McCarthy and the Red Scare

1. McCarthy and the Red Scare Chapter 26.3

2. The Second Red Scare • People feared that Communism would spread around the world • Soviet Union took over Eastern Europe and Communism took over China • At the height of World War II, about 80,000 Americans were a member of the Communist Party • People feared that their first loyalty would be the Soviet Union

3. Loyalty Review Board • The Federal Employee Loyalty Program was set up when anti-Communist Republicans accused Truman of being too soft on Communism, including the Loyalty Review Board • It’s purpose was to find and dismiss disloyal government employees • A list of 91 “subversive” organizations were deemed suspicious • 1947-1951- 3.2 million employees were investigated • 212 employees dismissed • 2,900 resigned- they didn’t want to be investigated and thought their rights would be violated

4. The House of Un-American Activities Committee • Other agencies investigated inside and outside of the U.S. government • Most famous: House of Un-American Activities Committee • Investigated the movie industry • Believed that propaganda was being sneaked into films

5. Hollywood Ten • 43 witnesses were questioned • Many of the witnesses were “friendly” and supported the Communism accusations • Ten “unfriendly” witnesses refused to testify because they felt the hearings were unconstitutional • These ten people were called the Hollywood Ten • They were sent to jail for refusing to testify

6. Hollywood Ten cont. • Hollywood responded to the hearings with a blacklist- a list of about 500 actors, writers, producers, and directors who were not allowed to work on Hollywood films because of their alleged Communist connections

7. The McCarran Act • Congress decided that Truman’s Loyalty Review Board wasn’t enough • Passed the McCarran International Security Act • Made it unlawful to plan any action that might lead to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship in the U.S. • Truman vetoed the billed but the Act was still passed

8. Spy Cases Stun the Nation • Alger Hiss-1948 • Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist spy, accused Alger Hiss, a former State Department Official, of spying for the Soviet Union • A microfilm of government documents were produced that was claimed to be typed on Hiss’s typewriter • Too much time passed to convict him of espionage but the jury convicted him of perjury for lying about the forged documents • 1990’s- Soviet cables released by the National Securities Agency seemed to prove his guilt

9. The Rosenbergs • Sept. 3, 1949- Americans learned that the Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb which was thought to take another 3-5 years • People suspected Communist supporters in the U.S. leaked the secret of the atomic bomb out • Klaus Fuchs- admitted to giving the Soviet Union info on the American’s atomic bomb which probably helped the Soviets develop the bomb faster • Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were thought to have been involved since they were minor activists in the American Communist Party • They denied the charges and plead the 5th

10. The Rosenbergs cont. • The Rosenbergs believed they were being prosecuted because they were Jewish and held radical beliefs • Judge Irving Kaufman thought they were directly responsible for the deadliest clashes of the Cold War • Declared their crime was “worse than murder” • They were found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death by electric chair • First U.S. civilians executed for espionage

11. McCarthy • Joseph McCarthy- most famous anti-Communist activist • Was known for being an ineffective legislature • Realized that if he wanted to be reelected in the Senate, he would have to use a winning issue • Communism spreading

12. McCarthyism • McCarthyism- the attacks, often unsubstantiated, by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others on people suspected of being Communist in the early 1950s • Accused people without having proof • McCarthy claimed he had a list of people but he never gave names • McCarthy only pointed fingers in the Senate • He had legal immunity and couldn’t be sued for slander

13. McCarthy’s Downfall • McCarthy made accusations against the U.S. Army which resulted in a nationally televised Senate investigation • He “bullied witnesses” and lost his support • Senate condemned him for improper conduct • “tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute” • He died 3 years later, an alcoholic and a broken man