1. 1950s Part Deux (II): Cold War, Communism, and the Red Scare
Historical Context for “The Crucible”
Markle | Ann Sobrato HS
2011 Spring

2. “Cold” War? Aftermath of WWII: 2 super powers emerge
U.S. & U.S.S.R.
U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
“Iron Curtain”
“cold” = termed such because of the fact that there was never all-out war, no guns drawn, no war declared officially
Josef Stalin, Soviet Union's influential leader
Height of the Cold War:
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Vietnam War, 1965 (55) -1975
End of Cold War: the Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989

3. Communism Def. = Idea vs praxis vs SOCIALISM =
a form of government in which everything is shared by all and divided equally; no social strata (i.e. no upper/middle/lower classes)
Root: community
Idea vs praxis
U.S.S.R. was lead by Stalin, a totalitarian leader, like Hitler, who took it to an extreme (he ordered over 200,000 executions)
vs SOCIALISM =
belief in common social institutions for the good of all
EX: post-office, fire-, police-departments, social security, welfare, public education, public transport, universal healthcare

4. McCarthyism Senator Joseph McCarthy McCarthyism:
Republican Wisconsin Senator,
Influential U.S. political figure whose visibility soared as a result of his anti-communist speeches
Accused thousands of Americans of being Soviet spies, including high-level politicians and military leaders
Downfall: when he accused military leaders and the Army itself as being communist
His own party (Republicans) issued a “censure”
McCarthyism:
a term developed to describe “making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence”

5. HUAC trials & Blacklisting
Sen. McCarthy led the House Un-American Activities Committee, or HUAC
HUAC trials were conducted and people were subpoenaed to show up to court to prove that they weren't communist
Reputations were destroyed, livelihoods
Blacklisting:
Several prominent Hollywood artists were “blacklisted” or barred from producing any work
Rosenbergs were executed, 1953 (on espionage charges)
Arthur Miller
Langston Hughes
Dorothy Parker

6. The Arms & Space Races Arms race Space race Nuclear Power
MIRBs & IRBMs = Medium and Intermediate Ballistic Missiles (nuclear war heads with rockets attached)
Space race
Sputnik vs. NASA (formed in 1958)
Moon Walk
Cell phone
488 million dollars, Federal Budget; in 1966, 68 times that amount

7. The Red Scare The 1950s actually saw the 2nd Red Scare
Red refers to communism, and scare refers to fear
Together, “fear of communism”
The media (newspapers, press, t.v., magazines, etc.) perpetuated the Red Scare through propaganda
Many Americans became fearful of Soviet spies

8. Fear & Contemporary CXNs
U.S. Patriot Act 2001
Waterboarding, torture of Muslim Americans (Al Qaeda)
Secret prisons (Abu Ghraib)
9/11 aftermath
ICE (Immigrant & Customs Enforcement) Raids
Arizona Immigration law & Shootings
Live Oak High School