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Red Scare: The Era Of Mass Hysteria

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Austin Storie Mrs. Call American Literature January 31, 2016 Red Scare: The Era of Mass Hysteria Imagine being disowned from your family, losing your job, and facing jail time over an untrue rumor. That situation may seem farfetched, but it was a reality for some during the Red Scare. While government action during the Red Scare was intended to protect democracy, it did more harm than good. Seeing Red: What Exactly was the Red Scare? The Red Scare was the nationwide hysteria the United States of America had towards communism. Being defined as an economic and/or social totalitarian state, communism could be considered the exact opposite of democracy. The “Red” in Red Scare is a reference to the red Soviet, a communist power-house, flag. …show more content…

During this time, the Communist Party emerged, as well as anarchists. While the first Red Scare was not as large as its successor, it did lay the groundwork for some of the stigmas that heightened during the second Red Scare. The Red Hunters: People and Organizations Responsible for Uncovering Communists Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States. During his time in office, Truman was given the task of suppressing the perceived communist uprising within the country. While he was not the only president to take office during the Cold War/Red Scare, his actions were regarded as very controversial. One of these acts was Truman’s Executive Order 9835. Names the Loyalty Order, this order prompted the loyalty testing of all federal employees. Those who were deemed disloyal were terminated from their positions. Some employees even voluntarily resigned in light of the investigations. Another precaution taken by President Truman was the Truman Doctrine. Created March 12, 1947, the Truman Doctrine gave aid to Greece and Turkey. Fearing they would fall under Soviet influence, Truman wanted to supply them monetary and military help. In response to the Truman Doctrine, Congress granted $400,000,000 to the …show more content…

United States It might seem unrealistic that people and organizations, working under conspiracies with little evidence, convicted and/or American citizens. The case of Dennis v. United States sheds some light on that question. The 1951 Supreme Court Case ruled that free-speech rights could be restricted for accused communists. This ruling made it difficult for citizens to clear their names, causing them to fear speaking out. It’s possible that this decision sent innocent people into hiding, jail, or even to death. Caught Red-handed: Notable Stories of Those Prosecuted, Blacklisted, and Hunted During the Red Scare One of the many people hunted during the Red Scare was B.J. Mangoang. A Communist Party member, Mangoang went underground during the early 1950’s. She later went into hiding in Spokane, Washington. When questioned by the HUAC in 1954, Mangoang pled the Fifth. From 1976 to 2001, B.J. Mangoang served as Chair of Washington State Communist Party. One of the most controversial duos of the Red Scare were Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Perhaps as infamous of a couple as Bonnie and Clyde, the Rosenbergs were married in 1939. Active Communist Party members, Ethel and Julius were under the eyes of many “Red Hunters.” Julius was in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.; he used that position to disclose military secrets to the USSR. Ethel’s brother, Sgt. David Greenglass was a machinist to the Manhattan Projects, where he gave the couple nuclear weapon

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By establishing the Truman Doctrine, his main goal was to keep other nations who were resisting Communism to be able to stand up for themselves. Since the Soviet Union was in the midst of all Communist activity, Truman knew that Stalin would eventually spread his beliefs into other parts of the world. Fearing that he would lose yet another nation to Stalin, Truman quickly decided that he had to do something to help other countries who were in need of political and monetary aid. As a result, the Truman Doctrine was first created when Truman stood before Congress on March 12, 1947, and asked for $400 million to fight Communist aggression in Greece and Turkey. When Congress approved Truman’s request, he was able to send political, military, and economic assistance to Greece and other democratic nations that were under threat from Stalin (history.state.gov).

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During the Red Scare in the 20th century, there was mass hysteria. It was an era full of accusations and panic, much like "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. The Red Scare was essentially a bombardment of accusations. McCarthyism was abundant and people were accusing eachother of being communists, or "commies" in fear that was motivated by the war. Similiarly, during the Salem Witch Trials in "The Crucible", the townspeople began to accuse eachother of witchcraft.

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In this classroom you can see a teacher getting her roomed searched by state and local “anti-subversive” and they are seen searching the room, looking in trash cans, looking at the classrooms maps of russia and even looking at the picture of the us presents. During the red scare people were so afraid of communism, they would give away their rights as humans to let the government to find the communists and in “you read books, eh” is a prime example of the propaganda and hysteria that went on during the red scare just in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller when all the girls start to act bewitched and start to lie about how whos doing it to try to gain power in the eye of society in Salem and in many ways they did. During the red Scare people were being

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During the 1950’s Joseph McCarthy brought upon a new fera in the United States, the fear of Communism, McCarthy proclaimed that government officials were communist spies. This can also be seen/ compared to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93. In Salem people were accusing each other of being witches. A book that I referred back to many times was The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, which gave a well written representation of the mass hysteria during the Salem witch trials which can be compared to The Red Scare. This can be a representation of Historical Force as history repeats itself once again from The Salem Witch Trials to almost 300 years later during The Red Scare and from the 2001 fear/accusations of middle eastern people.

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During the 1950s, the second Red Scare was an episode of political regression. The second Red scare was primarily produced by the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Initially, it lasted longer than the first Red Scare. The second Red Scare emphasized the threat posed by the Communist Party. Many individuals feared that the United States government was infiltrated by communists, leading to the establishment of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

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In the case of the Salem Witch Trials, the fear largely came from religious beliefs and superstitions about witches and demonic possession. The community was overcome by a sense of terror, panic, and chaos. This led to widespread accusations of witchcraft withing a large portion of the community and the eventual trials and executions of many people. Similarly, during the Red Scare, the fear largely came from the political beliefs and concerns about the threat of communism and Soviet Russian ideas. The American public was taken over by a sense of anxiety and paranoia, leading to widespread accusations of communist ties and the eventual accusations and persecution of many

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During the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and the Red Scare of the 1950s, communities under a lot anxiety, hosted formal hearings during which representatives of these communities accused others of disregarding social standards. While these periods in history share many correlations, they were also distinctly different times that produced unmistakably different consequences. However, when both periods ended, many accusers were filled with apprehension regarding resolutions they made during the hardships of the community. (Withers) Depositions that fueled the Red Scare were furnished mainly by adults, many of whom were professionals. In various cases, Red Scare testimony was based on portion of information, such as the account that a person had once registered as a communist one decade prior to being examined.

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Hector Navarrete Mr. Glorfield English 11A 16 December 2022 Relations Between the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare For so long we have been traumatized by our past as a nation. There have been so many things that are not right for us, and we need to change that. A major problem back then was Communism. Communism rose after WW2 in Russia and later Communism started to rise in America.

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The British then continued to help Greece quell the communist uprising in the country. However, when the British decided to withdraw their help in 1946 Greece feared a communist takeover. (Britannica,2) These factors led to the creation of the Truman Doctrine. The anti-capitalist ideas of Communism and the rising tensions in Turkey and Greece due to the soviet union and communism all led to the Truman Doctrine being necessary for America's foreign

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In the 1920’s in the United States, the first Red Scare occurred. This was a time where American civilians would observe people on the streets, in stores, at work, on the bus, anywhere citizens might find strange behavior they might deem communist. Following the phase of this fight against communism, America obtained the ideal to help other nations follow in their leadership and inherit the democratic elements implemented in American democracy while eliminating the ruling of communism. Pursuing this principle in his presidency, President Harry S Truman, a loyal and honest man, leads with this mentality in his orders and decisions. In his patriotic speech to Congress and the Speaker of the House, President Harry Truman describes the hardships

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Taking Advantage of this "Red Scare" was Senator Joseph McCarthy who used the fear and panic of United States people (who lawfully live in a country, state, etc.) to advance his own interests. Though many Americans believed the (acts of asking questions and trying to find the truth about something) were wrong, few said anything.about the situations going on during that time

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There was a second red scare and it was more than just background music. It was a crusade that went against the communist influence with the United States.   The scope is wide and deep that curtailing the civil liberties. They had to quell political dissent to the top level of national politics to the lowest neighborhood or school meeting. There was a loyalty oath that paralleled progress of the cold war.

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Ultimately, a very similar occurrence took placed in the mid-1900s, known as the Second Red Scare. Citizens of the United States were intensely scrutinized to find the roots of communism, occasionally coercing deep, long-held secrets pertaining to the communist influence. Ultimately, history repeated itself in the 1900s upon the occurrence of the Second Red Scare, once again demonstrated mass hysteria characterizing the Salem Witch

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The Red scare was a chain of back to back tragedies from riots, bombings , and searches for suspected communist members of congress and public office holding Citizens who were supposedly “Red” this lasted from (1919-1920) was a situation started by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia this event was in the United States primarily higher ranked Americans. The socialistic concept of everyone having the same chance to achieve things or same opportunities put fear in major names of industry especially those who spent a lot of money and time in tons of money making operations. The USA took many precautions and was unsure about who was the enemy the union or the communist so we put them both in the same category as our enemies. A lot of false accusations

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This kind of hysteria caused the Red Scare, which was a period that Americans thought communists were working to destroy America. This mass fear of communism ruined people’s lives and made them turn against their own family and friends. Joseph McCarthy played an

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