During and after the World War II, United States government realized that the influence of communism as a serious problem which was penetrated in the country. The communists were identified as their fellow employees and members in Universities, factories, businesses and also in churches. The government created the Loyalty Review Board to verify the loyalty of all government workers and tried to control the fear of Americans. The fear of the ‘red menace,’ or communism spread among the citizens is known as Red Scare. Based on the threat of communism, the restriction of civil liberties was done by not only federal government but also the state and local governments in the nation.
Many Americans were dissatisfied with Capitalism during the Depression
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Some innocent people were afraid that they might be accused of being an extremist. State and local police, military intelligence, private detective companies, and federal agencies like FBI formed and acted as law enforcement agent groups to target against foreigners, radicals and labor unions. McCarthy and his team accused many individuals of being communists and many Americans lost their jobs due to the accusations. The situation of fear and panic instigated by McCarthyism led thousands of Americans to sign loyalty oaths, many innocent people were imprisoned and some of the foreigners were deported from the …show more content…
During this Cold War period, Americans intuited communism as a feasible threat, called “Red Scare” led to negotiations to civil liberties. Civil Liberties accentuate preeminence of individual rights and personal freedoms over and against any kind of authority. Civil liberties are basic freedoms assured by the Bill of Rights or elucidated by courts and lawmakers. Civil liberties protect personal freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. The restriction of civil liberties was done by policymakers in the federal, state and local governments and the news media was attacked regularly on the basis of its alleged liberal bias. Some of the rights include the right for legal counsel, right to a jury trial, right to be cruel and unusual punishments help to protect innocent people during prosecution. Many Americans believed the enquiring intruded on civil liberties and objected to investigate
In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
Abstract How did the American public’s emotions and reasoning overshadow suspected communist’s constitutional rights in the McCarthy trials during the Red Scare of the 1950’s? The answer to that question remains that emotion and reasoning were the only two justifications Senator Joseph McCarthy manipulated any support to start the widespread investigation of suspected communists in the United States. The Red Scare literally scared everybody into thinking
However, newly released archival materials such as the Venona intercepts show the extent of Communist subversion in pre- and post-war America. There were indeed hundreds of Communists working for Moscow, directly or indirectly, in the United States during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. The problem that plagued Joe McCarthy was that by the time he surfaced with his accusations in the 1950’s, the key Soviet spy networks had all been closed down. For decades, many people believed that anyone who was accused of being a spy for the Soviets in the '50s was in fact just another innocent victim of the McCarthy’s witch hunt. Although it is true that McCarthy’s witch hunt did ruin the lives of innocent people, the fact is there were witches to be hunted and there had been a threat national security presented by communist spying and subversion in the 1940’s.
In McCarthy’s speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, he mentions how there were communists throughout the government. He targeted those treated well by the Nation, such as the wealthy and white-collar workers. Attacking people born with silver spoons in their mouths, those who are born privileged, and claiming the ones in the government are Communists increases the amount of fear the Americans had that communism was spreading. Despite McCarthy’s accusations that these people were communists, he never provided evidence that supported his claim. McCarthy’s “witch hunt” for Communists, also known as McCarthyism, was a movement he used to make himself more powerful and to discredit the Truman
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.
In a news article published during the Red Scare, the author describes the Communist red flag as symbolizing “defiance of law, order, and constitutional government. It is an insult to the stars and stripes.” It also states, “There is no room in this country for any flag but our own.” (source) The article goes on to say that the federal government must do whatever it takes to eradicate any forms of communism.
The Soviet Union and the U.S had contrasting views on the ideas of capitalism and communism, in a bid for world domination the Cold War broke out. A “red scare” swept the nation, with a fear of possible nuclear conflict Americans were paranoid that their own families were communist, spies for the Soviet government. Initiated by Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism, preached for anti-communism and the suppression of the Anti-communist party. Supporters of communism (reds) were ostracised akin to the patients in the ward being ostracised from society, ‘the outside world’ cementing their chances of ever assimilating into modern society. Government bodies and followers of McCarthyism suppressed freedom of speech and persecuted the “Reds”, in the same manner, that Nurse Ratched controlled the speech and actions within the confines of the ward, controlling her patients every word and move through her “cogs and wires”, anyone who dared to cause an uproar was either humiliated in ‘democratic’ group therapy sessions, given ‘electroshock therapy’ or
In the 1950’s the cold war had begun. The fear of retaliation from communists was at large. Some Americans believed that communists were amongst them plotting. This lead to a dark time in history when American opportunity became limited for many. Most rights were limited, normal life was disrupted, and the most necessary human right may have been taken.
McCarthyism falsely accused people of supporting communism and being unloyal to America(Document D). These claims had no proper evidence which justified the said assertions. Individuals who were accused of being a communist or a spy, even if the facts were not accurate, were looked down upon and occasionally prosecuted. Accused people no longer supported the war, for it led to the government punishing the innocent(Document G). Not only was the government believed to be unreliable, but trust between people was a large issue during the Cold War.
This kind of hysteria caused the Red Scare, which was a period that Americans thought communists were working to destroy America. This mass fear of communism ruined people’s lives and made them turn against their own family and friends. Joseph McCarthy played an
The Red Scare started right after the civil war was over. There had been many riots to accrue during the time of the red scare. In the term the red scare had been a form of lose to many successful people. It took at huge toll on the government as they tried to stop and contain the many job losses, but as the time went by people start to riot in the streets because the of the cuts from their jobs had really affected them. People were losing their lives and the government did all they could to try and stop it.
Between the Red Scare and, its period of economic prosperity, the 1950s has long been considered as a time of great controversy in the United States. Though industry may have been thriving and unemployment was down, the people of the United States lived in constant fear of the Soviet Union and Communism as a whole. It was because of this fear and the encouragement of certain government officials that triggered the Red Scare, which was later considered by many as a “Communist witch hunt.” It was also this fear that eventually led to increased American involvement in the Cold War.
Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin believed communism was the most daunting threat to the American government at the time. Moreover, most Americans had only heard of communism, but were generally unaware of the topic until McCarthy preached his opinions. After his speech to the Republican National Convention in 1952, American citizens suddenly felt a responsibility to rid the country of communists. Although the thought of communism did not pose a danger to the average American, McCarthy’s rampant speeches made unknowing citizens feel a sense of urgency toward the topic. One reason Americans heard little of communism is because the government did not want them to know.
When the Red Scare was taking place, an abundant number of individuals feared the idea of growing communism. Similar to the events in The Crucible, there were those who blatantly pointed fingers to benefit themselves. During the Red Scare, Senator Joseph McCarthy added on to the state of paranoia with dishonest charges against people. During a speech, McCarthy claimed to possess a list of Communist members that work for the U.S government (“McCarthyism”). As a result, many people started to view McCarthy as courageous.
The American War Against Fear World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, in which it encompassed the major nations in the world, including the United States of America. The aftermath of the war, in which the United States and its allied powers emerged victorious, should have marked a period of political tranquility. However this supposition proved incorrect, as the American ethos was ravaged by a state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than a military conflict, the Cold War was an ideological war in which democracy and communism clashed. The Cold War fears of the American people, reflected in the mass hysteria behind the Red Scare and McCarthyism, was entrenched in the