America in the 1950’s was a time where neighbor was told to watch neighbor in fear of a spy from Soviet Russia. After the second World War, many had believed that the atheistic communists had infiltrated the United States government on a mission to shape its policies. Politicians became disgraced after accusations of being a Communist member or sympathizer. In his “Speech Delivered in Wheeling West Virginia, February 9, 1950”, Republican senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, exemplified McCarthyism and the Red Scare by presenting a list of more than two hundred State Department employees that had been a Communist. Going into the Cold War between the Soviet Union and The United States had been a heated time for politicians named a communist; a near equivalent to being called a witch in Salem, Virginia.
Since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, which established a Communist government in Russia, Americans viewed the Soviets as a threat to all capitalistic countries. The revolution left Americans and the government in fear of communism taking over. This view led to anti-Communist hysteria, also known as the Red Scare of 1919. Another anti-Communist movement came about in the 1940s and 50s. This Second Red Scare became known as McCarthyism due to Joseph McCarthy's actions during his campaign.
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.
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
During the Cold war, between Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR) and the United States, fear of communism had increased drastically. Americans feared that communists were working inside their Government and inside their country to change their way of living, This new found fear was called the Red Scare. The Red Scare had spread so quickly people accused their neighbors and friends to be communists. Soon enough even the government was deemed untrustworthy. When someone would verify that they were not communist or inform the Government of suspicious communist activity, they were considered friendly.
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.
Communism was viewed as a threat to American way of life. Influx of immigrants during the first Red Scare contributed to the fear of communism as many Americans believed that the immigrants were communist philosophers who attempt to spread communism in America. Fear was fed by the news media and prominent politicians who portrayed the Soviets as bent on world domination.
This episode of political repression lasted longer and was more pervasive than the Red Scare that followed the Bolshevik Revolution and World War I. Popularly known as “McCarthyism” after Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin), who made himself famous in 1950 by claiming that large numbers of Communists had infiltrated the U.S. State Department, the second Red Scare predated and outlasted McCarthy, and its machinery far exceeded the reach of a single maverick politician. Nonetheless, “McCarthyism” became the label for the tactic of undermining political opponents by making unsubstantiated attacks on their loyalty to the United
How did the Red Scare affect the lives of the American people during the 1920s ? In the 1920s America, The Red Scare also known as the fear of communism in the United States was a time of terror of believing communism would arrive and spread throughout the U.S. As it was becoming into place in European countries. During the 1920s Americans acted irrationally in fear. The terror caused nativism to arize and immigration policies to be established and re written..
People didn’t know who to trust and by accusing other people of being communists, it would give him a form of protection if they ever accused him of being a communist spy. But the Red Scare, as it came to be known, was not only promoted by Sen. McCarthy, but involved the FBI: “When the Supreme Court started to make anti-Communist prosecutions more difficult, the bureau (FBI) embarked on COINTELPRO, a secret program of political sabotage, unauthorized surveillance, and disinformation designed to cripple the Communist party and, later, other radical groups as well” (Schrecker 24). McCarthyism created an environment where it was acceptable to break the law to get convictions even if the convictions were false. The FBI were quick to accuse people of being communists to divert attention from the laws the FBI broke, and it wasn’t until the 1970s where it became widely known. Even though people believed McCarthy’s accusations “McCarthy had no evidence that any of the people he referred to were communists; and, in fact, he tended to qualify his initial charges and fling new ones” (Schrecker
No one can deny that the Red Scare and communism have affected America in multiple negative ways. The First Red Scare in the 1920s occurred in the USA soon after Russia's Bolshevik revolution in 1917. This revolution brought communism to peoples minds to be a very real threat. The Red Scare was social and political response. Mainly to
The modern-day witch-hunt, also known as the McCarthy trails, were held by Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator. A few years after World War II and during the Cold War, there was speculation of communism in America; this was the beginning of the red scare. This is also when the media started playing a bigger role in everyone’s life. This is what led to the definition of McCarthyism, which states in the dictionary, “A vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the United States government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party.”
Many would say that this first red scare is part of the reason that McCarthy was successful in convincing the United States into believing that communism was to be feared. This suspicion began before McCarthy’s influence began to grow, but he was able to exploit it in order to get the people to believe him. In Chamedes’s book review, "Little "Red Scares": Anti-Communism And Political Repression In The United States,” the author states that “the first Red Scare of 1919-1920 was not a blip in American history: rather, it was the opening salvo for decades of anticommunist, counter-subversive activity.” Chamedes’s article shows how the Red Scare is connected
Similarly, in the 1950s, there were those who were associated with communism. Certain politicians who came into office such as Sen. Joseph McCarthy, began to instill fear into people by saying communists had infiltrated the american government. This soon became known as the Red Scare. It became somewhat of a witch hunt for communists. The House Un-American Activities Committee called people to testify and name names.
The Red Scare was about McCarthyism and the fear of being accused of being a communist. The two events were very similar, both having people scared to be out because of the random accusations being made as well as the deaths that were happening. Reverend Hale stated to Danforth “Excellency, I have signed seventy-two death warrants; I am a minister of the Lord, and I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it. ”(Miller, 966).
