Cold War Paranoia: McCarthyism, Domestic Communism, and Blacklisting

1. AP U.S. History Mr. Weber

2. Activator: McCarthy Tapes

3. Agenda • Activator, agenda, and objective (10 minutes) • Domestic communism notes (20 minutes) • Read and teach (15 minutes) • Vietnam audio (30 minutes) • Vietnam challenge questions (30 minutes) • Exit ticket

4. Objective • All of you will… • Examine the origins of the Cold War, focusing on the consequences at home including: McCarthyism, domestic communism, and blacklisting.

5. Cold War Paranoia at Home • Cold War created paranoia about domestic communism and potential Soviet spies. • Led to blacklisting of suspected radicals, including: • People in government. • Teachers and professors. • People in newspapers, media, and Hollywood.

6. Domestic Communism • Alger Hiss • State department official involved in creating the United Nations (UN). • Accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury (1950) • Testified before HUAC • Mistrial then found guilty • Still controversial • Filed defamation suit

7. The Hollywood Ten • Protesters oppose the jailing of the Hollywood Ten in 1950 • Screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians • Blacklisted for either belonging to, or sympathizing with, the American Communist Party. • Ruined careers and created climate of censorship in the industry.

8. Were domestic communists un-American?

10. Vietnam

11. Kent State and Jackson State

12. Note-Taking: A Skill • 1. How comfortable are you writing what you hear? • 2. Is developing this skill something you value? • 3. Which would you say is most difficult for you and why? • Speed (writing too fast and forgetting things or the speaker going too fast). • Comprehension (not understanding all of the words the speaker uses and getting confused about the content) • Selection (not always knowing what is important and what is not so important and so not knowing what to write ‘cause I know I can’t write it all). • Motivation (not being interested or feeling tired or simply not wanting to try very hard)

13. Vietnam Audio and Video Review • Big ideas: • During the Cold War the U.S. and Soviet Union were the two superpowers but the U.S. got involved politically, economically, and militarily in many smaller countries around the world. • “Stopping the spread of Communism” or “fighting for democracy and freedom” were the usual justifications. • The U.S.’s Cold War foreign policy paradigm led them to complete misunderstand the Vietnamese people (especially the Viet Minh / Vietcong). • Imperialism was usually at work (whether old style or colonialism or economic imperialism also known as neocolonialism). • We have to separate economics from politics sometimes when looking at these questions (even though they are interconnected)

14. Take Detailed Notes

15. The Impossible Victory: Vietnam Exercises • How were “organized human beings” able to defeat “organized modern technology?” Is it surprising to you that they did? Why or why not? • Through grass-roots organizing of the villages. Better morale and commitment on the part of the forces. Net-work of nation wide popular support for social and political movement against foreign domination. Had little to loose as desperately poor and fighting against long history of foreign rule. • It is surprising that the richest and most powerful country in the world could not win a war in this county smaller than California. • It is surprising because the U.S. dropped three times more bombs than had been used by all armies in WWII and killed an estimated 3 million people, and used biological weapons and yet still could not defeat the army largely made up of peasants.

16. In-Class Essay Exam • You may: • Use your notebooks, written answers to the questions, prepared outlines, and any other written materials (including the Zinn books or handouts)

17. Vietnam War Essay Outline • THESIS / INTRO • General remarks about the war in Vietnam at home and abroad. How it relates to the Cold War. • SECTION ONE QUESTIONS 1-5 • What the U.S. was up against. Answers to all the questions about Ho, about the Viet Minh, Viet Cong, and situation in Vietnam generally. • SECTION TWO QUESTIONS 6-11 • U.S. involvement. Answers to the questions about what the U.S. did over there in terms of policy and actually fighting. • SECTION THREE QUESTIONS 12-23 • Horrors of war SECTION FOUR QUESTIONS 24-29 Trying to pull out troops. SECTION FIVE QUESTIONS 30-44. • Backlash. Answers to questions about protests over there and at home. Answers to questions about news in the U.S., etc. • CONCLUSION • Sum up what you wrote. Draw conclusions (take-away lessons) about the war in general and its effect on U.S. domestic and foreign policy.

18. Introduction Example • U.S. involvement in Vietnam can be seen as part of the Cold War. In fact, it was one of the best-known and most unpopular geopolitical consequences of the stand-off between the Soviet Union and the United States. The public in the U.S. was told by politicians that it was a war for “Freedom and Democracy” or that it was necessary in order to “stop the spread of communism.” The U.S. misunderstood the motives of the Vietnamese people and underestimated the power of an army mostly comprised of workers and peasants. There were terrible atrocities committed during this war and the protest movement in the United States and abroad made clear just what a failure for certain interests in the U.S. the war ultimately proved to be.

19. Rubric

21. U.S. History Mr. Weber Wednesday February 25, 2009

22. Activator • What examples of communism in the U.S. did we study? • What did you think about whether dissent was patriotic and why?

23. Agenda • Activator, agenda, and objective (5 minutes) • Debate resolution: “Communists are Un-American.” (20 minutes) • Post-Debate summative assessment (20 minutes) • Exit ticket and homework (5 minutes)

24. Objective • All students will… • Examine the effects of the Cold War at home by evaluating whether communists were un-American. (11.9.3)

25. Debate: Communists are Un-American • Affirmative speech • Negative cross examination • Negative speech • Affirmative cross examination • Time to prepare rebuttals • Affirmative rebuttal • Negative rebuttal

26. Questions to consider • What does it mean to be a “true American?” • What does patriotism mean? • What about loyalty? • What does being patriotic look like? • Is dissent patriotic? • How does Communism threaten the U.S.? • Who does Communism potentially threaten most? • Can you be truly American and support an ideology like Communism?

27. 11.9.3 Cold War and Domestic Communism summative assessment • Were communists un-American? • Pick and side and argue it but also discuss the best argument on the other side. • Use specific examples to support your points: • Alger Hiss • McCarthy / McCarthyism • Ethel and Julius Rosenberg • Hollywood Ten • Edward R. Murrow

28. Exit Ticket / Homework • 1. Read entire packet on FDR. • 2. Pick a role for mock trial and write it down. • 3. Write out the speech or other information for your role (MUST BE 1-2 PAGES) • 4. Answer the reading questions on the Frank Gannett primary source document.