How did Anxieties raised by the Cold War affect life in
the United States?

People who believed in Communism but
did not join the party
 Some, feeling communism might destroy
wealth and prosperity, accused people of
being disloyal and subversive (overthrow
gov’t)
 Loyalty Oath and background ensued causing
hundreds to lose their jobs

Investigated film
industry and other
groups for communists

Studios blacklisted people
ruining many careers
1957, the Supreme Court ruled
that the Constitution does not
give Congress unlimited power
to investigate citizens’ private
lives.

Hollywood 10

Advisor to President
Roosevelt accused of
being a spy and
convicted of perjury.
confirmed suspicion that
Soviet spies were
working in the United
States.
 Led to more fear and
accusation


charged with passing
atomic secrets to the
USSR. After a trial,
both were executed
Some questioned
whether the search for
communists was going
too far
 some protested the
severity of the
sentence.


the practice of publicly
accusing someone of
subversive activities
without sufficient
evidence

creating a climate of fear




On a scale from 1 to 10, how concerned do you
think Americans should have been about the
possibility of communist subversion and the
presence of Soviet spies in the United States
during the Cold War?
Do you think the United States had the right to
complete background checks and require
loyalty oaths of government employees? Why
or why not?
Were the actions of the House Un-Americans
Activities Committee appropriate? Why or why
not?
Does the government ever have the right to
limit or even take away some of our freedoms
in order to keep us safe ?




How might 1950s fifth graders have felt
during a duck-and-cover lesson?
In what ways could such a lesson make you
feel safer against the threat of a nuclear
attack? What anxieties might have
remained?
After learning to duck and cover, how might
you have tried to change how you lived
your life?
Why do you think the government would
want to teach such a lesson to children?