U.S. History / Unit 8: World War II and the Early Cold War
8.6 The Red Scare and McCarthyism
Notes
Cold War fears led to a second Red Scare at home.
- The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated suspected communists, including in Hollywood, where some workers were blacklisted.
- Cases like Alger Hiss (convicted of perjury in 1950) and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (executed in 1953 for passing atomic secrets) increased fear of spies.
- Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed in 1950 to have a list of communists in the State Department. He made many accusations without solid evidence.
- McCarthyism now means making accusations of disloyalty without proof.
- In the televised Army-McCarthy hearings (1954), McCarthy's bullying turned the public against him, and the Senate censured him.
- Some real Soviet spying did occur, but the Red Scare also damaged the lives of many innocent people and limited free expression.
Practice
The term "McCarthyism" today refers to:
McCarthy ruined reputations with charges he could not prove.
What caused Senator McCarthy to lose public support in 1954?
The Army-McCarthy hearings led the Senate to censure him.
A screenwriter in 1950 cannot find work after refusing to answer HUAC's questions about communist ties. He has been:
Hollywood studios kept blacklists of people suspected of communist sympathies.
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