Dbq Red Scare

The list accused 151 writers, directors and performers and claimed they were member of the Communist organization during World War II. The blacklist against Communists would make it significantly more difficult for a person to find employment in most industries and most likely would get a person fired just for even being interrogated or being any form of a suspect of Communism. Even a person who worked with a person accused of Communism had significantly less chance to be able to find a job. Ten stars that were most famous for standing up for themselves and pleaded the 5th amendment when asked to name Communists were known as the Hollywood ten. Their names were Herbert Biberman, Albert Maltz, Lester Cole, Adrian Scott, Samuel Ornitz, Dalton Trumbo, Edward Dmytryit, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson and Alvah Bessie. The ten did not defend themselves because they were prideful Americans who saw their rights and the rights of others being harmed and decided to do something about, no. They were already asked if they were Communists when they went on a trip to California and they did not want to get charged with perjury. Some Americans did take action and saw that their rights were being put into question and decided to protect themselves, for example Alger Hiss who was accused and in order to solidify the fact that he was a Communist lawyers used his day to day schedule in full detail to solidify that his behaviors were that

The first major cause of the Red Scare and the fear of communism was WWII. Communism was not a big problem during the war considering that “During the war the United States sent more than $11 billion in aid to the soviet.”(Fitzgerald 27). After the war Russia wanted to punish the germans for attacking their capital, but the U.S along with all the other allied nations did not agree with the Soviet and tension between the two started. Although “The anti communist hysteria of the early 1950s was actually the second Red Scare of the United States.”(Fitzgerald 16), “the first occurred after a revolution in Russia in October of 1917”(Fitzgerald 16), the country reacted in greater fear than the the first time as proved “In New York City, 11,000 police and detectives were kept on twenty-four-hour duty, guarding all federal, state, city, and county buildings, as well as the Stock Exchange and the homes of prominent men.” (Murray 116) showing how much hysteria had invaded the government and the people. All of these events pushed

The HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) started small in the 30’s and became a much more permanent as well as prominent after the war. Thanks to McCarthy again they gained reason to investigate many, as the name suggests, un-American activities in order to root out the Soviet collaborators. They also

People lost their jobs and careers went bad and even imprisonment occurred. McCarthy held hearings called the Hollywood Blacklist, which had to do with The House Committee on Un-American Activities and anti- communist activities with the FBI.

At this time both the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union believed that successful advancements in technology would enable them to assert strength and superiority. According to Achieve 3000, “Case Against Rosenberg Falls Apart,” “In 1949, The Soviet Union test-launched an atomic bomb, an act that raised suspicions within the U.S. government” (1). Also, the thought of the Soviet Union having the ability to relinquish such a devastating weapon on the United States frightened the people of America as well. When the Cold War developed in the late 1040s the U.S. government again feared that the communist revolution in the Soviet Union would influence many people in the U.S. to do the same. According to the text,”The fear of communism even spread towards Hollywood when a congressional group called the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated communist influence in the entertainment industry, issuing subpoenas to writers, actors, directors, and studio executives and asking them, ‘Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist party’”(1).

This act very blatantly restricted freedom of expression but was passed anyways. This is because judicial review was still very new and the Congress that passed it was mostly federalist and John Adam the president at the time was also a federalist. These laws were meant to suppress Republican opposition of the laws passed by the congress regarding immigrants. When Thomas Jefferson became president the laws were no longer used And remained that way until later wars. In 1917 during WWI this law was brought back in the form of the Espionage Act which was also referred to as the Sedition Act. The main purpose of this law was to supersede existing espionage laws and weren't much different from them but it went a step further it deemed a criminal anyone who, "when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or

In the middle of the 20th Century, the threat of Soviet Union attacks left the United States in constant fear. The American people were anxious at the thought of another war, seeing as though the second world war had ended only a little over a decade earlier. The government leaders were determined to eliminate the spread of communism in the United States. By attempting to do so, the government undermined the the American people’s trust by creating unnecessary terror and mild disruption of the economy. NewsELA says, “The Red Scares were fears when government officials and other groups promoted a fear of communism in the United States, which would overthrow capitalism and democracy” (NewsELA). The Red Scares spread fear throughout the United States which led to the prosecution of prominent members of society based on unproven rumors and caused many honest politicians and members of middle-class society to lose their positions at their places of business and in their

The fear of communism in America held a significant presence during and after World War II. The establishment of The House of Un-American Activities Committees in the late 1940’s was a result of this fear. The committee investigated communist influence in Hollywood and accused ten writers and directors of communism and were then subjected to a year in jail and were blacklisted. Then in the early 1950’s, Senator of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy established a public view of McCarthyism. McCarthy claimed he knew of many government employees working for the Communist Party. Joseph McCarthy’s speech “Enemies Within” launched anticommunism hearings in the Senate sub-committee. McCarthy accused many of communist activity and all he accused would be convicted unless they gave names of other “communists”. He even accused decorated World War II hero’s, which would eventually be the downfall of his McCarthyism point of view. The United Sates also had a constant fear of nuclear bombs, which was a powerful weapon that became popular amongst many world powers; especially the Soviets after they exploded their first atomic bomb in 1949. Communism in America was a taboo

The Second Red Scare was a fearful movement that happened as the World War II was ending. The fear was communism. Communism is a system of a social organization Many Americans were afraid that it would spread across the United States. During the growth of communism in 1949 Truman announced that there was an atomic bomb that the Soviet Union had erupted, Truman then begin to strengthened nations military for the possible Soviet Nuclear threat, Also, in China the Communist had gained control of the country and that’s when Americans started to worry that China had increased the spread to the United States.

During the 1950s there was a rise in the fear of communism called “The Red Scare”. Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the many people who contributed to people’s fear by making a list of people who he said were communists even though there was no proof in most cases. In an article by Alan Brinkley called “The 1950s Part One: McCarthy and The Red Scare”, it informs, “McCarthy was only one of many who helped create the great fear. The Red Scare was visible in almost every area of American life” (Brinkley). This quote tell us that in the 1950s even though Senator Joseph McCarthy was a huge contributor to The Red Scare. His list of suspected communists made rumors spread and the people on the list get questioned and even go to jail when in some cases they were innocent. It also says in the article by USHistory.org called “McCarthyism: Witch Hunting and Blacklisting in America”, that, “In the 1950s anyone who was considered a communist could be questioned and thrown in jail” (USHistory.org). Which means that his allegations could have easily put people in prison.

Red Scare as it is known is used to describe a time that had dealt with extreme anti-communism in the United States. Red comes from the color of the communists flag color of the soviet union. Scare simply comes from the fact that many people were scared that communism would come to the United States. Communism, which was commonly feared by most U.S. citizens is a system of social and economic organization in which property is owned by the state or group, to be shared in common or to be distributed among members of the community equally or in proportion to their respective needs. In 1919, 1/10 of the American population consisting of adults belonged to the new Communist movement, and even this small percentage was greatly affected.

“Burdened by an uneventful political career and having an eye towards reelection, McCarthy claimed that 205 communists had infiltrated the U.S. State Department and soon after claimed to have the names of 57 State Department communists, despite having little knowledge of international espionage”(“Joseph McCarthy”). This led McCarthy to be chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Government Operations in 1952 and be re elected in the senate. He took over this committee for two years with anti communist investigations and questioned suspected officials. This all began the “Red Scare” which was the fear of communism and it coming into the United States. McCarthy continued to make claims about people, but he was not able to validate any of these claims. Although he could not validate a claim, he was still popular widely throughout America due to concerns of communism in China and Eastern Europe”(“Joseph McCarthy”).

McCarthyism basically is the practice unfair accusations that are made against a person or group of people. During the cold In the time of the Cold War Americans were paranoid and vulnerable, as they never knew when the Soviet Union, or any other communist-totalitarian state would attack. “McCarthyism” gave Americans a sort of “hope” to get fight against communism in their own country. Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator, became the face of the national fear of communist infiltration. Officials could not stop McCarthy from destroying people’s by accusing them of being a communist as then they themselves would be accused.

He also strongly believed the greater enemy is within our own nation. McCarthy stated, “It has not been the less fortunate or members of the minority group who have been selling this nation out, but rather those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest nations on the earth has had to offer…” This shows our bigger enemy was within the government, such as the inside people that would sell out our information. One of the accused, John Service, had a report to kill Chiang Kai-shek (the leader fighting against communism in China). His reasoning behind this was he thought China’s best chance to survive economically is to be communist. After this report, he was called a communist and was singled out. After Service, the American people got more sensitive about the issue, seeing the possibilities. The whole country was ruled by fear. Ronald Reagan said, “I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged , by either fear or resentment of this group.” He knew what was going to happen if these unfair trials

Continuing his claims of suspected communists, various innocent people were questioned, and some cases ended up proving nothing because of how the information received showed little evidence of the suspects being a communist. Despite some of the cases having repeated or weak information, the Senate still called for a full investigation, making suspects tell names of others who are communists. It is stated in the article, “Those who repented and named names of suspected communists were allowed to return to business as usual. Those who refused to address the committee were cited for contempt” (McCarthyism 3). People who were suspected conformed so that they would not be held for contempt. People accused others in order to avoid the punishment for contempt, fearing how the punishment would affect their life. McCarthy’s accusations also had an effect on those who were on the lower rank as well, it reads, “Uncooperative artists were blacklisted from jobs in the entertainment industry. Years passed until many had their reputations restored” (McCarthyism 3). People conformed in fear of consequences that would practically destroy their life. Being blacklisted meant being unable to find jobs and having a ruined reputation, so civilians conformed to the law to keep their jobs and not have their lives destroyed. Conformity is achieved by fear of consequences throughout McCarthyism,