In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
After the Soviet union tested their first atomic bombs, many Americans suspected that spies had aided the Soviets. This led to Julius and Ethel rosenberg to be accused of being spies working for the Soviets; they were found guilty of treason and executed. These developments were based mainly off of the anti-communist attitudes that were spreading rapidly during the time, demonstrating how the fears of many led to wrongful
These years are often referred to as the “McCarthy era”, named after a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin who blamed many of his colleagues of Communist subversion. In many cases, defendants were pitted against their own friends, whose only evidence were their words. Cultural and racial bias ran rampant, and often those accused of a crime against the country, such as espionage or conspiracy of espionage, were not given fair trials. In one such case, a husband
The use of atomic bombs was also intended to send a strong message to Japan and other potential adversaries about the destructive power of nuclear weapons. It was a demonstration of the immense military capability of the United States and aimed to discourage any further resistance or aggression. Germany and Italy, along with the Soviet Union, were the main threats to America's dominance. They all pose threats of nuclear power along with strong military power. The use of atomic bombs also served to assert America's position as a global superpower and shape the post-war international order.
It was called the “Red Scare” it was a time of hysteria that a threat was by the Communists in the U.S. Joseph R. McCarthy was the senator of the U.S. at that time and caused a lot of hysteria. Many people were saying that they were anti communists, and if you were had different opinions on that kind of matter then you were seen as a radical. In this time there was a case where Julien and Ethel Rosenberg was accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union. With all this hysteria already going on people started to point fingers at them. Even though there was no evidence of Ethel involvement in being a spy.
When America got that warning, they began to work on an atomic bomb, making progress at a rapid rate (Carnes, Garraty, pg. 727). The first successful bomb explosion occurred in Alamogordo,
Joseph McCarthy gained power because of people’s fear of communism (“Red Monday”). McCarthy claimed that 205 government officials were communists without supporting it with evidence which caused a panic (Fried 1). Frightened Americans asked for an explanation and instead McCarthy accused people, but he had the people’s support because he was against communists and that blinded people to the true facts (Fried 1). With the Smith Act and the House Un-American Activities Committee in place to ease the fear of communism, McCarthy’s unjust trials were able to be conducted (“Red Monday”). Rights were quickly being taken away to prevent the spread of communism, however, it was so that McCarthy could keep gaining power without anyone being able to say otherwise (“Red Monday”).
1940’s America was a nation in the grip of paranoia. The terror of communist infiltration hung heavily over the heads of every citizen. Everyone from government employees to actors were called before congress, under accusations of being a communist. However, there was more fiction to this anxiety than fact. Yet, due to the actions of certain individuals, it persisted.
During World War II, the United States discovered that the energy of the atom could be used in a new form of bomb. However, the Germans also discovered this, meaning that it would be a race to actually complete the weapon. The U.S. knew it needed to act fast and so three facilities were created for the development of the weapon in Washington, New Mexico, and Tennessee. The plants in Tennessee were based in almost the middle of nowhere.
Following the background knowledge of her career and her father’s, Rosenberg includes an emotion filled sentence about O’Connell, “But behind the trophies and the swagger of the racing circuit, Hayes was harboring a painful secret: He had always believed he was a woman” (481). There are multiple words in the sentence that convey sympathy and guilt for O’Connell and her secret. The first word in the sentence but, suggests the opposite of something, and has a negative connotation towards the great amount of success she has had, which completely contradicts the feeling of happiness the reader could have had when reading about her success. Next, the author also uses the word behind, which creates an imagery effect of her having trophies and success
The Cold War was a time where the citizens of the United States lived in fear. During the nuclear arms race in the 1950’s, the Student Peace Union (SPU) strongly “desired a restructuring of the American society” and fewer nuclear weapons. The result of fewer nuclear weapons would mean the end of the Cold War and the Red Scare. At the time of the Red Scare Joseph McCarthy, an American politician from 1947 to 1957, strengthened the fear of the American people with his methods of McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
“Senator McCarthy’s zeal to uncover subversion and espionage led to disturbing excesses. His browbeating tactics destroyed careers of people who were not involved in the infiltration of our government.” (Volume 1 XI). This quote proves that the trials not only tarnished the accused, but the innocent. Overall, the trials ruined the lives of people on both sides in incidents spurred from mass
Imagine one day you were called by the government and accused of committing a crime you did not commit and the only way you could prove your innocent was to accuse your friends and family of committing the crime too or else you would go to jail or lose their jobs. Any normal person would be enraged by it and it may seem like that could never happen however this occurred in 1950s in united states known as McCarthyism or the red scare. McCarthyism is one of the most well-known event in the American history if not the the most well-known as it ruined many hard working peoples lives. This event started in 1950 however there were many tensions and the reasons that led up to this like the previous world war and countries trying to best each other.
LIFE IS BONDAGE provides the conceptual ground for the following lines from Rosenberg: (“Girl to Soldier on Leave,” 1922, p. 100) Implicitly does Rosenberg 's woman refer to the abject subjugation practiced upon the Jews during the “Babylonian Captivity,” and metaphorically does she link those days to the life of her man before the eruption of war. The soldier 's soul, according to this reading, is conceived of as if subjugated and enslaved, almost as if the curse of bondage from which his people have suffered for long is afflicted upon his psyche. Besides, slavery is commonly seen as including physical abuse, Lakoff and Turner (1989) note, such as shackling or fettering (p. 24).
In this article, Claudia Barnett explains the purpose in existence of Ethel Rosenberg’s ghost on Roy Cohn’s deathwatch and the play of Angels in America. “Ethel is a manifestation not of a mental disorder but of theatrical magic, and she’s arrived not to shed light on Roy’s character but to illuminate herself. She is a ghost of her own agency” (135). Claudia Barnett is also an English professor at the Middle Tennessee State University and teaches playwriting. Her experience in analyzation of different playwrights helps her competency in making an article about one of the very controversial person, Ethel Rosenberg in the drama of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America a gay fantasia on national themes”.
