The Soviet Threat, As Experienced By The United States During The Cold War

In the long years between 1947 and around 1957, fear of communism froze the very voices of America into unison. A supposedly enlightened country, the United States of America succumbed to the mass hysteria of the Red Scare with shockingly little resistance. Communist “Reds” and Communist sympathizing “Pinks” were seen everywhere and were often persecuted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (also known by the inaccurate acronym HUAC). Many of these individuals’ only crime was that of sensibility; they saw the truth behind the terrifying chaos. One of the best records of this dark chapter in America’s history is its literature, which expressed opinion when it could be dangerous to do so. The American public’s paranoid fear of

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.

During the Cold War, America and the Soviet Union were competing to develop more sophisticated weaponry than each other. Because of this, Americans dreaded the Soviet Union. They also feared communism– which according to Achieve 3000’s passage,“Case Against Rosenberg Falls Apart”,“It is the political theory that the Soviet’s lived by” (1). Also according to Achieve 3000, “The Americans thought that the Soviet Union had spies that were in the midst of the American people” (1). This fear lead to many precautions that the government made to prevent the American people from fearing the Soviet Union which was called the “Red Scare”.

The fears of the American people regarding the Cold War in the aftermath of the second World War were numerous and strong, growing in power as Americans began to fear not only the looming threat posed by the Soviet Union but also potential communist activity within the United States itself. The administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully recognized and addressed a number of these fears, passing legislation which improved domestic and international defence capabilities and creating an atmosphere of relative comfort and prosperity within the nation itself. However, despite the efforts of the Eisenhower administration, a strong sense of fear pervaded much of the United States as the Cold War escalated into a greater, more critical

Propaganda used to induce terror included posters, political statements, and comics. One such comic was Is This Tomorrow?, a popular dramatization of the Soviets and of communism(Document 7). By depicting the Soviets in such a violent, authoritarian light, it spread anti-communist feeling among Americans, and attempted to prevent any Soviet sympathizers. In the Soviet Union, a secret speech made by Nikita Khrushchev to the closed session of the Twentieth Party of Congress denounces capitalism and fights against the anti-communist campaign(Document 6). The Secret Speech was a counter to recently made anti-communist organizations, and reinforced the Soviet Union’s own ideals, while countering the US’s arguments for capitalism. Through the use of past faults and militaristic policies, Khrushchev argues that the US’s attempts at peace were false, and only a front for their true intentions. This effectively promoted terror and anti-capitalist feeling among Soviet Congress. It gave strong reasoning to fight back against Americans, as it instilled fears of a capitalist overtake, and the need for preservation of the

The communist paranoia that occurred in America during the period of 1947-1957 has come to be known as the ‘Second Red Scare’. This was a political and social movement of fear which led to communist witch hunts known as the ‘Red Hunts’, that categorise the period. The

Many historians have written about the use of propaganda over the centuries, but very few have written about how the effects of mass media has affected the American publics opinion of the government during times of war. Historians have written a lot about how mass media has increased over time, yet they have not made the correlation between the effective use of propaganda and public favor, or the ineffective use of propaganda and public distrust. The types of mass media articles that will be investigated will be articles on print media (magazines, pamphlets), posters,

The Red Scare was a time of mass hysteria for the nation. It occurred during the Cold War, which was after World War II, when the Soviet Union and America were undergoing economic and political altercations. Due to some Americans previously helping the Soviet Union during World War II, it was greatly feared that those very Americans would commit treason by providing the Soviet Union with information that could harm American society and the security of the United States (Red Scare). Nevertheless, during the 1990’s, sources revealed that three hundred or more American communists did give Soviets information during World War II. This concludes that espionage was a legitimate threat. Furthermore, the question remains, were the actions to prevent communism taken too far? Joseph McCarthy played a large role in the second Red Scare because essentially he was responsible for the false accusations of innocent people in order to look more powerful. Consequently, McCarthy’s tactics involved many to be placed on a blacklist, or

‘McCarthyism’ became the term to describe a kind of paranoid thinking on this matter and its resulting attitudes and behaviors. Consequently, the U.S. government formed anti-subversion organizations which favored the unannounced interrogation of American citizens, and scrutinized public schools and tertiary institutions, among other organizations, and led to the arrests of a great number of innocent Americans, and the exposing of McCarthy as a fear mongering fraud. However, Russia did, in fact possess a nuclear bomb, and even after the highly favored Dwight Eisenhower became the president, and created an image of new hope for peace, the fear of nuclear response from the USSR created widespread anxiety.

The Cold War was the name given to the time period from 1945 to 1991. After World War II, tensions began between the United States and the Soviet Union. Fighting between the United States and Soviet Union did not happen directly against each other. Instead they fought with arms races, space races, and spying. Both superpowers set aside their differences to defeat Adolf Hitler, even before the war the United States distrusted the Soviet Union. The United States disliked the way the Soviet Union ran government. They believed that the Soviet Union wanted to overthrow the non-communist governments.

In the Newsweek Magazine, the October 12, 1953 issue has an article titled “U.S shifting its Diplomacy under Shadow of Red’s H-Bomb”. Media coverage during the years of Communism and McCarthyism have shown how media uses forms of writing skills and the power of language to influence audiences. Red Scare was the hysteria over the perceived threat posed by communist in the U.S as the cold war between Soviet Union and the U.S intensified. Also it was a period of time in the early 1950’s when Senator Joseph McCarthy attempted to expose suspected communists. The press presents information and their usage of writing and language skills such as selection/slanting and broadcasting of local news to benefit themselves, which does not fulfill their purpose.

The Red Scare campaigns of the Western media were presented on every applicable media source. The use of print with easily de-codable and emotive images helped to redefine national identity as a virtuous and patriotic America, against a dangerous and destructive socialist east. The media distributed extreme propagandist slogans such as “Better Dead than Red!” This type of politicized propaganda served to cause hysteria over communism and nuclear war (Bernhard). It worked to subdue any domestic sympathy for the enemy or resistance to the conflict that usually occurs during war.

4) How would you describe the sudden influx of United States propaganda during the Cold War?

Amidst these, cold war fears re-emerged when in 1956 Soviet Union invaded Hungary after its withdrawal from Warsaw Pact and in the same year space race began when Soviet launched Sputnik I into space. Though the communist presence of J.Edgar Hoover loomed, and with the public demise of McCarthy in 1954, the paranoia and Red baiting of the early decade ebbed. Halliwell rightly quotes Ronald J. Oakley who in his book God’s Country: America in the 50’s calls it “a period of paradoxes”, and “fidgety mix of anxiety and relaxation, sloth and achievement, complacency and self-criticism” (49). After Soviet Union exploded atomic weapon in 1949 soon after World War II, it made Americans wondering about Soviet espionage and the nation was gripped by fear “Better dead than Red” the anti-communist slogan that was in rife during World

As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States strengthened in the late 1940s and mid 1950s, mania over the apparent risk postured by Communists in the U.S. got to be known as the Red Scare. (Communists were frequently alluded to as "Reds" for their constancy to the red Soviet signal.) The Red Scare prompted a scope of activities that had a significant and persevering impact on U.S. government and society. Elected workers were investigated to figure out if they were adequately faithful to the administration, and the House Un-American Activities Committee, and also U.S. Congressperson Joseph R. McCarthy, examined affirmations of subversive components in the legislature and the Hollywood film industry. The atmosphere of apprehension