life and your reputation could be ruined. In fact, only 10% of the actors, writers, directors and producers on the Hollywood blacklist ever worked in Hollywood again.

Who was accused? If you could prove that someone else was a communist, no one would point the accusing finger at you. Some of the accused were: –Rock and Roll musicians –Teachers –University Professors –Librarians –Girl Scouts

How were rights violated? American were afraid to speak their mind or talk about their opinions United States did not have free and open debate about America’s role in the world and our aggressive policies of the time.

Effect Revelations about government violations of the laws and of American’s basic rights caused many Americans to question their government and its commitment to democracy.

Alger Hiss Hiss was a U.S. State Department official who was accused of being a Soviet spy in His guilt or innocence remains controversial. The case heightened public concern about Soviet espionage penetration of the U.S. Government in the 1930s and 1940s. As a well-educated, and highly connected government official, Alger Hiss did not have the profile of a typical spy.

The Rosenbergs Preponderance of the evidence indicates that Julius was involved in espionage, but the record is unclear about Ethel. The political air of the trial, along with the pre-trial beliefs of the judge made it almost impossible for the Rosenbergs to get a fair trial by jury. This was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history. The New York TimesThe New York Times, in an editorial on the 50th anniversary of the execution wrote, "The Rosenbergs case still haunts American history, reminding us of the injustice that can be done when a nation gets caught up in hysteria."

The Rosenbergs were punished far more harshly than other atomic spies.