1. 26.4: The Cold War at Home

2. A. The National Security Act of 1947 1.A climate of fear developed after the war that the United States was the target of or had already fallen prey to subversive influences. 2.The cold war triggered a massive reordering of governmental power. 3.Established under the National Security Act of 1947, the Defense Department became a huge and powerful bureaucracy. 4.The Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation pursued scientific research, especially related to physics. 5.New agencies like the CIA fed off the fear of communism.

3. B. The Loyalty-Security Program 1.Allegedly to combat subversive influences, Truman promoted a loyalty program. 2.The attorney general published a list of potentially subversive organizations. 3.Many groups disbanded and previous membership in them destroyed individuals’ careers. A wide range of restrictions on alleged subversives passed Congress.

4. Published in 1947, this full-color comic book appeared as one of many sensationalistic illustrations of the threat of the “commie menace” to Americans at home. Approximately 4 million copies of Is This Tomorrow? were printed, the majority distributed to church groups or sold for ten cents a copy. SOURCE:Is this Tomorrow —America under Communism!Michael Barson (ID #002).

5. C. The Red Scare in Hollywood 1.The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) launched investigations into communist influence in Hollywood. 2.A parade of friendly witnesses denounced communists. 3.Many people gave names of suspect former friends so that they themselves would be cleared and able to work again. 4.A few witnesses (many blacklisted later) attacked HUAC and a handful went to prison for contempt of Congress.

6. D. Spy Cases 1.Public anxieties were heightened when former State Department advisor Alger Hiss was accused of being a communist spy. 2.Richard Nixon pursued the charges. 3.Hiss went to jail for perjury. 4.Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed despite worldwide protests.

7. E. McCarthyism 1.Sen. Joseph McCarthy caused a sensation when he charged that 200 communists worked for the State Department. 2.His lack of evidence did not stop him from striking a chord with many Americans. 3.He played into fears that communism was a demonic force and that eastern elites had successfully manipulated the public. 4.McCarthyism attacked Jews, blacks, women’s organizations, and homosexuals. Effective use of the media made McCarthyism seem credible. 5.McCarthy’s crusade was destroyed when he went on national TV and appeared deranged, making wild charges of communist infiltration of the Army.

8. The tables turned on Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908–57) after he instigated an investigation of the U.S. Army for harboring communists. A special congressional committee then investigated McCarthy for attempting to make the Army grant special privileges to his staff aide, Private David Schine. During the televised hearings, Senator McCarthy discredited himself. In December 1954, the Senate voted to censure him, thus robbing him of his power. He died three years later. SOURCE:Photo by Hank Walker/Time Life Pictures/Getty 50393166.