McCarthyism and the Red Scare

The ‘American Dream’

• American dream of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’

• America seen as ‘land of opportunity’

• Free market capitalism central to US economy and foreign trade

Fear of Communism in the USA

• Communism seen as a threat to democracy, freedom of speech, religious freedom, private property and capitalism

• Soviet Union test their 1st atomic bomb in 1949 so Communist USSR also seen as a military threat to USA and its allies

Communist Expansion

• Communist governments got control in many European countries in years following WWII and Warsaw Pact military alliance set up

• Communists get control in China 1949

• Joe McCarthy claimed that in 1944 180 million people under Communist rule but in 1950 had risen to 840 million

Communist Spies and Agents

• There was a fear that communist spies and agents were operating in the US

• This fear was fuelled by propaganda anti-communist propaganda in books, newspapers, films and movies

Alger Hiss

• Worked as a senior official in the State Department

• Worked as an adviser to Roosevelt

• Hiss accused of being a communist spy in 1948 but found not guilty

• Hiss later questioned by Richard Nixon and admitted to lying

• Sentenced to 5 years in prison in 1950

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were husband and wife and in 1948 were accused of giving atomic secrets to USSR

• Evidence considered unreliable by some

• Rosenbergs executed in 1953

House of Unamerican ActivitiesHUAC

• HUAC was a House of Representatives Committee set up in 1938 to investigate communist and fascist organisations in USA

• By mid 1940s focussed solely on communist groups

• Suspects asked ‘Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?’

• People brought before the HUAC could not use the 5th amendment to the constitution to avoid answering

HUAC and Hollywood Blacklists

• In 1947 HUAC began investigating Hollywood

• Some refused to cooperate fully and were blacklisted

• Eventually around 300 actors, directors, screenwriters boycotted by the studios

Joe McCarthy

• Republican Senator from Wisconsin

• Made a speech in 1950 saying he had a list of communists working for the State Department

• Tidyings Committee set up to investigate allegations

• McCarthy made more accusations but produced little evidence

McCarthy’s Committees

• 1953 McCarthy was made chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations

• People brought before Committee were often treated in a bullying fashion

McCarthy’s Witch Hunt

• McCarthy’s Committee suggested that communist sympathisers were to be found in lots of different organisations, state departments and even in the US military

Truman and McCarthy

• McCarthy clashed with Truman often portraying Truman and Democrats as being soft on Communism

Eisenhower and McCarthy

• Eisenhower was a Republican and campaigned with McCarthy

• Eisenhower unhappy with McCarthy’s criticism of George C. Marshall

• But never directly criticised McCarthy "Have a care, sir," March 4, 1954

Reproduction from original drawingPublished in the Washington Post (33)

McCarthy vs. the Army

• 1953 McCarthy began investigation into US military

• Many in military unhappy with McCarthy’s approach

• 1954 McCarthy accused of trying to get promotion for a friend

Decline of McCarthyism

• Army-McCarthy hearings set up to investigate and McCarthy’s bullying approach clearly seen on TV

• Gradually lost his popularity and public and political support

Political Impact of McCarthyism

• Republicans attacked the Democrats for being soft on Communism

• Contributed to victory of the Republicans in Presidential election 1951

• US image abroad damaged by McCarthy’s Witch Hunt approach

• Trade unions moderated their demands because of fear of being branded as Communist

Cultural Impact of McCarthyism

• Less artistic freedom • Films on social issues

less popular• Anti-communist and

purely entertainment films produced

Impact of McCarthyism on individuals

• Ruined careers of many people who lost their jobs and/or were blacklisted

• Teachers, actors, producers, state employees, journalists etc...

• Some jailed for ‘contempt of Congress’ (117 between 1950 and 1952)

Impact of McCarthyism on Civil Liberties

• FBI created files and tapped phones of suspected communist sympathisers

• Less freedom of speech due to fear of being accused of being a communist sympathiser

Impact of McCarthyism on Public Opinion

• Increased fear of and resentment against Communism and USSR and China

• Lack of progress in Korean War could be blamed on enemies operating within the US government

Impact of McCarthyism on US Foreign Policy

• Presidents and politicians didn’t want to be seen as soft on Communism and were pushed towards a hardline approach to Communist countries

• US gave support to anti-communist groups or regimes in other countries (even if they were undemocratic and corrupt)

Impact of McCarthyism on Education

• 600 teachers sacked and blacklisted

• HUAC sought ‘reading lists’ from schools and universities

Role of the media in the Red Scare and McCarthyism

• Newspapers and cinema sometimes fostered anti-communist ideas and hysteria

• But the broadcasts on TV of the Senate hearings helped expose McCarthy’s bullying tactics and contribute to the decline of McCarthyism