Activity:
• Each person has a square.
– Some of the squares contain
red dots.
• Your objective is to be the
largest group without any
red dots.
– Largest group will be the
winners
• Don’t share your circle
with anyone.
• You can’t show your dot
to anyone either.
• If you have a red dot and
are able to infiltrate a
group, you are then
winner.
• You may ask any
questions possible to
figure out if someone has
a red dot or not.
• You will have 5:00MIN.
• Period 4: Lastly, Ryan and
Cam have red dots.
• Period 3: Lastly, Justine and
Roo have red dots.
Quick Write
• Was this activity
difficult? Why yes or
no?
• Was it easy to tell who
had a red dot and who
didn’t?
• Were there a lot of red
dots out there?
• Do you think it
mattered whether the
people I told you
ACTUALLY had red
dots? Why?
• What do you think this
represented?
Quick Write:
• Do you think the Cold War fear of Communism
was justified?
• Why yes? Why no? (provide examples)
The Second Red Scare
The Second Red Scare
• Throughout the 1940s
and 1950s America
was overwhelmed
with concerns about
the threat of
communism growing
in Eastern Europe and
Asia
McCarthyism: 1950-1956
• McCarthyism is the
practice of making
accusations of disloyalty,
subversion, or treason
without proper regard for
evidence.
• It also means "the practice
of making unfair
allegations or using unfair
investigative techniques,
especially in order to
restrict dissent or political
criticism.
• The term has its origins in the
period in the United States
known as the Second Red
Scare, lasting roughly from
1950 to 1956.
• It is characterized by
heightened fears of
communist influence on
American institutions
and espionage by Soviet agents
Witch Hunt
• “Witch hunt”- refers to any search for a
scapegoat who can be blamed for all the ills
of society and whose removal will eliminate
the problems.
McCarthyism
• McCarthyism- policy or practice of
publicly accusing in a reckless manner,
suspected individuals or groups of political
disloyalty and subversion.
Communism!!!
• Communism is the abolition of power of
people over people, where the government
holds all assets. Communism is based on
mutual cooperation, peace and justice.
Was this fear justified?
Well…yes and no…
Because the Communist Party in the United
States helped to organize labor unions and
was opposed to fascism, it gained a
membership of about 75,000 members in
1940-1941.
The Cold War
• During WWII, the United States was allied
with the Soviet Union.
• When we were fighting together, no one
cared about communism.
• After WWII, as the Soviet Union expanded
its territory, the Cold War and fears of
communism began again.
First thing that scared us…
• The Soviet Union
tested an atomic bomb
in 1949
– This was earlier than
many people predicted
2nd scary thing…
That same year, Mao Zedong's Communist army
gained control of mainland China
Mao Zedong leading the Revolution.
rd
3 .
Scary thing
In 1950, the Korean War began, pitting U.S.,
U.N., and South Korean forces against
Communists from North Korea and China.
1950-53 The Korean War
The House on Un-American Activities Committee .
HUAC
House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC)
House Un-American
Activities: A
Committee had been
formed in 1938 as an
anti-Communist
organization aimed at
finding “subversives”
,
Are you a
Subversive?
• Subversives- Those who engage in a
systematic attempt to overthrow or
undermine a government or political system
by working secretly from within.
• (For almost two years the struggle went on
between president and senator over the
proper way a democracy should handle socalled subversives.)
The Committee Wants to Know
“Are you now or have
you ever been a
member of the
Communist Party of
the United States?"
Hollywood becomes the focus of the “Red Scare.”
HUAC Investigates Hollywood
The Committee began to
subpoena
screenwriters,
directors, and other
movie industry
professionals to testify
about their known or
suspected membership
in the Communist
Party.
Hollywood Ten
Among the first film industry witnesses
subpoenaed by the Committee, these 10
decided that they wouldn’t cooperate or
answer questions.
Real Life Repercussions
The ten were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year
in prison for contempt of Congress. They
were also blacklisted from working in the
film industry in Hollywood, until the 1960's
when the ban was lifted.
“ Blacklisting”
1947
“The Hollywood Ten “
Lucille Ball
1953-Investigated by HUAC for registering to
vote as a communist in the 1930’s at the urging of
her Grandfather.
“The only thing ‘red’ about Lucy is her hair
& that’s not even real.”
Alger Hiss Trial
• In January 1948, Alger Hiss, a highlevel State Department official was sent
before HUAC to testify about whether he
was a Soviet Spy.
• Didn’t convict him for being a spy.
• Yet, In 1950 Hiss was convicted of perjury
– Lying to Congress about passing notes back to
Whittaker Chambers.
1948- One time aid to FDR, Alger Hiss accused of spying for Soviets
- Alger Hiss testifies before
HUAC
Although no solid proof links Hiss to
espionage, his career in the US
government is ruined.
RICHARD NIXON (a member of HUAC)
The “Pumpkin Papers”
Inside the pumpkin contained documents typed by
Hiss that “proved” he was a spy.
FBI’s Involvement in McCarthyism
• FBI & it’s leader, J Edgar
Hoover, strongly opposed
Communism.
• FBI did background checks
on all gv’t employees.
• FBI investigated citizens &
organizations to route out
communism
– Wire tapping, opening mail,
burglaries, using the illegally
obtained information to
convict people.
J Edgar Hoover
• "Had observers known in the
1950s what they have learned
since the 1970s, when the Freedom
of Information Act opened the
Bureau's files, 'McCarthyism'
would probably be called
'Hooverism”
1950- Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
Accused of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets.
1953- The Rosenberg’s executed
for espionage.
Who is Joseph McCarthy?
A Marine Corps veteran
of World War II,
McCarthy was elected
to the U.S. Senate
from Wisconsin in
1946.
McCarthy as Senator
• McCarthy's first years in the
Senate were unimpressive.
• People claimed that he had
lied about his war record.
• He was being investigated
for tax offences and for
taking bribes.
• Needed something to help
him get re-elected and to
hurt any Democratic
challenger against him.
1950-Senator Joseph McCarthy
The Wisconsin Senator was looking for a campaign
issue to earn him some media attention to help
him get re-elected.
In a campaign speech in West Virginia,
.
• "The State Department is
infested with communists.
I have here in my hand a
list of 205—a list of
names that were made
known to the Secretary of
State as being members of
the Communist Party and
who nevertheless are still
working and shaping
policy in the State
Department
McCarthy’s Downfall…
• In 1954, he made accusations against the
US Army
• Resulted in a nationally televised Senate
investigation
• Censured by Senate in 1954.
A New Target
McCarthy's committee then
began an investigation
into the United States
Army. McCarthy garnered
some headlines with
stories of a dangerous spy
ring among the Army
researchers, but ultimately
nothing came of this
investigation
1954- The Army-McCarthy hearings
In nationally televised hearings, McCarthy is exposed
as a bully and a fraud.
McCarthy Flops
The Army and McCarthy traded charges and
counter-charges for 36 days before a
nationwide television audience. While the
official outcome of the hearings was
inconclusive, this exposure of McCarthy to
the American public resulted in a sharp
decline in his popularity
McCarthy fall from popularity
In less than a year, McCarthy’s position as a
prominent force in anti-communism was
essentially ended. On December 2, 1954,
the Senate voted to censure Senator
McCarthy by a vote of 67 to 22, making
him one of the few senators ever to be
disciplined in this fashion.
Enough is Enough…
• Censure- To
Criticize
publicacly.
(In late 1954, the
Senate censured
McCarthy.)
About three years later…
McCarthy died on May
2, 1957, at the age of
48. The official cause
of death was acute
hepatitis; it is widely
accepted that this was
exacerbated by
alcoholism.
Victims of McCarthyism
The number imprisoned is in the hundreds,
and some ten or twelve thousand lost their
jobs. Some of those who were imprisoned
or lost their jobs did in fact have some
connection with the Communist Party. But
for most, both the potential harm to the
nation and the nature of their communist
affiliation were tenuous.
Homosexuals targeted
McCarthy did not just go after suspected
communists, he also targeted gays.
The hunt for "sexual perverts", who were
presumed to be subversive by nature,
resulted in thousands being harassed and
denied employment.
The Crucible and McCarthyism
The play focused heavily
on the fact that once
accused, a person
would have little
chance of exoneration,
given the irrational
and circular reasoning
of both the courts and
the public.