The Cold War at Home
The Second Red Scare
Second Red Scare
Reminiscent of post WWI Red
Scare
 House Un-American Activities
Committee devotes itself solely
to anti-Communism after end of
WW2.
 Known as HUAC
 Investigated Americans with
possible Communist sympathies,
especially within the
government and Hollywood.

Alger Hiss
Former State Department
officer
 No longer worked for
Government
 Accused by Whitaker
Chambers of spying for the
Soviets
 Hiss convicted of perjury –
statute of limitations on
espionage had expired

H.U.A.C.
Young Congressman
Richard Nixon was at
center of Hiss
investigation
 HUAC, est. in 1938
became was originally
anti-fascist and anticommunist.
 Post WWII HUAC focused
on Communism

H.U.A.C.
HUAC began to
investigate Communist
influence and sympathy
in Hollywood in 1947
 Witnesses called before
the HUAC were expected
to name names and
answer questions about
their political beliefs

H.U.A.C.
Some Hollywood figures
willingly cooperated, like
Walt Disney and Ronald
Reagan
 Others resisted answering
some questions and were
imprisoned on charges of
contempt of Congress

Hollywood Ten
The first group of
uncooperative witnesses
was known as the
Hollywood Ten
 Many more suspected
Communist
sympathizers were
blacklisted, rendering
them unable to find
future work in the
entertainment industry

Truman Loyalty Program
President Truman
ordered the Justice
department to create
a list of possible
“subversives” in the
government
 Government could fire
persons believed to
be disloyal

McCarthyism
Sen. McCarthy
declared he had a list
of 205 Communists in
the State Department
at a speech in
Wheeling, WV
 Nobody saw the
names on the list but
it still made national
news

McCarthyism
Accusations were not
based on adequate
evidence
 Number of Communists
varied from speech to
speech
 Labeled Secretary of
State Dean Acheson as
“Red Dean”

Conformity
The atmosphere of fear
created by the Second
Red Scare and
McCarthyism
encouraged conformity
and discouraged dissent
 worked in conjunction
with consumerism and
the desire to “keep up
with the Joneses”

McCarthy’s Supporters
Republicans
 Catholics
 Conservative
Protestants
 Blue-collar Workers

Enter Eisenhower

Eisenhower made
several campaign
appearances with
McCarthy
 Eisenhower is thought to
have disliked McCarthy, in
part because of his
attack's on Eisenhower's
friend and former
commander George C.
Marshall.
Downfall
In early 1954 McCarthy launches new set of
accusations, this time directed at the US army
 Hearings are televised for first time, public
disapproves of McCarthy’s bullying style
 Dec 1954 Senate votes to censure McCarthy for
his conduct

The Crucible
An allegory of
McCarthyism and the
HUAC hearings
 Likened Anti-Communist
hunt to the Salem Witch
Hunts
 Won best play Tony
Award in 1953
