The Cold War Affects Domestic Policies

Chapter 19 Section 4

*The Cold War at Home• The existence of the Soviet-controlled Eastern

Europe, the “loss” of China to communism, & the fact that the USSR had exploded an atomic bomb (1949), before anyone expected it, fueled suspicions that some Americans were working with the Communists, hoping to overthrow the U.S. government.

• *A period of anti-communist hysteria created a climate of suspicion in the U.S.

• Truman established a federal employee loyalty program, checking the backgrounds of all federal employees.

• 3 million government workers investigated & just over 200 were dismissed.

• Very small number of dismissals is surprising considering an employee could merely be perceived as “potentially disloyal”.

• Security risks included communist sympathizers, homosexuals, alcoholics, & those in debt.

• States & municipalities (cities)

followed the example & required

many of their workers to take a

loyalty oath.

*HUAC*• The House Un-American Activities Committee,

HUAC, investigated allegations of communist activity in the U.S. during the Cold War.

• The committee wielded its supoena power as a weapon calling citizens to testify in high-profile hearings before Congress.

• This intimidating atmosphere produced dramatic but questionable results about Communists in U.S. governments & by popular citizens.

• HUAC's controversial tactics contributed to the fear, distrust, & anticommunist hysteria of the 1950s.

*The Hollywood Ten

• *HUAC paid special attention to the entertainment industry; many believed to be Communists.

• Trying to limit government intervention, most film executives cooperated with the investigations blacklisting actors, directors, & writers accused of Communist activity.

• The Hollywood Ten, were called to testify in 1947.

• They refused to cooperate & were very outspoken.

• Cited for contempt of Congress, sentenced to prison, & were blacklisted by Hollywood.

Spy Cases-*Alger Hiss

• *Former government official Alger Hiss, investigated by HUAC after he was accused of being a Soviet spy by Time magazine editor Whittaker Chambers.

• Found guilty of perjury, 1950, & served 4 yrs

*Spy Cases-the Rosenbergs

• *Ethel & Julius Rosenberg, communists, were accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.

• Both were found guilty and were executed in 1953.

*VENONA Papers

• The VENONA Project was a long-running secret collaboration (work together) between the U.S. & British intelligence agencies & encrypted messages sent by the Soviets.

• *Proved that some Americans had committed espionage (spying) for the Soviet Union.

• J. Rosenberg & A. Hiss

were indeed Soviet spies!

• Confirmed by Khruschev’s memoirs

*The McCarthy Era-2nd Red Scare

• Believed the Communists in the government issue would get him re-elected

• *1950, McCarthy claimed to have names of 205 Communists working in the State Department. Despite never identifying a communist, & having no evidence, his popularity grew & HUAC investigated.

• The start of the Korean War, the arrest & trial of the Rosenbergs & Hiss played into McCarthy's hands.

• *Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, Wisconsin, raised fear of Communists in U.S. government!

*McCarthy’s Fall

• 1954,McCarthy accused the army of harboring communists

• Congress asked the hearings between McCarthy & the army be televised, hoping to swing popular opinion against McCarthy.• McCarthy was seen as a bully, reckless, & dishonest.• McCarthy was censured (Congressional reprimand) •*McCarthyism = tactics of reckless accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence.

*4 U.S. Domestic Results of Sputnik*

1. Soviets had more advanced technology than the U.S. = embarrassed

2. U.S. feared we could be defeated in a war

3. *In response to fears that Soviet technology was superior (Sputnik), the U.S. formed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958.

NASA was dedicated to space exploration.

*Education as Defense4. *National Defense Education Act, 1958, formed

to meet the scientific and technical challenge from the Soviet Union

• Provided low-cost loans to college students, incentives for teaching math & science; money for building science & foreign language facilities in schools.

1. *What event caused this political cartoon?2. *What U.S. action was a result of this political cartoon?

*The U-2 Incident, 1960• Both the U.S. & USSR conducted

surveillance on each other during the Cold War.

• *A Soviet guided missile shot down an American U-2 spy plane

• Pilot, Gary Powers & its video footage captured

• *Result = shattered American confidence, prompted a desire to surpass Soviet technology, & increased tensions between the U.S. & Soviets

Top pictures: U-2 in flight and on ground.

Right: Wreckage of G. Powers U-2 that was shot down May 1, 1960.

1. Which yr. was defense spending the highest? Why?

2. During which yrs. was the gap between defense spending & human resources the narrowest?

Review

1. Anti-communist hysteria led to what kind of climate in the U.S.?

2. List 4 U.S. domestic results that developed from the successful launch of Sputnik.

3. What is NASA?

4. Define McCarthyism

5. What did the VENONA Papers prove?

6. What did the National Defense Education Act do?

7. The U-2 incident led to?