The Red Scare (1950s)

1. HUAC: The most famous agency that investigated possible Communist Influence both inside and outside the U.S. government. The HUAC made headlines in 1947 when it began to investigate Communist influence in the movie industry.

2. Blacklist: List of people whom they condemned for having a Communist background. People who were on the black list had their carreers ruined because they could no longer work!

3. Alger Hiss: A former Communist Spy accused Alger Hiss for spying for the Soviet Union. This was a highly publicised case because during the case Richard Nixon gained fame for pursuing the charges against Hiss. Because of this Nixon was elected for vice president of the United States.

4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg: Another spy case that rocked the nation even more than the Hiss case. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of being apart of giving the Soviet Union information about America's atomic bomb. They were sentenced to death and found guilty. Judge Irving Kaufman claimed that what they did was worse than murder. It was one of the deadliest clashes of the Cold War.

5. Joseph McCarthy: The most famous anti-communist activist. During the first three years in the Senate he had a reputation for being an ineffective legislator. McCarthy charged that Communists were taking over the government.

6. McCarthyism: The attacks made by McCarthy on suspected Communists. This tactic was not fair. He accused people of disloyalty without providing evidence.

7. In a paragraph, describe the motivations and actions of Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. What prompted his actions? What did he do? What happened as a result of his actions?
Jospeh McCarthy was convinced that Communists were taking over the government. Because of his beliefs, he did everything in his power to stop communism from spreading. First, he started attacking people that he suspected Communist. These became known as "McCarthyism". His tactics were not fair, he accused people of disloyalty without even providing any evidence. He also charged that the Democratic Party was guilty of "20 years of treason" for allowing Communism infiltration into the government. McCarthy had been accusing people one after the other, he was not being just or fair in his actions which makes him a very belligerent man who acts off of his opinions and beliefs only. McCarthy had even made accusations against the United States army, which only resulted in a nationally televised Senate Investigation. McCarthy's bullying of witnesses alienated the audience and cost him public support. The Senate then condemned him for improper conduct that "tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute." Clearly McCarthy's unfair tactics, and accusastions only caused him to be condemned.