In early March of 1951, the case United States v Julius Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg, and Morton Sobell argued whether the Rosenbergs planned execution should forgo or be rescinded for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and being guilty of starting the Korean War. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s the Cold War was ongoing, with the United States and the Soviet Union entrenched in an ongoing battle over the supremacy of the west. Paul Frazier, an author for the Magazine of History in Bloomington states, “One of the most intriguing aspects of the Cold War relationship between the Americans and the Soviets was the development of vast networks of spies and counterspies” (Frazier). The United States and the Soviet’s relationship establishes an early conflict between the two nations, further affecting future diplomatic relations. Julius Rosenberg’s sympathy towards the Soviets and anger towards the United State’s current position on the world's economic stage ultimately led to his act of traitorous espionage. Michael Browning, a writer for the Palm Beach Post newspaper states, “What united the Rosenbergs was a belief in communism, strengthened by the Depression and Russia’s fight against Hitler during World War 2”, (Browning). The United States depression and Julius’s admiration for Russia’s fight against Hitler motivated him to turn against his home nation during a time of crisis. To conclude, Cold War tensions and Julius’s appreciation for Soviet life and government illustrates
The Rosenberger v. University of Virginia is a supreme court case dealing with whether a public university has the right to appropriate money towards religious publications within the university. A group at the University of Virginia, Wide Awake, wanted to print a magazine that gave a magazine representing Christian viewpoints asked for nearly $6,000 for printing purposes. The University declined to pay for the magazine because the magazine "promotes or manifests a particular belief in or about a deity or an ultimate reality”. In this statement by the university, the university claims that funding the publication of this magazine would violate the establishment clause of the first amendment.
The irony he pointed out, was that American truly can not be as truly virtuous as we claim to be, if we are truly as innocent as we pretend to be (Niebuhr, Pg. 19). After World War II, both the US and the Soviet Union emerged as the world’s two “superpowers” which would lead them into a fierce competition for political control over Europe and their resources. During the Cold War in the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union were involved in many covert conflicts that eventually shaped foreign policy during this war. Because decolonization was becoming popular in the 1950’s and 60’s, the US and Soviet Union directly competed for influence in many third world countries, such as in Guatemala, Iran, and Indochina. The US government use of the CIA to disrupt many governments with ties to communists in the 50s was their primary tactic in an aim to support the allied countries. With conflicts going over ideological territories, both countries undermined their own political ideologies in order to undermine their each
The United States involved itself in World War II to preserve democracy, but when Joseph Stalin made it his top priority to spread communism across Europe, the United States’ goal was endangered. As a result, in 1947, President Harry Truman created Executive Order 9835, which called for “a loyalty investigation of every person entering the civilian employment of any department or agency of the executive branch of the Federal Government” (Document 1). Truman’s Executive Order exhibits a clear distrust of the protection of American ideals, as Truman would have never instituted this policy if he were not paranoid of the communistic plague. Truman’s paranoia was not only displayed by Executive Order 9835, but also emulated by the American people. Truman’s Doctrine spurred fear across the American public, most prominently showed in the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The Rosenberg’s were unfairly tried and biasedly considered communists by the American government, ultimately resulting in execution. As seen by Elliot Erwitt’s photographs, the American public was enraged and feared communist ideals (Document
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”.
To get a clear view and understanding of the book, first must review the time period in history. The book was written in the mid 1950's during the cold war. Former General McCarthy, then U.S. Senator started a fire ball of suspicion, suppression, and
This not only applied to America, but also to other countries such as France and Italy. To aid against the Soviet Unions growing Communist power over such countries, America enacted Cold War liberalism in an attempt to contain the forces within Russia. It was further helped through the Mutual Security Act, which provided countries with grants that would help them combat Communist takeover. In addition, it is shown through the audience of Doc 2 how public speeches on the subject of Communism affected the public by riling them up to points of violence. The speeches by Joseph McCarthy, the most prominent Red Scare speaker, created a popular practice called McCarthyism. In this, people would make accusations against others about supposed Communist ties without any substantial evidence. The most drastic case that resulted from McCarthyism was the Rosenberg’s, who were executed for their supposed ties with Communist
“The Cold War became a dominant influence on many aspects of American society for much of the second half of the twentieth century. It escalated due to antagonist values between the United States, representing capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, representing communism and authoritarianism” (Tradshad, par. 1). This long lasting war had a lot of negative effects on the American people, but also helped many in a positive way of becoming free citizens. Although most people had feelings of hatred toward the Soviet Union, a sense of fear swept over the United States and many actions had to be taken to keep the enemy and their influences out. 4 done.
During the Cold War, the United States was deeply enthralled in fears of a Communist takeover. The Cold War, a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States, lasted from 1945 to 1990. As the Cold War progressed spies and individuals of the communist party were uncovered and put on trial. Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator, took advantage of the United States fear of communists by making up false evidence and accusations against innocent people. Americans feared that there were roots of Communism throughout communities in the United States, and more specifically, in the government. In February of 1950, McCarthy made a radical statement announcing he possessed a list of 205 government officials that were involved in the communist party. This sparked the beginning of the McCarthy era. Because this list was made up, McCarthy had to keep his lie going to maintain spotlight attention from the media and its millions of viewers. His false accusations led to tension and outbreak among numerous communities in the United States. McCarthy generated the Red Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist, these two events ruined thousands of innocent peoples lives. Joseph McCarthy was driven by the need for power and, briefly, accomplished his goal through the use of fear and accusatory tactics.
Philip K. Dick wrote “Time Out of Joint” in 1959 expressing his criticism on the war and on the hysteria generated by the “Red Scare.” However, he could not directly criticize the government and had to recur to the use of literary devices such as symbolism, irony, parallels and, most importantly, a time shift between the author’s present and the setting of the novel. From 1949, when the Soviets tested their own atomic bomb, the tension between America and the USSR, accumulated since the aftermath of the World War, came to a peak. The economic and social differences between the two countries led people in America to associate Communism with the enemy, resulting in an increasing collective hysteria on the perceived threat posed by
Emerging victoriously from World War II, America became the leader of the free-market capitalist world, and proved to be a military, economic, and political powerhouse. However, as one major war came to a close, another battle was brewing between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union expanded farther West into Europe, America as well as its NATO allies worked together in an effort to contain the USSR’s expanding communist party. The Cold War went far beyond a battle between different ideologies. Rather, it developed into a global conflict where espionage, treason, and massive propaganda campaigns were inflicted on all aspects of individuals’ lives internationally. The plausibility of communism seeping into the confinements of the United States caused nation-wide fear to erupt. American businesses feared the idea of a communistic revolution on the basis that it would disturb the very groundwork that holds capitalism together. As a result, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed to investigate communist and fascist organizations within America. Unfortunately, the controversial tactics used during the HUAC hearings contributed to the fear, blacklisting, and repression that existed from 1940 through the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold War, several American opinions materialized concerning the role of the HUAC, in which Americans either praised the committee for its patriotic ideals, applauded but recognized the
were selling the secrets of nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union. They arrested many people including Klaus Fuchs who was a member of the Manhattan Project and who was selling information about the atomic bomb to Moscow. McCarthy and Hoover "began a massive witch-hunt," which led to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. (Moss,220-222)
In the 1950s, United States was all about political radicalism, scapegoating, and extreme paranoia. There was great tension in the United States because they were at war with both Korea and the Soviet Union (Buckley and Bozell 17). The war against Korea was played in the battlefield, but the Cold War against Russia was fought on a psychological level due to its political and ideological differences. Both U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were two of the world’s superpower countries, and increasing global communist influence was making many of the American people uneasy. McCarthyism was the solution to this unrest.
One of the categories Rosenberg uses to make the claim for extra judicial influence is salience or the courts action to make women's rights and abortion a more public issue than it had been. The reasoning is backed up with a study on magazin coverage in the 10s that shows that there was in face a lot more coverage of the abortion issue around the time of the court's decision on Roe. V Wade. So then there is an argument that these cases can lead to public exposure which can affect how a population views such political issues. Then there is the issue of political leaders expressing their views on such cases and how that can affect the executive branch for example. It’s a lot harder to not comment or case an opinion on an issue that isn’t currently
The Cold War was a pivotal time in American history. To a greater degree than most other wars, the Cold War affected American society in unfathomable and profound ways. More specifically, American culture transformed immensely during this time. From a constant state of anxiety, to changes in media and the arts, to McCarthyism; the Cold War fervently affected the quality of life, personal expression, and American politics. Predominantly, the Cold War inflicted fear and apprehension within the American people that was so overpowering that it affected every aspect of their lives and overall American culture.
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.