1950s Part Deux (II): Cold War, Communism, and the Red Scare Historical Context for “The Crucible”

1950s Part Deux (II): Cold War, Communism, and the Red Scare Historical Context for “The Crucible” Markle | Ann Sobrato HS 2011 Spring

“Cold” War? • Aftermath of WWII: 2 super powers emerge • U.S. & U.S.S.R. • U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) • “Iron Curtain” • “cold” = termed such because of the fact that there was never all-out war, no guns drawn, no war declared officially • Josef Stalin, Soviet Union's influential leader • Height of the Cold War: • Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 • Vietnam War, 1965 (55) -1975 • End of Cold War: the Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989

Communism • Def. = • a form of government in which everything is shared by all and divided equally; no social strata (i.e. no upper/middle/lower classes) • Root: community • Idea vs praxis • U.S.S.R. was lead by Stalin, a totalitarian leader, like Hitler, who took it to an extreme (he ordered over 200,000 executions) • vs SOCIALISM = • belief in common social institutions for the good of all • EX: post-office, fire-, police-departments, social security, welfare, public education, public transport, universal healthcare

McCarthyism • Senator Joseph McCarthy • Republican Wisconsin Senator, 1947-57 • Influential U.S. political figure whose visibility soared as a result of his anti-communist speeches • Accused thousands of Americans of being Soviet spies, including high-level politicians and military leaders • Downfall: when he accused military leaders and the Army itself as being communist • His own party (Republicans) issued a “censure” • McCarthyism: • a term developed to describe “making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence”

HUAC trials & Blacklisting • HUAC trials • Sen. McCarthy led the HouseUn-American Activities Committee, or HUAC • HUAC trials were conducted and people were subpoenaed to show up to court to prove that they weren't communist • Reputations were destroyed, livelihoods • Blacklisting: • Several prominent Hollywood artists were “blacklisted” or barred from producing any work • Rosenbergs were executed, 1953 (on espionage charges) • Arthur Miller • Langston Hughes • Dorothy Parker

The Arms & Space Races • Arms race • Nuclear Power • MIRBs & IRBMs = Medium and Intermediate Ballistic Missiles (nuclear war heads with rockets attached) • Space race • Sputnik vs. NASA (formed in 1958) • Moon Walk • Cell phone • 488 million dollars, Federal Budget; in 1966, 68 times that amount

The Red Scare • The 1950s actually saw the 2nd Red Scare • Red refers to communism, and scare refers to fear • Together, “fear of communism” • The media (newspapers, press, t.v., magazines, etc.) perpetuated the Red Scare through propaganda • Many Americans became fearful of Soviet spies

Fear & Contemporary CXNs • U.S. Patriot Act 2001 • Waterboarding, torture of Muslim Americans (Al Qaeda) • Secret prisons (Abu Ghraib) • 9/11 aftermath • ICE (Immigrant & Customs Enforcement) Raids • Arizona Immigration law & Shootings • Live Oak High School

1950s Part Deux (II): Cold War, Communism, and the Red Scare Historical Context for “The Crucible”