1. The Red Scare, 1947-mid-1950s Why?
Post-war U.S. rivals, China & the Soviet Union, were run by Communists
Fear over communist success in Asia and Eastern Europe
Failure to keep the atomic bomb the exclusive property of the U.S.
100,000 Americans in the Communist Party
Who?—important anti-Red figures
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
Led by Republicans (Richard M. Nixon)
Example: Hollywood Ten and the blacklist
Joseph McCarthy: Senator from Wisconsin

2. HUAC

3. The Hollywood Ten 10 witnesses that didn’t cooperate with HUAC
HUAC believed propaganda was being snuck into films
Believed it was unconstitutional and were jailed
Many Protested in their behalf
The Hollywood blacklist
List of people condemned for having communist ties or background
Around 500 actors, writers, directors could not get work.

4. Hiss and Chambers Whittaker Chambers Alger Hiss
Self-proclaimed communist and Time magazine editor
Alger Hiss
Former member of FDR’s State Department
Chambers told HUAC that Hiss had given info to the Soviet spies
Hiss denied the charges, but found guilty of perjury and spent 5 years in jail
Catapults Richard Nixon to fame (VP within 4 years)

5. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Feb 1950:
Revealed that a German-born physicist, Klaus Fuchs, had given atomic secrets to the Soviets
Among his allies were a New York couple, the Rosenbergs
They were charged with getting information from Ethel’s brother who worked on the U.S. bomb project in New Mexico
Appealed to Supreme Court and Rosenbergs maintained their innocence.
Convicted of treason and executed in 1953 (electric chair)

6. “McCarthyism”
Term used to describe the search for communists in the U.S. government
Making accusations of treason/suspected communists without evidence
Led by Senator McCarthy
Feb charged that 205 communists were working in the State Dept.
Claims were unfounded, yet, they fed the growing fear of the time & McCarthy was an instant celebrity
In 3-4 years, McCarthy did not uncover a single communist, yet his investigations ruined multiple careers and made the U.S. look ridiculous
He was censured by the Senate in 1954 and eventually fell out of the public eye
Died from alcoholism in 1957 alone