The Red Hunt Of The 1950's

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

Republican Wisconsin senator, Joseph R. McCarthy, was originally a quiet senator who was fairly unknown and had done nothing extraordinary previous to 1950. The senator changed all that when he delivered a speech in February 1950, in which he leveled allegations that the State Department employed numerous Communists. He claimed to possess a list of these Communist employees, although that list was never produced (Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi). Senator McCarthy’s attempt to gain publicity with his outlandish accusations worked. Since the first Red Scare years before the fifties, many Americans continued to be terrified of Communists and their potential ability to corrupt and overrun America. Senator McCarthy played on these fears, and he continued to claim communism had infiltrated every aspect of America; politics, culture and all of American society. Because of the similarity of events from the first Red Scare, this time period of the early fifties in America is often called the second Red Scare. The second Red Scare in America’s history actually began in the late forties, previous to McCarthy’s emergence in 1950, and it continued on throughout the fifties lasting at least a dozen years (Storrs, Landon R. Y.) McCarthy’s short era during the second Red Scare actually lasted only four years, but because of his outspoken and arrogant persona, as well as his ability to inflict fear and persecution on innocent people, this entire span of time went down in the

In reference to the research question “To what extent did the Red Scare create a pseudo “reign of terror” in the United States, ” authors Wendy Wall and Alexander Stafford provide adequate information about the affects of the red scare on society. Wall goes into a detailed description the Federal Loyalty-Security Program and the House Un-American Activities Committees. Both of these programs set up by the government were a form of oppression to the American citizens, inquiring personal information that should have not been public information. The Federal Loyalty-Security Program put regulations on employment agencies and required employers to take loyalty oaths. This can be seen as a violation of the constitution, as it oppresses one’s personal points of view and violates their right to freedom of speech. The House Un-American Activities Committees (HUAC) questioned workers of film in Hollywood and blacklisted those who were seen as untrustworthy. Those blacklisted thus had a difficult time finding employment.

wound up noticeably known as the red Terrify. (Communists were regularly alluded to as "Reds" for their dependability to the red Soviet banner.) The Red Panic prompted a scope of activities that had a significant and persevering impact on U.S. government and society. Elected workers were investigated to decide if they were adequately faithful to the legislature, and the House Un-American Exercises Board of trustees, and in addition U.S. Representative Joseph R. McCarthy, researched charges of subversive components in the administration and the Hollywood film industry. The atmosphere of dread and suppression connected to the Red Frighten at last started to ease by the late

The United States endured the Red Scare From the 1945 to sometime around the 1952 which mainly focus on the hunt for communist. Many thought that the war was finally over but an parallel attack was coming that would separate and turn people against one another. In many ways this paranoid resembles to the Salem Witch Trial in the 17th century which inventively caused tension between various majority. The Salem witch trials people were accused of being witches similar to the same way that Americans were uneased about communism

The Red Scare, also known as McCarthyism, took place during the 1950’s when Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy was elected during a time of fear as the Cold War’s lasting effects wore on the people of America. McCarthy could twist the anger and fear of the American citizens to produce a new social phenomenon, Communism invading our politics. McCarthy was elected as the Senator in 1946 and became a household name four years later in 1950 when he claimed 205 communists infiltrated the State Department. McCarthy’s vigorous investigation for communists in the political society made him an incredibly influential political figure. Two years later in 1952, he obtained the chairmanship for the Government Operations Party while also being reelected. McCarthy began questioning

The first red scare of the united states paved the way for a long lasting fear of communism and proved to be one of america's longest lasting period of hysteria (Shield52710Cane. | Bartleby. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.)The “ Red Scare” is similar to the salem witch trials in a sense that many people were only being accused of being an anarchist without any actual proof, it was just one person's words against another person's words.This was a theme that dominated America during the 1920s. During this era many Americans were fearful of expressing views that were not in sync with the government’s perspective if they attempted to the capitol creates methods that inhibit the citizens ability to voice any opposing views. Most of the time, when controversial opinions were spoken, the punishments put in place were not worthy of the crime, and often time the person being accused would be

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 United State’s Capitalistic and consumer driven way of life sat in contrast to the Soviet Union’s Communist and government centred economy. So much so, that the fear of Communists living in America began a panic known as the second Red Scare. Americans attempted to weed out Communists, with programs like the loyalty program which required government workers to state if they have ever been a communist; as well as the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO). “...[The] (CIO) and United Auto Workers froze Communists out of leadership positions...” (Goldfield 805), along with this there were numerous trails and people assured of being a Communist. McCarthyism was another main reason the American public began exiling those assured of Communists; McCarthyism created a fear of these people, which allowed those accused to be black balled in their professions. One such example where the Hollywood Ten, which was a group of movie directors accused of being too soft on Communism.

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

Over time many conflicts have happened in the U.S. The 1950s was a confusing time in the United States. The U.S. had started to fear of falling behind the advances of Communist countries. This has started the Red Scare. Many people were being accused as communist. Names were put onto a list, Blacklist.

    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

In 1950 the emergence of the Second Red Scare’s driving force, Senator Joseph McCarthy, appeared and gave a speech proclaiming that America will soon be lost to communism if the people do not stand up to combat it. He revealed that night a list of 205 people working for Soviet Russia in the United States’ State Department whose intentions were to mold America from the inside to become a socialist nation. (Fitzgerald, p. 14) It was thanks to this newfound hysteria that began to break out thanks to McCarthy’s claims that the HUAC and other like-minded organizations began to gain momentum during this time period.

This seemingly harmless action, and the bombings around the country in connection with the Red Scare, led to the start of blaming the American Communist Party for domestic disturbances to the status quo. The fact that Communist Party members were heads and members of labor unions, allowed Big Business owners and special interest groups to direct blame for radical actions such as work strikes or demands for wage compensation on to the Communists, allowing them to ignore, or dismiss any grievance brought against them; while at the same time tarnishing the image and reputation of the Communist Party (Schrecker, 14). In addition, the exaggeration of radicalism at the time allowed organizations like the FBI and law enforcement to expand and improve their image among the general public, which eventually led to J. Edgar Hoover being one of the figureheads of anticommunism (Schrecker, 15).

Vivian Gonzalez Mr. Martinez-Ramos A.P. United States History May 3, 2000 McCarthyism was one of the saddest events of American history. It destroyed people’s lives and shattered many families. It threw innocent people into a whirlwind of mass confusion and fictional portrayals of their lives. McCarthyism spawned for the country’s new found terror of Communism known as the red scare. McCarthyism was an extreme version of the red scare, a scare whose ends did not justify the means. The Red Scare happened twice in the history of this great country. When the communist took over Russia in 1919, the American people were unnerved. They were afraid of a communist take over in the states. When the First World War ended in 1918, there was still