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The Cold War at Home

The Cold War at Home. United States History Chapter 12, Section 4 Mrs. Huston. National Security vs. Liberty. Since the beginning of our country we have struggled with a balance between these issues

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The Cold War at Home

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  1. The Cold War at Home United States History Chapter 12, Section 4 Mrs. Huston

  2. National Security vs. Liberty • Since the beginning of our country we have struggled with a balance between these issues • “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” --Benjamin Franklin

  3. Today • How much invasion of privacy are we willing to undergo at the airport in order to protect ourselves against terrorist attacks?

  4. Red Scare • Government officials were worried about the spread of communism • They fear spies in the United States • Us vs. them thinking • This fear had happened before after the Russian Revolution

  5. This one is bigger • President Truman created the Federal Employee Loyalty Program • March 1947 • Gave the FBI power to screen workers • Gave the Attorney General power to compile a list of suspicious organizations

  6. Results • People who supported or belonged to organizations on the list got more intense scrutiny • Many lost their jobs

  7. Smith Act • 1940 • Made it illegal to teach or advocate the violet overthrow of the US government • President Truman used this law to prosecute communists

  8. Congress joins in • Created the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) • Conducted highly publicized hearings • Questioned people in government, armed forces, education, science, newspapers, Hollywood, etc.

  9. Public Spectacle • Attacks and counter-attacks • Many false accusations • Some producers, directors and writers convicted of contempt and sent to prison • Many names put on a “black list” • Careers ruined

  10. Senator McCarthy • Hearings before the committee led by Senator Joseph McCarthy • Ranting, paranoid • Alcoholic • Embarrassed the government

  11. McCarthy, continued • Used the uproar over communism as a means to get re-elected • “McCarthyism” became a phrase associated with extreme, irresponsible accusations • Held huge power from 1950-54 • Fell from power when he went after the Army on national TV and people saw how he behaved

  12. Loss of Freedom • The “Communist Witch Hunt” showed how worried the public was about communist aggression • People were afraid to speak their opinion • Freedom of speech not guaranteed

  13. J. Robert Oppenheimer • Led the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb • 1954 security clearance taken away • Wife and brother belonged to the communist party • No evidence against him, personally

  14. Spy Cases • Alger Hiss • Named as a government contact by a communist spy • Tried for perjury • Found guilty and sentenced to 5 yrs • Brought Richard Nixon into the public eye

  15. More Spies • Klaus Fuchs • Sold atomic secrets to the Russians • Julius and Ethel Rosenberg • Very controversial trial • Weak evidence • Found guilty, sentenced to death • Electrocuted • Stronger evidence against them came out in the 1990s

  16. End of the Red Scare • McCarthy’s censure • End of Korean War • Americans felt it important to preserve our freedoms

  17. THE END

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