The Red Scare is referred to as America’s fear of communism. Taking a second to look back on History, American suspicion of communism first began in the 1920’s during World War One. Thirty years later, the paranoia over communism was stirred up by the influences of war against the Soviet Union, Un-American Activities committee and McCarthyism. This changed America’s perception of society and politics. Communism is a social, economical and political ideology that the people are to be equal which meant no social classes. It also meant that “the people would own everything, and receive the same quality and quantity of possessions” (Sentinel). Communists living in the United States were awarded the epithet “Reds” due to their association with the red Soviet flag. The color red also symbolizes bloodshed and the struggle for political change. So, applying those who were perceived as a threat with the scare that was brought upon America, developed the name, the Red Scare. Most Americans feared communism because if this system advanced through the U.S, it would be a menace to the country’s democratic values. This lead to the government, and those who called themselves “anti-communists” to besiege any communist threats that aimed to overthrow both democratic and capitalist institutions. Since the Soviet Union occupied most of Eastern and Central Europe, it was believed that the nation would continue to spread its belief in communism. Following close to the end of the cold
The Red Scare in the 1950’s was actually America’s second red scare. The 1920’s red scare was what helped start suspicion over Communists, but was put off during World War 2. It was no coincidence that what many people called the second red scare ignited after World War 2, during the Cold War, in the 1950’s. The 1920’s red scare started because Americans were paranoid over the fact that Russia may seek revenge after they had overthrown a royal Russian family in 1917. What started Communist ideas in the U.S at the time was the fact that since the war was over many of people were out of jobs which
The Red scare was a series of witch hunts for suspected communist sympathetic members of congress and public office holding Citizens who were supposedly “Red” this lasted from (1919-1920) started by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. During the first war the Red Scared was represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. The American people went into a mass hysteric frenzy over the news and many
The Red Scare and McCarthyism had begun Paranoia, disloyalty, people losing jobs. The Red Scare and McCarthyism both made everything else worse. Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. At the end of the month when they get their paychecks they both end up with the same amount of money it is not fair, right? but that is more or less what McCarthyism is. During the 1950s, there was a great amount of paranoia and the government technically speaking did not confide in anyone else and falsely accused other people (Essay). The government was so paranoid that they had
The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of communism and proved to be one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period however is shown to be completely different compared to now.
The Red Scare represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. Americans believed, especially during the Cold War, which was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union, that communism was attempting to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. While this is not necessarily the best analogy, you can relate the widespread fear of communism during the Cold War as being similar to the heightened alert Americans had toward terrorism and suspected terrorists during the beginning of the modern century.
Since the late 1940s, American cinema has been obsessed with the idea of the atomic bomb and what it stands for; whether that be destruction or absolute power depends on the film. This symbolism would then come to define the 1950s, and later on American cinema as well. This symbolism then must be addressed from the lenses of, both, history and socio-political commentary. Then the question must be posed why specifically these two lenses? The answer to this question, then, lies in the films of the 50s, and beyond. Whether this answer lies in the apocalyptic imagination present in the films or the politics of the time, McCarthyism would influence American culture far beyond the 50s, depends on the historian who is asked. The answer, then,
Everybody made a good attempt as they could to not appear like communists, but rather even famous people and government officials who were not communists were blamed for being Russian spies. Blacklists were created by movie executives to expose more communists due to pressure from the negative publicity aimed at their studios. This got people to lose their jobs. A few individuals who were blamed for being called a communist were fired from their occupations, captured and researched by the police, and assaulted by people. The Red Scare was a major part of the Cold War because of the vital events that occurred and heightened it. During the Cold War the Soviets and America had great tension between each other and since some Americans were terrified of the spread of communism, many other Americans, and even government officials gave the public attention to the
What is The Red Scare? The Red Scare is fear resulting from communists wanting to control citizens. From 1919 to 1921, The First Red Scare occurred in which Americans feared the Soviet Union’s idea of communism spreading to The United States. After this panic was resolved, there was another epidemic of fear called The Second Red Scare. This lasted from 1947 to 1957 and was driven by the panic of communism growing and spreading in The United States. The Second Red Scare was perpetuated by international events and dismay such as the Korean War and fear of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapon capabilities. From this, the House Un-American Activities Committee was formed. The committee’s purpose was to investigate alleged communists and infiltrators within the government, subcommittees, and Hollywood. “Americans also felt the effects of the Red
McCarthyism has a lot to do with America 's history, even still today examples of McCarthyism are seen in america . Most victims of mccarthyism are hollywood actors and famous people because they impact american society more than regular people. Famous people such as Helen Keller, Leonard Bernstein , Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Artie Shaw, Zero Mostel, Charlie Chaplin, Langston Hughes, Orson Welles, and Dolores del Rio were blamed for supposedly being part of the communist party. But that was not all, there was also another 205 average people that were blamed for being a part of the communist party as well. McCarthy’s committee then started investigating the United States Army. His charges kept affecting more and more powerful people.
The Red Scare is the rounding up and deportation of several hundred immigrates of radical political views by the federal government in 1919 and 1920. Certain causes that led up to this event was the fact that the United States feared the fact that certain immigrants embraced communist, socialist, and anarchist ideology. The Red Scare later led to the impact of the fear of communism. Today this event is remembered all over the world for is impact that it made on every person society.
The Red Scare, also known as, McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s. It got the name McCarthyism from Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy. McCarthy started The Red Scare. It was very similar to a witch hunt but, it wasn’t witches they were hunting for. They were searching for communist. The Red Scare was a horrible and cruel period during the early 1900’s.
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 Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the “Witch-Hunts in Washington.” He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers.
The Red Scare was a period of mass hysteria in the United States during 1919-1920, which was after World War I. This was the time when Americans feared that communism would spread to their country. This fear affected their views toward immigrants who came to the United States. They especially were frightened toward those who embraced their communist, socialist or anarchist ideology. There were many strong nationalistic and anti-immigrant feelings in America which led to the Red Scare. Another reason why Americans feared immigrants was because of the Bolshevik Revolution led by Lenin in Russia. Many in the United States were scared that Russians wished to overthrow the United States government. ("The Red Scare of 1919-1920.").
Soon after the conclusion of World War II in 1945, Communism posed a threat in the United States. This threat, also known as the Red Scare, was triggered because of the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. The tension between the two superpowers led to the beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s. Because the Soviets were a communistic country, many Americans feared Communism because of the influence that it had in America. Many intellectuals supported Communism in the U.S. which led to more concern within the country. The communistic threat presented by the Soviets in the war led to the spread of Communism within the U.S. It was a fear that many Americans spoke out against in attempt to save the American society.