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Causes Of The Red Scare

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Owen Lattimore was fired from his job at John Hopkins University and shunned from his friends, all from being falsely accused as a Soviet Union spy. Owen was one of thousands of innocent victims as a result of The Red Scare. As the Cold War intensified so did americans threats of communists infiltrating the U.S. This led to a massive witch hunt for communists in America also known as The Red Scare. There were many factors that led to the Red scare due to America’s government and society. Fear was a large factor that led to the making of The Red Scare. To begin with, The U.S. government raised fear of communists. The president at the time of the cold war, Harry S. Truman signed executive act 9835 or better known as the loyalty order. This order mandated all federal employees be analyzed whether they were loyal to the U.S. or not. This allowed loyalty programs throughout the administration to compile lists of people and programs that were thought to be “dangerous”. At the height of the loyalty orders investigations, there was about 2,700 dismissals and 12,000 resignations (Truman’s). The act raised fear throughout America that the country would be overthrown by communism. The government also made The House of Un-American Activities Committee. In 1938, the U.S. House of Representatives formed this committee to expose communists working inside the country (Red Scare). The HUAC gained more publicity after World War 2 with their investigations. The Committee was able to

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