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The red scare and comformity
The red scare and comformity
The red scare and comformity
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The red scare and comformity
The red scare and comformity
The red scare and comformity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Between the Red Scare and, its period of economic prosperity, the 1950s has long been considered as a time of great controversy in the United States. Though industry may have been thriving and unemployment was down, the people of the United States lived in constant fear of the Soviet Union and Communism as a whole. It was because of this fear and the encouragement of certain government officials that triggered the Red Scare, which was later considered by many as a “Communist witch hunt.” It was also this fear that eventually led to increased American involvement in the Cold War.
In McCarthy’s speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, he mentions how there were communists throughout the government. He targeted those treated well by the Nation, such as the wealthy and white-collar workers. Attacking people born with silver spoons in their mouths, those who are born privileged, and claiming the ones in the government are Communists increases the amount of fear the Americans had that communism was spreading. Despite McCarthy’s accusations that these people were communists, he never provided evidence that supported his claim. McCarthy’s “witch hunt” for Communists, also known as McCarthyism, was a movement he used to make himself more powerful and to discredit the Truman
US citizens faced many domestic changes during the 1940s to 1950s anti-Communist crusade, also known as the Red Scare. During this time, the Soviet Union and its Communist government began to spread. People in the US feared that communism would take over the country, and this fear led to people becoming suspicious of everyone around them. If someone said anything remotely suspicious, they could be turned in, lose their jobs, and get blacklisted, which made it almost impossible to find new work. During this time, people unofficially lost their freedom of speech and other civil liberties.
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.
Formed in 1938 allowed The Speaker of the House to appoint a special committee made of seven members for the purpose of conducting investigations. The Committee conducted investigations on the un-American propaganda in the United States also the un-American propaganda that originates from foreign countries and attacks the principle of American capitalistic ways and the free society guaranteed by the Constitution. In October 1947, more than 40 people that had connections to the movie industry were given subpoenas to appear before The House Un-American Activities Committee on suspicion of having communist ties or being involved in “subversive activities”. During the hearings, members of The House Un-American Activities Committee grilled the witnesses about their past and present connections with Communist. The witnesses knew that their answers would ruin their reputation and career so most of the witnesses sought leniency by working with investigators or they would not speak and use their Fifth Amendment right.
The Red Scare during the 1920’s caused many Americans to change their views on foreign policy by making them more cautious of the new settlers in the country. Because many of the views of the immigrants were much different than that of an average American they were definitely easier to accuse for crimes, and seemed to be much more suspicious now. In 1921 two Italian immigrants we e convicted for murder and executed in 1947; it was only till after they died that they were proven not guilty. “Because of the circumstances of the case and the widely held belief that the pair were innocent, the case is still cited by many as evidence of the excesses of the Red Scare and the rampant hostility and suspicion of immigrant that characterized the 1920’s”
In a news article published during the Red Scare, the author describes the Communist red flag as symbolizing “defiance of law, order, and constitutional government. It is an insult to the stars and stripes.” It also states, “There is no room in this country for any flag but our own.” (source) The article goes on to say that the federal government must do whatever it takes to eradicate any forms of communism.
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.
In the late 1940s and during the 1950s Americans suffered from both a cultural and political hysteria that was caused by panic and anxiety about the Soviet threat. Many Americans believed that there were communists working within America to weaken the country. Thousands of Americans citizens, from teachers, actors and trade unionists to high level government officials, were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers, and were investigated and questioned in front of government committees and agencies. Their association with communism was often exaggerated and many people lost their jobs or were imprisoned based on inconclusive and at times fictitious evidence. The ‘Red Scare’ that occurred in the United States during this period in
Senator) started a national scene by waving a piece of paper in the air saying “I have here in my hand a list of 205…names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping [US] policy.” even though he didn’t actually have that list. After that, the Wisconsin Republican passed fifty-two charges later eight-one. Finally, they promised to disclose the name of just one communist, the nation’s top Soviet agent and later McCarthy claimed that he fame and fueled the ongoing “red
They slandered anyone’s name that was suspected of being a communist without being proven guilty. They ruined many careers, though they had no affiliation with the communist party. The media would write about certain people and cause them to be blacklisted, preventing them from getting hired at other jobs. There were two major news organizations, the AWARE and HUAC. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created to investigate un-loyal and dishonest organizations, but eventually they became anti-communist group.
During the time of the red scare of 1919 and 1920. The red scare was a major threat to United States was plotted by anarchist to overthrow the government and eventually take of the United States. The red scare was not the only threat to society. On September 11, 2001 better known as 9/11 was a series of terrorist attacks on held by suicidal Islamic an attempt to overthrow the government and to get the attention of American citizens. These were great tragedies that had happened over a period of time to American citizens.
The Red Scare started right after the civil war was over. There had been many riots to accrue during the time of the red scare. In the term the red scare had been a form of lose to many successful people. It took at huge toll on the government as they tried to stop and contain the many job losses, but as the time went by people start to riot in the streets because the of the cuts from their jobs had really affected them. People were losing their lives and the government did all they could to try and stop it.
World War I was finally over, however, there was a new threat to Americans. The fear of invasive Communist ideals began to grow rapidly in the United States. Communism is, in Democratic views, a terrible and oppressive way to govern a country. As the United States has always been a democracy, it is easy to understand the great fear of the American people. This widespread terror was known as the Red Scare.
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