After enduring the past three decades encompassing two world wars and economic depression, Australians sought peace and security in the post-war era. Although this new era had brought both economic and political stability, Australians continued to live feeling vulnerable and fearful.1 From 1949-1966, Robert Menzies lead Australia through the post-war era as his second term as Prime Minister and became the longest-serving Prime Minister in Australian history2 as the leader of the conservative Liberal Party.
During Menzies' second term he held strong priority on eliminating the communist influence in the union movement and believed that this goal could only be achieved by abolishing the Communist Party. In October of 1950, he kept true to his election pledge and The Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950 (Cth) was passed into law by Parliament, making the Communist Party and affiliated bodies illegal.2 In the words of the Bill, a communist was 'a person who supports or advocates the objectives, policies, teachings, principles or practices of communism, as expounded by Marx and Lenin’.3 Anyone who carried on the work of the party after it was declared illegal was to be
On December Fourth, 1950, the court case Dennis v. United States was brought to the Supreme Court concerning the Constitutionality of the Smith Act. The Smith Act stated that citizens cannot knowingly work towards to and willingly advocate for the violent and forceful overthrow of the United States government. It is also illegal for citizens to support or organize a group that aims to do so by the Smith Act. Before this case was introduced to the Supreme Court, it underwent trial at multiple lower courts after the leading members of the Communist Party of America were arrested for violating the Smith Act in 1948. Eugene Dennis, an elected official to the Executive Secretary position of the Communist Party of America was arrested along
10. Styles Bridges Styles Bridges, a Republican Senator from New Hampshire from 1937 until his death in 1961, was an uncommonly ardent anticommunist, and a steadfast defender of the more famous Joseph McCarthy. He is one of the few to have voted against McCarthy’s censure in 1954, and supported the “witch hunts” which took place during the Second Red Scare, as well as the persecution of gay civil servants during the so-called “lavender scare.” These actions alone would convince many that he was a rather unsavory character, but his infamy lies in his treatment of Senator Lester Hunt of Wyoming, a Democrat, in 1953-4. Hunt’s son was gay, and had been arrested for trying to solicit sex from an undercover policeman.
The 1970s was a decade of change for Australia. Many issues were talked about including immigration, war, sexual morality, the role of women and the environment. Gough Whitlam had a huge role on shaping Australia and made some amazing changes. Whitlam was Australia’s prime minister from 1972 to 1975. During his time as prime minister he changed rights involving women’s equal pay and maternity leave as well as removing Australian troops from the Vietnam war, introducing free university education and lowered the voting age.
The Whitlam Government was made up of the members of the Australian Labor Party and ran in power from 1972 until its dismissal in 1975. The Whitlam Government was responsible for implementing Healthcare and Social Security and important changes to areas of Australia’s education, women, economy, defence, nationality, democracy and immigration. The Whitlam government only served for three years and was actually dismissed by Sir John Kerr; The Governor-General in 1974 appointed by Whitlam, this raises the questions what really where the successes and failures of the Whitlam Government?
The year 1950 was a time of civil unrest amongst the people of America. The Red Scare swept through the nation, and the worry of a communist or a fascist living just down the street became a very real and very common fear of many Americans. This angst then grew due to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s claims in his “Wheeling Speech”, given on February 9th 1950, in which he proclaimed that he was in possession of a list of 205 communists working for the Senate Department. This alone sent a frenzy throughout America; the thought of the corruption communists could cause within the government terrified the American citizens. In this time of uneasiness, a brave Republican Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, takes the house floor and gives a remarkable speech that addresses her concerns about the government and the country.
Imagine the wicked House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) arrest an innocent man. The HUAC does not arrest the man because he has committed a murder, but because he is a communist. Many communists became victims of HUAC in the Red Scare crisis of the 1950s. These communists made the right decision to speak out for their freedom and against injustice. These communists also spoke out for their freedom of different beliefs.
The author says that perhaps many citizens may be drawn to Communist ideology if the social injustices become more prevalent, and urges the readers to look into the problems of Communist civilizations. This article is an example of how many felt during the Red Scare and Cold War in regards to communism. It shows that people felt a collapse
Alleged communists were hounded by the law, friends and families alienated them and jobs were lost. All that they did was express their democratic right to join a political
History assignment How have Australian government policies and practices affected patterns of migration and changed Australia since World War Two? Changing government policies and practices have affected pattern of migration to Australia and changed Australia significantly since World War Two. Policies such as ‘populate or perish’ and the ending of the ‘White Australia Policy’ changed Australia from a largely British society to a multicultural one.
“Socialism” and “communism” was introduced into America’s political lingo when the reformers tried to own useful property together as a community instead of private individuals. Several Utopian societies attempted to change traditional gender roles and
The Red Scare promoted fear of a potential rise in communism. A commonly believed idea to the hawks, known as the "Domino Theory”, supported this agitation. This notion states if one country transitions towards communism then the surrounding countries
Australian women had a very broad range of duties and responsibilities during World War II. Their roles also changed a lot for a long time during 1939 to 1945. There are some factors that show how their roles changed. These factors are participation in military services, education to work in skilled employment and transformation of attitudes and beliefs of society.
Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.
The threat of a world dominated by Communist governments by the
Karl Marx (1818-1883) considered himself not to be a sociologist but a political activist. However, many would disagree and in the view of Hughes (1986), he was ‘both – and a philosopher, historian, economist, and a political scientist as well.’ Much of the work of Marx was political and economic but his main focus was on class conflict and how this led to the rise of capitalism. While nowadays, when people hear the word “communism”, they think of the dictatorial rule of Stalin and the horrific stories of life in a communist state such as the Soviet Union, it is important not to accuse Marx of the deeds carried out in his name.