Reasons for the Red Scare

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Reasons for the Red Scare

Causes

  • Fear of communism - many Americans were afraid that Eastern European immigrants would try to take over and make the USA communist, much like the Russian Empire in 1917
  • Soviet expansion in Europe - by 1950, all the countries of Eastern Europe had communist governments
  • The Truman Doctrine and the Berlin Crisis - publicised demonstrations of the fight against communism and the effects of the war against the European communists increased fear for many American citizens
  • The Soviets developed their atomic bomb not long after the USA - many were afraid that their country's biggest enemy now had a weapon capable of mass destruction
  • The role of the FBI - the Federal Loyalty Boards were established to investigate government employees, forcing up to 3,000 people to be fired or have to resign as they were considered a security risk and many states, cities and even private businesses began investigating their workforce, resulting in thousands of people losing their jobs if they were suspected of even being sympathetic towards communists
  • HUAC - public hearings on the threat presented by communists in America e.g. the trial of the Hollywood Ten, causing the ten (very famous) Hollywood workers to be jailed and thus inspiring film makers to increase production of anti-communist films for fear of being tried themselves
  • The Hiss case - Hiss was a member of the State Department who was jailed for 5 years for lying to the court when he denied leaking information to the USSR, showing Americans that communist spies were apparently everywhere, even the most important offices in the country
  • The Rosenberg case - the couple were sentenced to death for leaking information to the Soviets on how to develop an atomic bomb, leading many to fear the corruption they were being shown within their society
  • McCarthyism - Senator Joseph McCarthy held the hearings against communists and was very harsh, encouraging others to act similarly towards communist behaviour

Effects

  • The McCarran Internal Security Act - passed in 1950, meant that all communist organisations had to register with the government; strengthened in 1952 so communists were not allowed US passports or to work in certain jobs and in an emergency, anyone suspected of working to harm US society could be put in a detention camp without facing trial
  • Thousands of ordinary Americans gave information to the FBI on people they suspected they may be communists
  • People were seen as "red" if they had radical or socialist ideas, or even just different opinions
  • Trade unions were seen as communist organisations, which hugely reduced their influence - they rarely called for strikes and fewer workers joined unions for fear of being accused as communist
  • Many Americans stopped talking about politics or world events altogether for fear of being accused
  • Politicians rarely campaigned for left-wing policies and if they did, they were rarely elected
  • The State Department lost hundreds of intelligent and talented workers who could have steered US policies in a completely different direction
  • The international reputation of the USA was damaged as they were seen as intolerant of people with different ideas so more people became anti-American

Overall summary

Some historians argue that the Red Scare lasted until the end of the Cold War in 1991 but anxiety and fear of communism was definitely prominent long after 1954. The Red Scare had a huge impact on people's careers and social lives, impacting their freedom of speech as the whole country grew fearful of a communist takeover just like they were seeing happen in Eastern Europe.

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