Objectives: Describe the new Red Scare. Discuss how American society reflected fears of the nuclear age.

 php?storyId= php?storyId=  NPR- memories of the fallout shelters  3:30

Terms to know- define - NOW  Subversion  Censure  Perjury  Fallout Shelter  McCarthyism  McCarran Act  Alger Hiss  Loyalty Review Program

The Cold War  With the Cold War came fears in American society of both nuclear war and the spread of communism and this was reflected in the attitude and actions of the people and government of the United States.

Fear of Communism  Fear of communist subversion in the American government in the late 1940’s led to the creation of the loyalty review board which would screen government employees to assure their loyalty to the USA.  Those forced to quit because of “questionable loyalty” never had evidence presented to prove their disloyalty.

HUAC etc…  FBI led by J.Edgar Hoover makes the HUAC-( House Un-American Activities Committee) more prominent as they such for communist subversion in all walks of life—including those who are involved in the entertainment industry.

RED SCARE!!!  Loyalty oaths required for employees of University of California.  Taft-Hartley Act required Union Leaders to take an oath they were not Communist.

Project Venona  1946 Cryptographers cracked Soviet spy code-intercepted 3000 messages. USA kept the fact they cracked the code secret until  From the code intercepts it was apparent that the Rosenberg’s were guilty of spying(executed in 1953).

HUAC etc…  Just being accused by this committee or by Senator McCarthy during his investigation could ruin your reputation and prevent you from getting a job if you were “black listed”.  This went on until 1954 when the Senate and the people had enough of McCarthy and his bulling tactics and outright attacks against people with no concrete evidence against them.  The Senate would censure him, or a formal disapproval of his actions.

McCarran Internal Security Act  McCarran Act passed in 1950  Made it illegal to “combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to ….the establishment of a totalitarian government.”

Fear of Communism  In response to the USSR creating it own H-bomb the citizens of the USA began to build bomb/fallout shelters.  Duck-and-cover routines were practiced in schools as the fear of a nuclear holocaust was in peoples minds.  Fallout shelters became popular and people put them in their backyards.

“Remember, in case of a nuclear fallout, just DUCK AND COVER!”