Julius And Ethel Rosenberg Was Spies For The Soviet Union Essay

When WWII ended, Americans were left in the hands of Harry Truman. Known as an

1. Harry Truman was a realistic, pragmatic president who skillfully led the American people against the menace posed by the Soviet Union. Assess the validity of this statement by examining the Foreign Policy implemented during Truman’s presidency.

Because of all of the fears the Americans obtained from the Soviet Union and their communism, the U.S. government began to scour for Soviet Union spies attempting to purloin top-secret atomic weapons information and deliver it to the Soviet Union to assume their enemy’s next move. According to the text,“Evidence of a spy ring operating within the U.S. was quickly discovered. In 1950, the U.S. learned that David Greenglass, a machinist who assisted in building atomic bombs for the military in New Mexico, had

Everyone feared the thought of communism at the time, and was quick to support whoever was in charge of the investigations. Both situations had soon escalated to a level no one could have predicted and the trials were soon starting to be used for other purposes.

mysteries which occurred in 1953 was the electrocution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg under the Espionage Act. They were convicted for giving the secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. The anti-communist sentiment that characterized the Cold War and McCarthyism led to their trial and execution. Even though there is some evidence of the Rosenbergs' guilt, numerous facts which were discovered after the death of Ethel and Julius argue more convincingly that they were innocent victims of Cold War hysteria.

The Rosenberg case revealed how biased and fearful the American judicial system and public were. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were

Fearing the unknown is a common aspect of human nature. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were an average married couple living in New York City during the Cold War. They were members of the Communist Party when anti-Communist feelings in the United States were at their peak. Little did they know that as they continued with their daily lives, a series of investigations were being conducted that would soon land them in the electric chair. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused and convicted of passing along confidential atomic bomb information to Soviet Union spies. After a long battle, they were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in 1953. The couple never admitted guilt to the charges, and their conviction and execution caused their two young boys to grow up without parents. The Rosenberg trial is still considered one of the most controversial events in United States history. Few other trials have instigated as much debate, aroused such passion or generated as many books and articles. Thus the question arises: in what ways and to what extent did the hysteria of the Cold War lead to the trial and execution of the Rosenbergs?

Amidst the frenzy of the cold war, Americans turned frigid towards anyone who supported communism. Among those prosecuted were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Julius was a member of the communist party in his youth, and was fired from the United States Army when they found out about his past political beliefs. Two years later he rejoined the communist party, and convinced his wife to join as well. On July 17, 1950, Julius Rosenberg was arrested for spying and providing Russia with secrets about the atomic bomb; accused by David Greenglass, former business partner and brother in law. Ethel Rosenberg was arrested on August 11, 1950 and Morton Sobell was also arrested shortly after, both for aiding Julius’s espionage activities. The three defendants refused to answer questions about the communist party, pleading the fifth amendment, but denied the other charges. The trial ended, and the jury found the three guilty of espionage, and the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death, and Sobell to 30 years in prison. There were appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, and one was almost accepted, but lost by a single vote. The Rosenbergs were killed by electrocution on June 19, 1953, and are the only civilians to have their lives be ended for the crime of espionage. Citizens of the

Throughout the early 1950's, the nation was deeply engrossed in fears of a Communist takeover. At a time when America's fears were at their very height, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin pushed America's fears to an extreme. As a ploy to get himself re-elected, and to make America hate Communism as much as he did, the Senator devised a devious scheme. McCarthy, while giving a speech, held up a piece of paper and exclaimed, "I have here a list of 57 known Communists who are currently employed by the U.S. State Department" (Fried, 89). A few days later, McCarthy raised the number of people on the list from 57 to 205. The reaction to McCarthy's announcement was absolute panic. Until that time, the

During his time as the Vice President of the United States, Truman had been presented with a tough task, to be the President of the United States of America. He was in a terrible position, and he felt “like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me”(“Harry S. Truman”). The country’s last

Although the Rosenbergs tried to prove their innocence, they were still convicted, and sentenced to death. According to History.com Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Executed, they were the first people to be executed for espionage. The Rosenbergs were taken to Sing Sing Prison, which was located in Ossining, New York. Their execution was done by an electric chair. Julius was the first executed, and was dead at 8:00 p.m. Ethel was second, and was dead at 8:16 p.m.

Aldrich Ames was one of the most detrimental spies in U.S. History. Ames was a trusted insider and his indicators went overlooked for over nine years. The information Ames provided to Russian Intelligence led directly to the arrest and murders of multiple spies working for the U.S. Ames’ detriment to the U.S. was easily avoidable if his co-workers would have reported his many indicators.

Truman, like many other presidents, was faced with more than one difficult task. He was in office during the Korean

On April 5, 1951, both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage. Their conviction came after Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, accused them of recruiting him to get information about the Manhattan Project. According to the government, the Rosenbergs would transmit this information to the Soviets. Greenglass’s accusations came after he was convicted of espionage by Klaus Fuchs. These accusations came with a less harsh sentence for Greenglass, as he only went to prison for ten years instead of receiving the death penalty.

In the novel Isaac was arrested for being a Zionist spy when he was totally innocent. The guards and mohsen, the leader, wanted him to admit to something. The used harsh tactics to get isaac to spill something. For example in the novel sofer said “The cable slices the air before slicing through his feet. It is a jagged pain, unidentifiable, which travels through his nerves to the rest of his body”(sofer,200). Isaac was put through something no person should ever endure, yet he still didn’t admit to anything just to make it stop. He was valiant throughout his imprisonment. Sometimes i wonder if he thought he was going to be able to get out if he submitted if he would’ve done it. I may have a high pain tolerance but i would not have been able