Essay about The United States and The Soviets: The Cold War

In the period after World War II, from the late 1940’s up until the 1990’s, the United States and their allies were engaged in a “cold” war with the Soviet Union and its allies. Except for minor proxy wars between countries supported by the respective sides, no major wars were fought between the U.S. and the USSR. Nonetheless, tensions were extremely high for many years and the two superpowers constantly went back and forth trying to best the other. Likely the most well-known of these competitions was the Space Race. Battling for cosmic supremacy from the late 1950’s to 1969, the two countries traded many victories over the years and pushed each other to their technological apexes.

The late 1940′s were a time when much change happened to the American society. As a result to the expanding threat of the Soviet Union, or its Communistic ideals, America took a stand that lead it to the Cold War.  Although the war didn’t involve fighting directly with Russia, it still affected the American society and domestic policy. The war affected America so much that it lead to a fear of livelihood; precisely when Joseph McCarthy began his “witch hunt”. The Cold war lead to an enlarged fear of nuclear war; as well, it affected many of the domestic policies.

In 1961 President John F Kennedy put together a doctrine, which altered from President Eisenhower’s one. It was to “Respond flexibly to communist expansion, especially guerrilla warfare.” (Roskin & Berry, 2010, p. 58) It was a time when the Cold War was at its height and nuclear weapons a mass threat and source of power. This doctrine was aimed at using alternative means before opening into combat. This, in light of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it succeeded in doing.

On February 9, 1950, Joe McCarthy began interrogating suspected Communists in the United States. McCarthy stated, “I hold in my hand a list of people named by the secretary of state as members of the communist party still serving in Government ”(McCarthy). What McCarthy was trying to accomplish in doing this, was to emit fear into the eyes of the people so that they would be more impressionable, and by showing them the “list” of people who were rumored to be communists, he ensured their fear and made his point. For a few years, this method worked only in limited ways, although many people were deported back to Russia, and as stated in the article, “McCarthy and the Red scare”, President

1947 through 1991 was the time period of the Cold War; the Cold War was a result caused by the tension of the after math of what had happened with world war 2 .The tension that was there wasn 't just any kind of tension it was military tension between the power of the eastern bloc and the power of the western bloc. The Cold War wasn 't only one war but it was decades of "little"wars and intimidation. Germany was busy after the war, there where so much tension between the Soviet Union and the western allies because they had feared each other because they had thought a new war could arise. Minister Churchill then decided that he would put what would be an iron curtain across Europe. The Cold War had so many little conflicts within it like the Chinese revolution, the Palestine liberation organisation, and so many more hundreds if you would that happened in the Cold War time.

To refine, "Red" comes from the prominent color of the Soviet Union flag, while "Scare" comes from the simple fact that Americans are fearful that the system of Communism would spread to the United States. If this was the situation put in the Americans lap, innocents would be accused by anti-Communist because of simple actions that reflected communist views. Surprisingly, The United States government significantly involved themselves in The Red Scare. In addition, The most important crusader against communism was the American politician, Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy sets the ejection of communist as his main priority. Inadequately, he used intimidating tactics and hearsays to get his information. Inconsistently, McCarthy often had scarce evidence when he accused people of working for the Soviet Union and partaking in communist activities. Evidently, he ruined many people's careers and lives before other leaders in the Congress could end his unjustful ways (“The”).

“McCarthyism” became an imprecation used to silence those who wanted to discuss the Communist penetration, including espionage, of American life. Richard Condon’s fantasy of a McCarthy-like demagogue in The Manchurian Candidate would capture the Wisconsin Senator’s effect: the ruthless demagogue who, by discrediting anti-Communism, insidiously advances the Communist cause. McCarthy was aided in his meteoric rise by the mendacious denial, on the part of the left, of the nature and success of a communist movement directed by Moscow in the United States. It was also true that his “reign of terror” would be greatly exaggerated by historians writing after his fall and on into the present time. They would use terms such as “The Great Fear” to characterize all anti-communism as a dark and destructive crusade that released the paranoia and nativism always threatening to burst through the surface of American

McCarthy’s anti-communist propaganda achieved the opposite of its goals. Rather than strengthening democracy, it weakened democracy; rather than promoting the freedom of speech of which the United States was founded, it limited freedom of speech so greatly individuals were afraid to speak out; and rather than creating a sense of peace and security in the country, it created complete and utter chaos and anarchy. The Red Scare, created by Joseph McCarthy, threatened the rights every American citizen and damaged the names, lives, and reputations of many, many innocent

America is known for its Democracy, a style of government that has been through its ups and downs for as long as America has been a country. However, during the mid 1900s, communism was the biggest threat to America, it lead to a complete revolution and the subsequent destruction of the American way of life. In the 1940’s following the end of World War II, America had developed a new common enemy. The hysteria over communism in American became known as the Red Scare. As the Red Scare intensified more people of political power began to promote the scare of communism such as Joseph Macarthy and J. Edgar Hoover. Joseph Macarthy was responsible for McCarthyism, which was accusing and prosecuting people for being a communist without any evidence.

The fear of a Communist threat found its roots in the years after World War II. The idea that Soviet spies were stealing American secrets was later propagated by the Rosenberg trial. While Julius Rosenberg was indeed a spy, his wife Ethel was only charged as a pawn to coerce her husband. Her execution was one of many examples of the suffering of people who were arraigned for even the slightest affiliation with the Communist party. The fear of Communism would lead to legal action in the name of national security. It is, of course, fallacious to link every person with Communist views to the Soviet Union. However, the anti-Communist movement was often riddled with fallacies, as can be seen in J. Edgar Hoover’s testimony before the HUAC in 1947.

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

This investigation is based on a combination of primary and secondary sources. The most valuable primary source is from “See It Now,” a series broadcasted by CBS, produced by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, and hosted by Murrow. The show ran from 1951-1958 and is regarded as a turning point in news broadcasting. The program had a reputation of being an honest and thoughtful presentation of current events. The episode titled “A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy” aired on March 9th, 1954. Murrow discussed the communist hunt launched by McCarthy and extensively used excerpts McCarthy’s speeches.

Combined with the containment policy, the American public has a rampant fear of communism takeover. Lehman states, “Today we in America and in the entire freedom-loving world are confronted with a worldwide threat to that principle which we hold most dear, the principle of individual dignity and of individual freedom.” This fear of a communist overthrow was referred to as “the Red Scare.” The 1950s also showed the horror that Americans felt when the enemy was able to infiltrate their society. After the Rosenberg execution and the Army-McCarthy hearings, the general population lived with the constant nagging thought that someone they knew or even themselves would be accused of being a communist

The press helped to bolster this feeling, demonizing communists and exacerbating the notion the communist instantly equated with threat. The irrational and pervasive nature of this apparent threat is evident in the vague reasons given by many of those who ‘saw red’ at the time. For example, when asked why an alleged communist had aroused suspicion, vague answers, such as ‘he was not like us’ or ‘I just knew’ were common. [2] Seemingly trivial reasons, such as appearing brighter could bring an accusation. As Roosevelt’s secretary of labour Frances Perkins remarked, they had ‘fancy ideas...were brighter than we were and could think quicker’. [3] The element of fear brought by the Cold War fostered an insecure irrationality, conceiving America as weaker and Soviet influence as stronger than was necessarily true. As a result, it could be viewed that although not misidentified, the victimisation and oppression of communists during 1940s and 1950s America was irrational, obsessive and hysterical. Although, as Haynes and Klehr have found, communists existed. Yet, the threat that the majority truly proposed was overemphasised and their persecution therefore unnecessary. The comparisons to a witch-hunt then, seem indeed compelling.