18.3
The Cold War At Home
By: Jessie Gatfield, Bela Farinella, Cassie
Ellis, and Erin Fretheim
Fear of communist Influence
• American feared that communism would
start to take over.
Loyalty Review Board
• 1947, Truman issued an
executive order setting up
the Federal Employee
Loyalty Program
1. Dismiss government
employees who were
disloyal to U.S.
• Total of 2,900 employees
resigned because of the
FELP; investigated 3.2 mill,
and dismissed 212 as
secretary risks.
The McCarran Act
•
1950 Congress passed the
McCarran Internal Security
Act
1. Unlawful to plan any
action that might lead to
the establishment of a
totalitarian dictatorship
The House Un-American
Activities Committee
• House of Un-American Activities
Committee- Investigated
Communist influences in movies
• The unfriendly witness who
refused to testify, also known as
the Hollywood Ten, didn’t
cooperate because they believe
the hearings were unconstitutional
• Hollywood executives instituted a
blacklist, a list of people whom
they condemned for having a
communist background.
Spy Cases Stun the Nation
Alger Hiss
• Alger Hiss- accused by a fromer communist spy, Whittaker Chambers,
of being a spy for Soviet Union
• Richard Nixon- conservative republican congressmen who gained fame
for pursuing the charges against Hiss; led to vice presidency
• Although Hiss claimed he was innocent, 1990, soviet cables relaeased
by the National Security Agency proved Hiss guilty.
The Rosenbergs
•
•
•
Sept. 3, 1949, Americans
learn that Soviet Union has
exploded an atomic bomb.
In 1950 German Klaus Fuchs
admitted giving out
information to Soviet Union
on America’s atomic bomb
Implicated in the Fuchs case
were communists Ethel and
Julius Rosenberg.
1. Found guilty of espionage
and sentenced to death
McCarthy Launches his “Witch Hunt”
• Joseph McCarthy- the most famous anticommunist activist and Republican
senate from Wisconsin
McCarthy’s Tactics
• McCarthyism- Unspported
accusations after another from
Joseph McCarthy because of his
fear of communism
• Only people brave enough to
speak out against McCarthy’s
wrongdoings were 6 senators led by
Senator Margaret Smith of Maine
McCarthy’s Downfall
Other Anti- Communist
Measures
• 1954, McCarthy made false accusations
against U.S army which resulted in a
national investigation
• 3 years later McCarthy died of alcoholism
• By 1953, 39 states
had passed laws
making it illegal to
advocate the violent
overthrow of the
government
• Government started
investigating almost all
occupations because it
seemed that no
profession was safe
from the hunt for
communists.
1. What major issue sparked Americans concern that Communism
would spread into the United States?
a) England’s Queen died.
b) Russia was in Germany
c) China was taken over by Communists
d) Russia blew up an atomic bomb.
2. In what year did President Truman issue executive order setting up
the Federal Employee Loyalty Program?
a) 1950
b) 1947
c) 1948
d) 1974
3. What Committee investigated Communist influence in the movie
industry?
a) House Communist Activities Committee
b) International House of Pancakes
c) House Un-American Activities Committee
d) House of Commons
4. What law passed in the 1950’s made it against the law to create a
totalitarian dictatorship in the United States?
a) McDonald Discovery Act.
b) McCarran Internal Security Act
c) Social Security Act
d) Special Services against Communists Act
5. Who was the Republican Senator who was most famous for his anticommunist movement?
a) Charles McCarthy
b) Richard Nixon
c) Joseph McCarthy
d) Jenny McCarthy
•
•
•
•
•
1-c
2-b
3-c
4-b
5-c
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/Images/pag
e_23/70b.jpg
• http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/feature/mccarthy/update/images
/WHS_Image_ID_47424.jpg
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/mccarthytelegram/images/truman-reply.gif
• http://www.picturehistory.com/images/products/1/3/1/prod_13181.jp
g
• http://www.straightdope.com/art/2004/040806.gif
• http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/encommons/thumb/f/f3/300px-Hiss01.jpg
• http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/committee.jpg
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Huac.jpg/300pxHuac.jpg
• http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/exhibits/TrumanProject/images/Tru
man.jpg
• http://www.altfg.com/Stars/others/hollywood-ten.jpg
• http://www.zeeland.k12.mi.us/jmielke/coldwar.jpg