Welles Scares Nation

The first and second red scared really instilled the fear of communism. And Joseph McCarthy has something to do with it. Joseph McCarthy is infamously known for making unsupported accusations against people as far as saying they’re communists; his false accusations started what soon became one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that that journey is not the same for every individual. For Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles), the main character of Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, the path towards riches and a fulfilled life is being well liked. He serves to please others. He strives for that attention. This view cost him his happiness in the end. In this man’s rise and fall through prosperity, Welles shows the futility of striving solely for likeability.

Modern interest in the Red Scare and the long standing efforts to balance liberty and safety in American history has brought some attention back to the topic of the Palmer Raids. The infamous nature of American anti-communist efforts may have died out but the language and ideology persists in many ways, particularly in the post 9/11 and Patriot Act era. Historians have long evaluated the Red Scare and the influence of the Palmer Raids on America’s understanding of ideological regulation. While some historians look at the influence of certain personalities like J. Edgar Hoover and A. Mitchell Palmer, others chose to write about the more abstract nature of civil rights and the controlling influence of the government. They also draw direct parallels

A Red Scare is known as the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism (a political theory where in society property is owned publically and every single person that works is paid according to their abilities and needs) or radical leftism (a synonym for “farthest left” of the left-wing politics). The First Red Scare was mainly about the worker revolution and political radicalism (political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means). The Red Scare took place in 1919 through 1920.

More recently in the history of the United States, was the Red Scare. Many had fears of voicing their opinion which practically destroys all of the progress which had been made by their predecessors in gaining their liberties. Margaret Chase Smith stood up and ignored the fact that she may get labeled as a communist in attempts to eliminate her credibility in politics. She argues that the senate is being hypocritical, “It is strange that we can verbally attack anyone else without restraint and have for protection, and yet we hold ourselves above the same type of criticism here on the Senate floor. Truly the United States Senate is big enough to take self – criticism and self – appraisal” (Smith, 1950, p.523). The senators keep their own liberties

"War is Peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." 1984 is a novel used as a warning to show what would happen to citizens if governments gained too much power. The Party uses different techniques to control every facet of life of the its citizens, or slaves. The citizens are much too afraid to revolt against the tyrannical government, because of the constant eye of the Party. The telescreens are used by the Party to instill fear into the citizens of Oceania.

The Second Red Scare was a fearful movement that happened as the World War II was ending. The fear was communism. Communism is a system of a social organization Many Americans were afraid that it would spread across the United States. During the growth of communism in 1949 Truman announced that there was an atomic bomb that the Soviet Union had erupted, Truman then begin to strengthened nations military for the possible Soviet Nuclear threat, Also, in China the Communist had gained control of the country and that’s when Americans started to worry that China had increased the spread to the United States.

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.

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The McCarthy era, which generally spanned from 1947 to 1957, brought to the forefront of American politics the question of civil rights. At issue were controversies about both First Amendment rights to assembly and free speech and Fifth Amendment rights to due process and freedom from self-incrimination. Anti-Communist actions often involved restrictions on these rights, and heading the anti-Communist movement was the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). This committee, which consisted of government officials from Congress, was formed to investigate the threat of Communism in America. In doing so, the committee brought in witnesses, usually individuals thought to have, or to have had, Communist

However in Britain the fear on the bomb can be seen as lesser than that of the USA. As Peter Hennessy expresses in his book Having it so good, Britain in the fifties 'The wider, personal implications of the bomb perhaps burnt their way into the collective British psyche more slowly than might have been expected'3. Towards the beginning of the nuclear arms race, a lot of information was not disclosed to the public, such as the amount if casualties caused if the Soviet Union dropped bombs on Britain which was around 1,378,000 people, and the size of the bombs used was around 1.6 megatons of TNT. Although there were some civil defence films that tried to paint a picture of nuclear war none of them captured the threat of war and many films trivialised it as Spencer R. Weart writes 'the stage was dominated by tales of mutant tribes and so forth'4 this caused many people to downplay the threat of nuclear war due to the lack of decent portrayal of nuclear war, Weart writes 'Nearly three decades passed without any technically

Mass hysteria has been part of history since the beginning of time. It happened in the United States the years 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. In Salem, two young girls were responsible for starting mass hysteria by showing erratic behavior and accusing other people of witchcraft. This resulted in the death of over 20 people. Salem citizens were very confused and scared because they were never sure of how secure they actually were. Another reason Salem citizens were nervous was because, if their fate was put to the test, it would be in the hands of an unreliable court. Another event that involves mass hysteria was the one known as “The Red Scare”. The Red Scare was a variety of actions that led to an enduring episode of fear and hostility through the years 1940s and 1950s. The Red Scare was caused by a series of threats towards America. The Red Scare had many figures but two that were exemplary to others were Hoover and McCarthy. These men stirred up the environment with more problems than it had before. Citizens of America were surrounded by many threats especially their homes being corrupted by the pressure they were surrounded by. Politics played a very keystone part in The Red Scare because it was the fuel to the fire. Families and friends were being separated since

As World War I was heading towards its end Russia was focusing on internal issues. Led by Vladimir Lenin the Bolsheviks embarked on a campaign against the war. Using propaganda which focused on trying to turn the allied troops against their officers Lenin looked to inspire a socialist revolution. The Bolsheviks were also fueled by the poor conditions of the Russian Army. Nicholas II, in a letter to his wife Alexandra, admitted the obstacles that the Russian Army faced, "Again that cursed question of shortage of artillery and rifle ammunition - it stands in the way of an energetic advance." Czar Nicholas tried to deny the fact that his Army was in no condition to continue the fight. Lenin and the Bolsheviks used this information to gain

“No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” Bob Dylan said this probably not knowing its profound connection with George Orwell’s novel “1984”, but the as well could be in “1984”. Orwell depicts a totalitarian dystopian world where there is no freedom and citizens are being brainwashed constantly. Without any sense of individual fairness, people work for the party just like the gear wheels in a machine. In order to achieve this, the politicians in “1984” suppress people’s thinking and eliminate their freedom by creating fear through propaganda, strict laws and incessant surveillances.

Ever since World War two we have feared destruction and what could be the aftermath of nuclear bombs. We had a whole era in history to dedicate being terrified of weapons of mass destruction. We had bomb drills, duck and cover drills. The United States had TV drills if an attack were to happen on United States soil. For many Americans this was not hysteria, but a reality that could happen.