1. Chapter 21, Section 4

2.  What was the basis of the Red Scare?  The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.  Expansion of communism across the globe– threat to the U.S.  As Truman sought to ensure no disloyalty in the federal government, Congress attempted to broaden the search for Communists.  Truman created the Federal Employee Loyalty Program in 1947.  This allowed the FBI to screen gov. employees.  Many who were deemed ‘security risks’ were dismissed from their jobs.

3.  Truman followed this up with the passage of the Smith Act.  This act made it unlawful to teach or advocate violence to overthrow the U.S. government.  In 1938, fearing Nazis, the HOR started the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).  They especially targeted the movie industry.  When a group of writers, known as the Hollywood Ten, refused to answer questions, they were sent to prison.  Many of these targets were blacklisted by Hollywood.

4.  The paranoia brought on by the Red Scare threatened individuals from all social classes.  Alger Hiss was a prominent man accused of having contacts with known Communist, Whittaker Chambers. ▪ Hiss was convicted and sentenced. The fact that such an influential man could be linked to Communism shocked Americans. ▪ Who was the man who had tried the case against Hiss? Richard Nixon

5.  The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg generated national attention. The couple was accused of selling atomic secrets to the Soviets.  What happened to the Rosenbergs? Were they guilty? ▪ They were tried, and plead innocent. They claimed they were targeted because they were Jewish. They were both sent to the electric chair in 1953. ▪ It was later found that Julius was guilty of espionage, but Ethel knew very little, if anything.

6.  In 1950, a senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy announced in a speech that he had names of known Communists in the State Department.  He targeted the State Department because they dealt most closely with foreign countries.  When McCarthy accused members of the U.S. Army of being communist, the televised hearings led many Americans to be shocked at his bullying tactics and lack of evidence.  McCarthyism: the making of extreme and reckless allegations of communism.  His downfall signaled a decline in the Red Scare of the 1950s.