THE COLD WAR AT HOME: IDEAS OF FREEDOM AND MCCARTHYISMAPUSH – Spiconardi

AMERICAN FEAR OF COMMUNISM

• Why do you think America feared communism so much? (Take 2 minutes and discuss with a partner)• Communism opposed many

American values and ideals• Capitalism• Private ownership of land and business• First Amendment rights

AMERICAN FEAR OF COMMUNISM• Americans promote the

ideas of pluralism, tolerance, and equality against the communist ideas of intolerance.

• “Militant Liberty”• Educate foreign &

domestic audiences about the merits of democracy and the ideals of liberty and freedom

• National security agencies encouraged Hollywood to produce anticommunist movies

AMERICAN FEAR OF COMMUNISM

AMERICAN FEAR OF COMMUNISM• The CIA and Department of Defense became patrons of the arts

• To contrast the difference between American and communism, the government financed art exhibits, concerts, etc.

• The CIA promoted artists such as Jackson Pollock

THE FAIR DEAL• After World War II and as

America demobilized, Truman sought to revive the New Deal

• Truman called for• Higher minimum wage• National health insurance• Expansion of public housing• Expansion of Social Security • Increased aid to education

• Congress and many Americans found the Fair Deal to be socialism; too similar to Soviet Russia

THE ANTI-COMMUNIST CAMPAIGN

• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)• HUAC An investigative unit that

looked into communist activities in the U.S. between 1938 & 1975

• During the 1940s & 1950s many people in the movie industry were publicly investigated• Charlie Chaplin was blacklisted and

couldn’t work in American

What is the cartoonist’s message about HUAC?

THE ANTI-COMMUNIST CAMPAIGN• The Rosenberg Trial

• A working class Jewish couple from New York City were convicted of conspiracy to pass secrets pertaining to the atomic bomb to Soviet agents during World War II

• The evidence was classified government documents and chief accuser was Ethel Rosenberg's brother

• Rosenbergs were executed as Sing-Sing despite murky evidence against Julius and almost none against Ethel

• Reinforced the belief that Soviet spies were lurking in the U.S.

MCCARTHYISM• Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI)

claimed to have a list of 205 communists working in the State Department

• McCarthy never identified a single person, but held Senate hearings to identify communists working for the federal government

MCCARTHYISM• Army-McCarthy Hearings

• McCarthy held hearings accusing the Army of protecting and shelter communists

• McCarthy was drunk during the hearings• The hearings were televised, so millions of Americans saw the anti-

communist hysteria

Marks the end of the red scare in the 1950s

ATOMIC WAR PREPARATIONS

ATOMIC WAR PREPARATIONS