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The Red Scare
The Red Scare was a propaganda technique used during a series of US wars to promote fear of communism. This technique was most prominent during World War 2, and was heavily supported by Senator Joseph McCarthy.
654 Questions
The Second Red Scare happened because one of Mcarthy's friends was drafted into the war and Mcarthy said that the military should gie his friend special treatment but the military said no so Mcarthy decided to try and blackmail the military claiming that there were Communists in the military and he launched an investigation and found nothing.
fear of communism in the us after the bolshevik revolution
Who was most affected by the red scare?
Labor unions were the groups that were most affected by the Red Scare. Some American businesses used the Red Scare as a method to demonize labor unions, claiming they were all communists. As a result, the unions, who had become very strong, lost over a million members. In actuality, communist membership in labor unions was very small, and mainly within the unions within the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
How was the first red scare different from the second red scare?
The two Red Scares focused on different topics involving communism. During the first Red Scare, the fear was focused on the spread of communism via far left agitators. The Second Red Scare, on the other hand, focused on a worker revolution and radical politics.
How was the second red scare the same as the first red scare?
Both nationwide panics occurred in an immediate postwar period, when the public was calling for a "return to normalcy." In both cases, constitutional rights were severely abused in the process of discriminating against radicals, communists, and anarchists.
What was the significance of the red scare?
The Red Scare in the U.S. was significant as a test of democracy and as an enduring reminder of the importance and also difficulty of freedom of speech, belief, and value. American leadership struggled with the external threat of Communism as well as the temptation to become internally repressive. Truly free, democratic society requires that such temptation be overcome, despite any related threats from outside its borders.
In American history, the First Red Scare took place in the period 1917-1920, and was marked by a widespread fear of anarchism, as well as the effects of radical political agitation in American society. Fueled by anarchist bombings and spurred on by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer.
What is the black list from McCarthyism and the red scare of the 1950?
the red scare is when people where dying all over the world because of the anti- communist.
What was the red scare of the 1950s?
long story short---basically most of the people in the U.S. were being paranoid about the threat of communism. so this also effected education. example: iif a teacher was suspected of being a communist then they would suspend that teacher without pay.
the end
Communist russia was increasing in size and control. making the us govnt scared. also Truman hated communist. leading to the red scare
What prompted hysteria during the red scare?
That is a very complicated question, but let me try to give it some context. The Red Scare did not come out of nowhere. In fact, it has deep historical roots. For generations, ultra-conservatives in a society have sought to distract the public from very real problems by offering scapegoats who are blamed for everything wrong in that society. Liberal and secular people, as well as religious minorities or racial minorities, are often the groups who are made the scapegoats by those forces that want to see theocracy (as in Iran or Saudi Arabia) or that want nationalism or a hyper-version of patriotism (as we saw in Nazi Germany). I am not comparing the folks in the Republican Party in the early 1950s to Nazis or theocrats, but I am saying the motivation is similar-- the Red Scare included the belief that anyone who disagreed with the views of the dominant group of conservatives was unAmerican, unChristian, or unpatriotic.
Many of the people called Communists (or Reds) during this period were from organizations considered liberal or secular. Some of the people accused, such as the Hollywood Ten, had in fact belonged to the Communist Party in the 1930s, but more as a social protest against racism and against the rich getting richer while the poor were suffering. I am not defending any of this, but I think some of this was conveniently dredged up during the McCarthy era to get back at critics of the government. Beating up on liberals (or those perceived as liberals) had been going on since the 1920s, in fact. Most historians today will tell you that in the 1950s, there was little concrete evidence that the US government was "dominated by Communists" as the McCarthyites claimed, but it was easy then, as now, to stir people up and scare them. McCarthy would claim he had "a list of 208 names" of Communists in the US government (the number varied, but he would never show the list-- just say that he had it) and he knew how to get headlines with charges like that. it was the Cold War, Americans were terrified of Communism, and it was all too easy to persuade them to fear anyone that was said to be a danger to our way of life.
As a result of the Red Scare, many innocent lives were ruined just to score cheap political points. Had Edward R. Murrow and a few others not spoken out so courageously at a time when dissent was not only discouraged but demonized, one wonders if the McCarthy era would have ended when it finally did. Sad to say, keeping Americans afraid of "traitors" and "Reds" gave a number of conservative politicians cover when they sought to go after Jews, African-Americans, the ACLU, and outspoken white liberals, as well as some of the ultra-right wing's political enemies.
I fully expect this answer to cause some controversy, and I'd be happy to offer the questioner some good (and objective) books about the Red Scare if he or she wants to know more. But the tactic of calling your opponent's patriotism into question (or demonizing anyone who disagrees) is still around today.
How the rising communism and socialism in the US led to the red scare and immigrant restrictions?
Immigration Restrictions
The Red Scare was one factor that led to new restrictions on
immigration. Other factors were two ideas that grew strong in America
in the 1920s. One of the ideas was that people born in America were
superior to immigrants. The other was that America should keep its
traditional culture intact. Anti-immigrant, anti-Jewish, and antiCatholic sentiments contributed to the popularity of a revived Ku Klux
Klan, not just in the South but throughout the nation. Ultimately, this
conservative reaction against immigrants resulted in the passage of
legislation that set limits on the number of immigrants who could come
from each country.
What did Senator Joseph McCarthy have to do with the Red Scare of the 1950's?
He conducted hearings on communist subversion in America and investigated alleged communist infiltration of the armed forces. But he did it in a way that advanced his own power and fame, and caused a great deal of trial and hardship for citizens who had different legitimate points of view politically without being disloyal to the US. Just to be accused by McCarthy, or brought before one of his hearings was like a 'kiss of death'. Professions and reputations were ruined during that cold war period, just because of the strange paranoid fear that was spread and kindled by McCarthy and his henchmen. Many in the entertainment industry were 'black-listed' and prevented from work; producers and directors feared that if they hired actors and others who had been 'exposed' by McCarthy, they would be accused of subversive activity just by hiring them. While he may not have been a communist, McCarthy was certainly not beyond reproach. For his reckless accusations and his inability to substantiate them, he was eventually censured by the Senate; his run at power and fame came to an end. There are many other interesting things about his life and career.
What was the government response to the Red Scare?
The government outlawed the Communist Party. Their candidates could not appear on ballots. Sen. McCarthy conducted hearings questioning possible Communists and prepared blacklists of people who had been Communist sympathizers. A law was passed requiring government employees to swear that they were not Communists and did not belong any subversive organization. Bomb shelters were made and maintained. Training was offering for dealing with nuclear attacks. Civil Defense groups were organized and equipped with radiation detectors . A radar line was set up around Russia. Bombers carrying nuclear bombs were kept in the air at all times. Missile installations were built and kept manned all over the world. Air Force carriers and nuclear submarines were built, staffed and kept in operation. Research in military weapons was funded heavily.
The Red Scare involved the spread of this type of government?
The Red Scare involved the spread of Anti-Communism In the United States.
What was the cause of the red scare?
Concern that federal employees were not loyal to the United States!
What are the effect of Red Scare on the US?
many panicked and accused innocent people of being communist. civil rights were tested and found to be insignificant during a time of crisis
List three similarities of the Salem Witch Trials to the Red Scare of the 1950s?
The Red Scare of the 1950s has been called a modern witch hunt. People were accused and convicted of Communism based on tenuous evidence like the witch trials; mass hysteria caused people to believe things that were ridiculous; and everyone realized how stupid it had been too late, lives had already been ruined.
Why was the red scare important?
The red scare came in the wake of World War I. It showed an excessive fear leading to violations of individual rights.
What was the cause of the Red Scare after World War 1?
The Russian revolution and ouster of the Czarist regime placed many nations in fear that their history of oppression might lead to similar revolution. This fear was invoked by the Industrial Barons who had considerable influence in high political and media positions.
What did senator Joseph McCarthy have to do with the Red Scare of the 1950s?
Joseph McCarthy was a Senator who ruined the careers of many people by calling them Communists, or "Reds," without sufficient proof.
In 1950, anti-communist hysteria began to emerge in the USA as encouraged by the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy who began accusing high-ranking US officials of being communists, or of selling secrets to the Russians. Some government employees were found guilty of passing on secrets about the Atom Bomb. But McCarthy eventually lost popularity, and then power, as his accusations grew wilder and cruder each day. All of this simply served to increase tension between the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union.
At the same time as McCarthy's denunciations, the House Un-American Activities Committee was also active. Many actors and writers were brought in before the Committee, and their lives ruined by threats and accusations. There were some Hollywood writers who were out of work for years because of these actions. They had been placed on a "blacklist" and studios were afraid to be connected with them.
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Senator McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, was Chairman of the US Senate Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations. He is viewed as a leading figure of the "Red Scare" of the 1950s. His committee, however, was not involved in the Hollywood Blacklist. McCarthy's committee was focused on supposed communists in the State Department, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) is the group identified with the Hollywood Blacklist. Or more properly, their investigations into supposed communists in Hollywood led the movie industry to establish the Blacklist as proof of their sincerity in fighting the supposed communists.
Senator McCarthy's activities are frequently confused with those of the HUAC. Richard Nixon was a member of HUAC while a member of the US House of Representatives.
The movie Julie & Julia (2009) is about the chef Julia Child and stars Meryl Streep. Julia's husband Paul Child, played by Stanley Tucci, is a state department official who was questioned by McCarthy's committee investigators and found innocent. Nonetheless the threat of investigation was often used to intimidate witnesses.
