Day 4 Red Scare Cold War

There are al-Queda terrorists currently residing inside American society. They may be simply sending information back to their leaders, or they may be planning violence and sabotage. How far should the U.S. government go in hunting down these terrorists? What rules should the government obey?

What does being un-American mean to you?

Why was there a fear of communism in the 1950s?

The fear and distrust of communism intensified in America when the Soviet Union began to test nuclear weapons

• As Cold War tensions rose, Americans worked to combat Communist influence at home.

• The Red Scare intensified as Senator Joseph McCarthy presided over a Senate committee charged with exposing Communists in government.

• FBI spies are somewhere in the classroom

• Be on your best behavior or – 5 points

• During the 1950s, rumors and accusations of Communists in the United States led to fears that Communists were attempting to take over the world.

• What was the fear? Communist subversion—an effort to secretly weaken a society and overthrow its government.

• 1947- HUAC investigated Communist infiltration of the Motion-Picture Industry.

• “The Hollywood Ten” a group of writers and directors claiming First Amendment rights, refused to name names of suspected communists or testify before the committee.

• As a result, they were found guilty of contempt of congress and were sentenced to between 6 and 12 months in prison.

• “The Hollywood 10” were blacklisted, which had a devastating effect on their careers.

• In early 1947, Truman established the loyalty review program to screen all federal employees for their loyalty. The program’s aim was to calm Americans. Instead, it led to the fear that Communists were infiltrating the government.

• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover went to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to urge them to hold public hearings on Communist subversion. Under Hoover’s leadership, the FBI sent agents to investigate suspected groups and to wiretap thousands of telephones.

What was the Fear of the Red Scare?

• Communist subversion—an effort to secretly weaken a society and overthrow its government.

How did Truman’s loyalty review program backfire?

• The program’s aim was to calm Americans. Instead, it led to the fear that Communists were infiltrating the government.

What amendment right was violated by the “Hollywood 10”?

• Freedom of Speech

• 1948- Time magazine editor testified before HUAC that several government officials were also former Communists or spies.

• The most famous was Alger Hiss. Hiss denied the charges, but he was convicted of committing perjury, or lying under oath.

• The search for spies intensified when the Soviet Union produced an atomic bomb.

• Klaus Fuchs admitted giving information to the Soviet Union.

• This led to the arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were charged with heading a Soviet spy ring.

• Many believed the Rosenbergs were not guilty, but they were still executed in1953.

The federal government encouraged

• Universities• Businesses• unions • And churches to start finding Communists.

Find the commies

Find the commies

Find the commies

Find the commies

What was Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs convicted of?

• Spying for the Soviet Union

• 1949- Americans continued to believe that Communists were inside the government.

• Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, stated that he had a list of 205 Communists in the state department.

“I have here 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 policy in the State Department.”

• McCarthy won the Senate race after accusing his Democratic opponent of being a Communist.

• Americans to begin to believe them.

• Congress passed the Internal Security Act or McCarran Act in 1950. The act made it illegal to “combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to . . . the establishment of a totalitarian government.”

• Six concentration camps built for suspects

• McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations.

• Turned into a witch hunt as he searched for disloyalty based on poor evidence and fear.

“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”

• On March 9, 1954, Murrow, Friendly, and their news team produced a half-hour See It Now special entitled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy“

• Murrow used excerpts from McCarthy's own speeches and proclamations to criticize the senator and point out episodes where he had contradicted himself.

• Nevertheless, the broadcast contributed to a nationwide backlash against McCarthy and is seen as a turning point in the history of television.

• 1954- Finally, an army lawyer named Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy.

• Later that year, the Senate passed a vote of censure, or formal disapproval, against McCarthy.

McCarthy you are a liar and an

idiot!

• McCarthy faded from public view but the hysteria he caused lingered throughout the era

How did McCarthy use the Red Scare to his advantage?

• McCarthy won the Senate race after accusing his Democratic opponent of being a Communist.

Did McCarthy have any real evidence?

• No he fabricated it

When did McCarthy go to far?

• When he began to threaten the Army

Dot Game Opener

• Students pick a small piece of paper from a plastic bag. Some of the pieces of paper have a red dot on them while most of the pieces are blank. Students are not to reveal what is on their piece of paper to anyone else.

• The object of the “game” is for the students to create the largest group possible without any red dots. They may question each other as they form groups. The largest group without a member with a red dot wins. Any person who holds a red dot and has infiltrated a group wins.

• The purpose of the “game” is for the students to experience some of the suspicions associated with the McCarthy Era.

• 1938: A temporary committee was created in the US House of Representatives to investigate anti-• Americanism and subversive activities. It was called the Special Committee to Investigate Un-American• Activities and Propaganda in the United States.• • 1945: The committee was replaced with the permanent House Committee on Un-American Activities.• • 1947: A search for communists in the motion picture industry began. The “Hollywood Ten” are blacklisted• and sentenced to prison terms.• • 1947: The Truman administration barred Communists or people who associated with Communists from jobs• in government• • 1950: McCarthy announced that he had a list of 205 Communists in the US department of state.• • 1951: McCarthy leads the second wave of HUAC hearings and subpoenas some of the most prominent• entertainers of the era and demands that they name names of suspected Communists in the entertainment• industry.• • 1954: McCarthy conducted televised hearings of those accused of being Communists.• • 1954: McCarthy is censured by the US Senate for his methods of investigation.• • 1955: The HUAC called Seeger to hearings and accused him of being a member of the Communist party.• Seeger cited the First Amendment in his defense.