Atomic fears and communist threats: The United States in the grip of the Second Red Scare

Soviet interrogation room
Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/indoors-room-soviet-3359767/

The Cold War was a time of tension and fear between the United States and the Soviet Union.

 

This period in history was marked by the fear of communism, which was seen as a threat to America.

 

The 'Red Scare' was a term that was used to describe the intense paranoia that gripped America during this time.

 

People were worried that communists were trying to take over the country, and many innocent people were persecuted because of their political beliefs.

Background

The Red Scare began in the late 1940s, when the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons.

 

This created a new level of fear in the United States, as it became clear that the Soviets had the ability to destroy America. 

 

The communist government of China under Mao Zedong also came to power during this time, which added to the paranoia. 

 

Americans were now convinced that communists were trying to take over the world, and they were determined to stop them.

 

It was feared that communists inside the USA would overthrow the government.

 

In March 1947, President Truman announced a new Loyalty Order. This required all government employees to be screened for communist activity.

 

If they were found to be communists, they would be fired from their jobs.


House Un-American Activities Committee

A congressional committee known as the 'House Un-American Activities Committee' was created in 1938.

 

This committee was originally formed to investigate Nazi activity in America, but it soon turned its attention to communism.

 

Its focus on communism began to intensify in the late 1940s, coinciding with the onset of the Cold War.

 

The House Un-American Activities Committee held hearings in which people were called to testify about their communist beliefs.

 

Those who refused to cooperate with the committee were often blacklisted from working.

The impact was particularly felt in the film industry, where a large number of actors were called to testify in Congress.

 

It was hoped that they would provide evidence against many Hollywood directors and produced who had showed Communism positively in their movies.

 

Those who were accused were then 'blacklisted', meaning that they were no longer permitted to work in the United States.

 

As a result, a number of actors and directors chose to move to other countries to save their careers. 

The Second Red Scare

The Second Red Scare began in the 1950s and lasted until the early 1960s. This period was marked by the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who led a crusade against communism. 

 

McCarthy was a Republican from Wisconsin. He declared that he had compiled a list of names of Communists working in the State Department.

 

The exact number of people on the list was never known for sure, but it began a fear within American society that their own government had been infiltrated.

 

Under McCarthy's encouragement, it was decided that public hearings should be held to root out the threat.

One of the most significant was the McCarthy hearings, which were held in order to investigate possible communist activity in the United States government.

 

These hearings occurred between 1950 and 1954. During them, McCarthy used fear and intimidation to force people to confess their communist beliefs.

 

He also accused many innocent people of being communists, which ruined their lives and careers. 

 

These hearings resulted in many people being blacklisted or fired from their jobs, and it damaged the careers of many innocent people.

 

As a result, the hearings had a significant impact on American society, and they helped to fuel the paranoia of the time.


Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

The Rosenbergs were a married American couple who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.

 

They were sentenced to death in 1953, and they became the only civilians to be executed for espionage during the Cold War era. 

 

Their trial was a highly controversial one, and many people believe that they were innocent.

 

Nevertheless, execution helped to fuel the paranoia of the time, and it showed how far government was willing to go in order to root out communism.

The role of the FBI

The FBI played a significant role in the Red Scare. The agency was responsible for investigating possible communist activity, and it was often involved in the persecution of innocent people. 

 

FBI agents used a range of surveillance techniques, including wiretapping and infiltration, to gather information on suspected communists.

 

They also used these techniques to try to silence those who spoke out against the government. 

 

The FBI also kept files on hundreds of thousands of Americans, which were used to blacklist them from jobs and other opportunities.

 

This practice continued until the 1970s, when it was finally stopped.

 

The head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, was a very controversial figure. He was accused of using the agency to persecute innocent people, and many believe that he used his power to silence political opponents. 

 

The FBI's activities during the Red Scare led to a lot of public criticism, and it tarnished the agency's reputation.

 

Nevertheless, the FBI was one of the key players in this period of American history.


Impacts

The Red Scare was a time of great fear and paranoia in America. Many innocent people were persecuted because of their political beliefs, and this period in history left a lasting mark on American society.

 

Even everyday people were affected during this era. For example, people were afraid to express their opinions in public for fear of being accused of being a communist.

 

This led to a climate of self-censorship and conformity.

 

The Red Scare also had a significant impact on the economy. The government spent billions of dollars on anti-communist programs, and this led to an increase in taxes.

End of the Red Scare

The Red Scare came to an end in the late 1960s, as America began to focus on other issues.

 

In addition, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, which made communism much less of a threat.

 

Looking back, the Red Scare was a time of great fear and paranoia. Many innocent people were persecuted because of their political beliefs, and this period in history left a lasting mark on American society.

Further reading