...broke out between the Unite States and the Soviet Union in what was known as the Cold War. The west was concerned with anti-Communism becoming a part of its domestic politics. It had become an obsession of most conservative politicians to expose what they call Communist subversion and at the same time dealt a blow to the liberal causes. The interest of the Soviet Union was in the control of strategic interest. In addition the Soviet Union was determined to create a secure sphere for itself in Central and Eastern Europe as protection against possible future aggression from the West (Brinkley Ch. 29). These different views were the bases for the Cold War. Not only did the cold war have international consequences but also create a division within the United States. Since Communism was a major concern, the spread of anti-Communism was introduced as a way to protect the fundamental way Americans lived. In addition anti-Communism gave birth to McCarthyism. I will discuss the differences between anticommunism and McCarthyism, the perspective from which the media covered anticommunism and McCarthyism, how the American foreign policy decisions were affected or impacted by anticommunism and finally how Americans’ lives changed because of the Red Scare. To gain a clear understanding of the differences between anticommunism and McCarthyism, a brief definition of Communism must be given. Communism is a distinct socio-political philosophy that is willing to use violent means to...
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...With direct reference to at least two films, how did Hollywood address the paranoid, hysterical political climate of the 50s? The Cold War began in 1947 between the USSR and the USA. After World War II, both countries began to distrust each other, as they knew the amount of power each country had in terms of nuclear weapons. Not only did they distrust each other, but they lacked a mutual understanding of each other’s culture. The USA believed in capitalism and the USSR believed in communism. This lack of mutual understanding caused mass paranoia within America as they feared that communists would infiltrate their society. This hysteria was known as the Red Scare which lead to “a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society.” (Red Scare, 2013). During World War II “moviegoers learned to appreciate cinema for what it was: a powerful delivery system of ideology” (Doherty, 2003, p. 19) and after World War II “Soviet Communism and American Democracy, found its domestic expression in fierce debates over the subversive influence of the popular media.” (Doherty, 2003, p. 21). Hollywood was scrutinized first for allegedly using the film industry to influence the public about communism. The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938, and it’s investigations were “frequently focused on exposing communists working inside the federal government or subversive elements working in the Hollywood film industry” (Red Scare,...
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... His/145 4/27/2011 Richard Pinder At the end of World War II, there was a continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars and economic competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union, commonly known as The Cold War. These two superpowers conflicted and were competitive about many things, but none greater than the difference in government. The Soviet Union, being a communist country was highly unfavorable to the majority of the world. The United States attempted to use containment as a primary strategy to keep communism away from its shores. This strong resilience prompted the phrase, anti-communism, which simply means against communism. Even though America maintained itself as a democracy, there was a sweeping fear that communism may infiltrate the American government. Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy became the most visible public face during this period. Senator McCarthy helped to perpetuate this fear, by making claims that there were an extremely large number of Communist and Soviet spies inside the United States federal government. This brought about the coining of the phrase McCarthyism. McCarthyism has become a common phrase for making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. McCarthy’s method used the fears of Americans to perpetuate his own agenda. During the McCarthy era, many Americans were accused of being Communist...
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...How far do you agree that the origins of the Cold War were mainly due to Stalin´s foreign policy of expansionism? Soviet actions after 1945 were seen in the West as part of a concerned attempt to expand the communist world. The collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945 had left a power vacuum in large part of central and Eastern Europe which Stalin, using the presence of the Red Army, took advantage of in order to strengthen the position of the USSR and spread communism. When looking at the events of the early years of the Cold War there would seem to be much evidence to support this. Development of the Cold War, in the five years between 1945 and 1950, could be argued as taking place for a number of reasons and due to various individuals. It could be easy to simply site Stalin as the main reason responsible for its outbreak and growth, clear through his approach on communist expansion, use of Red Army and inability to uphold agreements. However, for a war of any king to develop, there is always more than one party involved and the USA and its President Harry Truman could also be said to have contributed to the development of the Cold War; partly because of being aggressive to Stalin- taking an Iron Fist on dealings with Russia through polices such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Issues such as Britain and Churchill´s Iron Curtain Speech can also be seen as hindering relations between the two superpowers in the Cold War, and therefore playing a role in its development...
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...much so that there are entire classes dedicated to the change brought about by the end of World War II. Between 1945 and 2018, the world has seen the rise and fall of communism governments, has witnessed countries formed and others torn apart. The world has seen empires fall and superpowers rise to take their place, only to become locked in the ideological Cold War that left all in fear of nuclear war. No country remained unaffected by the conflict of the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Consequently, Cold War politics continue to affect modern the actions and reputations of countries globally even long after its end in 1989. The Cold War refers to the...
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...McCarthyism 1947-1954 Claudia Richey His/145 February 14, 2012 Kenneth Yates What was the “Cold War?” The subject researched for this paper is describing the Cold War or the Red Scare; others call it the Red Menace. The Red Scare was the most important political and diplomatic issue of the last half of the 20th Century. Cold War enemies were the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold war got its name because both sides were terrified of a real war directly between the two major nuclear missile countries in the world. In a war nuclear weapons may destroy everything. So instead, they fought each other indirectly bringing the cold war of words to light. They played a game of chance with problems in different countries of the world. They used words as weapons. They threatened and denounced each other. Both sides tried to make each other look foolish. Senator Joseph McCarthy was the prime instigator of this conflict between America and the Soviet Union. Anticommunism and McCarthyism Differences Even though anticommunism and McCarthyism are usually placed together, they are not the same. The meanings of both seem similar but are have differences in the meanings. Anticommunism is beliefs, social values and political, opinions where one part of government holds all the power. McCarthyism accuses men and women unfairly of communism, destroying the reputation of these people. They were placed on what is called a “blacklist”. Because President Eisenhower...
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...Joan Cassidy, former captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, explained that “[the interrogators] swooped in like death with a scythe, sweeping through the place and. questioning [the women] about their sexual lives and whether they were gay.” Captain Cassidy was one of many gay government employees who lost their livelihoods and dignity due to the drastic rise in American extremism and the anti-communist witch hunts of the Cold War. The visibility of the queer community rose alongside the American norms developed amid the paranoia of Cold War presidential...
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...WWII was a major historical event that shaped the United States and struck fear into its citizens. Soon following the end of WWII a new fear of the unknown began to develop within Americans which caused nationwide anxiety and panic. Many believed communism might be the next threat to challenge the United States. The growing sentiments of Senator Joseph McCarthy lead out to protect America’s freedom from communism, although his sweeping lash stripped freedoms from many of his fellow citizens. Strange as it may seem, in this period of American history both communism and McCarthyism threatened America; fear fueled the fire to a Red Scare glow before its flame would dwindle and smolder. In order to better understand these events, a more detailed look into history is needed to explain how this controversy and cultural phenomenon came to be. Understanding the Differences Is there a difference between anti-communism and McCarthyism? Despite the common belief that these two terms have the same meaning, there are indeed fundamental differences. Anti-communism can be understood as a set of beliefs, social values, or political opinions that a communist form of government is unacceptable and wrong. McCarthyism, on the other hand, was suspicious and it unfairly accused American citizens of being a communist. Lead by and named affectionately after Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism and its accusations violated American civil rights, destroyed reputations, caused employers to "blacklist"...
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...The Cold War and its policies had detrimental fallout effects on the American people. From the 1950s-1970s, people could see the shifting of cultures resulting from government policies and necessary adjustments to American life resulting from the Cold War. The Cold War would transform the future for America in many ways, including the religious boom, the staggering increase in defense spending, and the pushing of government control and propaganda due to ignorance and discrimination. The Cold war distorted America forever, instilling a fear of communism that would last to this day, making Americans want to try and rid the world of this evil. America, especially from the 1950s to the 1970s, main goal was to rid the world of communist control....
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...The Cold War which lasted from 1947-1991 was waged around the policy of containment, the democratic idea to limit communism to the areas already under Soviet control. President Truman of the United States passed the Truman Doctrine whose foundation was in containment. America’s fear of communism was so great they implemented their policy across the globe. Throughout the Cold War, the United States never had physical confrontation with the Soviets, but America fought to end the spread of communism in China, Germany, Cuba, Guatemala, Korea, and Vietnam. The communist ideals of Karl Marx inspired revolutionaries in Russia, such as Vladimir Lenin, and his socialist reforms began to spread across Eastern Europe and Asia in the 1920s. Chinese...
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...Lecture 2 Investigative Essay: Anti-Communist Propaganda Part of the Cold War was fighting communism at home in the United States. As we’ve discussed in class, much of the anti-communism sentiment was fanned into a flame of hysteria. Much of what fanned these flames was propaganda distributed by the government and other organizations. This propaganda grossly exaggerated the threat of communism by using images and inflated language. For this essay, choose one of the posters or pieces of propaganda found at the following websites and write an analysis of it. For your analysis be sure to include what piece you are writing about, what kinds of images or language does it use, and how it uses images and language to manipulate fear toward communism. How does this piece of propaganda exaggerate the threat of communism in the country. The essay is worth 25 points and is due on Monday February 9. The essay should be at least a page to a page and a half long and written in essay format. Use the following websites for your search. They are also up on moodle. The Red Menace: 15 Vintage Anti-Communist Ads & Propaganda: http://weburbanist.com/2013/06/12/the-red-menace-15-vintage-anti-communist-ads-propaganda/ The Red Menace: Anti-Communist Propaganda of the Cold War http://www.kuriositas.com/2013/10/the-red-menace-anti-communist.html Writing in an Essay Format: Since this class is part of the writing requirements for your general education core, writing will be an essential...
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...society in the years 1950-54. This can be seen through the knock on effects it had on the people in America, as the fear of communism was rising as McCarthyism triggered a panic all across America during this period. The USA was already feeling very vulnerable after War as they feared communism would spread just the way It did in China, thus McCarthyism was significant as many Americans were scared that their society would come under the influence of communism. However, many historians argue that the impact John McCarthy was only short term as soon; the Red Scare was falling apart as everyone was being accused of being a communist. McCarthy influenced many Americans through radio and press and caused many Americans to panic from Communism. He raised the awareness of the impact that communism could have on American society and how it could change the American way of life, and during this period many Americans did not want any significant change as the economy was booming and prosperity was flourishing all over America, which was a major change. Therefore, people had a reason to fear Communism as Americans were living a better and more affluent life and they did not want their privileges to be taken away from them. McCarthy took advantage of this and manipulated the press, and released as many accusations as possible in order to decrease the spreading of Communism. He also used radio, to suggest who he thought was a communist; anyone who he saw to be left winged or radical was...
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...How far do you agree that the origins of the Cold War in 1945 and 1946 owed much to the ideological differences and little to personalities and conflicting national interests? The origins of the Cold War cannot be denied as being most obviously and most forefront due to the great ideological differences between the USSR’s communism and the USA’s capitalism, such as their complete opposing beliefs over nationalisation and system of government. However National interests, such as the fight over Poland and leaders personalities, such as Truman’s lack of experience in foreign policy cannot be overlooked as important reasons for growing hostilities between superpowers. The vast difference in ideologies is clearly the underlying factor which caused tensions for the superpowers of the world during the Cold War and the years 1945 to 46; however it cannot be denied that personalities of the leaders running these countries, were a contributing reason for the ever growing hostilities between them. Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR and communist regime, was a figure known for being shrewd, manipulative and ruthless, instantly suggesting that relations with other countries, so different from his, were to be quite strained. Though he was known for these negative traits, he was also commended for his sense of practicality and his skills as an administrator, this suggesting that perhaps his ability to put aside differences, may be better than necessarily believed. It was common knowledge...
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...the media. (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Christian Science Monitor) About anticommunism- Anti-communism is a set of beliefs, social values, or political opinions that communism or a one party system form of government that holds all power, including the economy is not acceptable. -great anti-communist frenzy in the late 1940s and early 1950s that had corrosive effects on American life. Known to many as “McCarthyism,” after the Wisconsin senator who became the most famous and notorious voice of anti-communism for a time, the post–World War II Red Scare was a widespread phenomenon that affected almost every area of American life. The early years of the Cold War coincided with a time of economic anxiety as the nation attempted to adjust to conversion from war to peace; but by the early 1950s, the American economy entered a period of high economic growth and stability. McCarthyism during this period- Whereas, McCarthyism unfairly targeted and investigated men and women for being suspected of being a communist often destroying reputations and causing employers to place suspects names on the so called "blacklist" for fear of risking his or her own reputation (especially Hollywood) destroyed by the powerful Senator Joseph McCarthy. Throughout the late 1950's and even until the end of the cold war McCarthyism allowed government to violate the basic American political and civil rights. *The New York Times (May 24, 1953). M'Carthyism...
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...The 1950’s were a time of fear and paranoia within the United States. During this time Cold War tensions were beginning to intensify giving way to the infamous Red Scare and the communist allegations of Joseph McCarthy. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the communal American fear of communist subversion reached its peak, colloquially known as the Red Scare. At this time, fewer than 50,000 out of the 150 million people, less than 1%, living in the United States belonged to the communist party, however the country remained in a state of panic. As a result of this hysteria, a senator named Joseph McCarthy began making accusations against alleged communist infiltration of government agencies. Therefore, the term McCarthyism, coined by political cartoonist Herbert Block, came to mean the movement to expose Communist subversives in the government and other important public institutions from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s. A...
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