Red Scare Essay

Essay On The Red Scare
As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States grew in the late 1940s and early
1950s, over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red
Scare. The Red Scare led to a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S.
government and society. The climate of fear and repression linked to the Red Scare finally began to
ease by the late 1950s.
Civil Liberties are individual rights protected by law from unjust Government and other interference.
Some people began thinking that communists were in the US undercover. Loyalty oaths were
started for employees. There were Spy Trials. McCarthy thought there were a bunch of communists
in the US and even though he was wrong and lied, there was still the belief that communists were
out there. People went to jail for refusing to talk about their political beliefs. Yes, civil...show more
content...
A "Red Scare" is the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism or radical leftism. In the
United States, the First Red Scare was about worker revolution and political radicalism. The Second
Red Scare was focused on national and foreign communists influencing society, infiltrating the
federal government, or both. As World War II was ending, a fear
–driven movement known as the
"Second Red Scare" began to spread across the United States. Americans feared that the Soviet
Union hoped to spread communism all over the world, overthrowing both democratic and capitalist
institutions as it went. This "Scare" as caused by fears of subversion by communists in the United
States after the Russian Revolution. (The Red Scare was Anti–Communist.) The postwar Red Scare
is often called "McCarthyism," a name derived from one of the era's most notorious
anti–Communists, Senator Joseph McCarthy. Yet the anti–Communist crusade of the late 1940s and
1950s both in
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Red Scare
The fight in Europe was brought to an end, but it did not mean that the United States was at peace
and protected. " The entire prospect of growing Communist influence became known as the "Red
Scare," according to u–shistory.com. Even though, President Wilson, felt that the world should be at
peace this was not the case. Many Americans began to fear that Communist would begin takeover the
United States. The communist had considered themselves as champions of the workers. The
Americans feared that Communist were trying to take over, but it especially alarmed them that most
of the radicals were not American Citizens.
Sometimes the labor activist did not always protest in peace. The labor activists were sometimes
violent. The Industrial Workers...show more content...
Hundreds of thousands of workers from many different unions were not happy with the pay and
working conditions. The members of the unions went on a five day strike wanting higher pay after
it had been lowered for two years because of World War I. In the same year, in September 1919
Radical William Z. Foster, who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party, made an
effort to organize the steel industry. This resulted in over three hundred thousand steel workers
walking off the job. The police of Boston also went on strike in the September as well. Just as the
union workers the Boston Police also wanted higher wages and shorter working hours. However,
the police commissioner did not want to organize a police union and suspended the leaders from
the force. The result of the commissioner not giving the officers what they had asked for frustrated
many officers and thousands of police officers went on strike. Once the city got wind of what
happened. "When the Boston Police went on strike on September 9, the country's leading
newspapers sounded the alarm bells." This forced Governor Calvin Coolidge to call out the
National Guard to restore order in the

Red Scare Causes
After World War I, a new threat flooded into the minds of the American population. Communism was
on the rise and it was causing a lot of concern within the American populace. The Red Scare was the
nationwide hysteria in America, caused by the spread of communism in the 1920's. This fear of
communism bled into many aspects of American life. It caused the U.S. government to target any
American who's patriotism was in question, and it contributed to Americans' negative attitudes
towards foreigners in the 1920's. In addition to "suspicious individuals", the U.S. government also
challenged labor unions and intimidated liberal constituencies. The Red Scare led to a range of
actions that had a far–reaching and enduring effect on U.S. government and...show more content...
President Woodrow Wilson appointed A. Mitchell Palmer to the post of attorney general in 1919,
and it was he who later established the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Palmer appointed J.
Edgar Hoover as FBI director. Hoover used the organization to gather information about Americans
whose actions and politics were deemed to be radical. The Palmer Raids, also called Palmer Red
Raids, were raids conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice during the climax of the Red Scare in
an attempt to arrest radical leftists, foreign anarchists, and communists, many of whom were
subsequently deported. In all the Palmer Raids, the arrests considerably exceeded the number of
warrants that had been received from the courts, and many of those arrested were guilty of nothing
more than having a foreign accent. Despite most of the arrest being unjust, Palmer declared the raids
a success. This was still not enough, however, and Plessy announced that the work was far from
done. He claimed that there were still more than 300,000 dangerous communists residing within the
United States (Gale U.S History). However, the Palmer Raids were not the only event that
discriminated against

The Use Of The Sedition Act Of 1917
As World War I was heading towards its end Russia was focusing on internal issues. Led by
Vladimir Lenin the Bolsheviks embarked on a campaign against the war. Using propaganda which
focused on trying to turn the allied troops against their officers Lenin looked to inspire a socialist
revolution. The Bolsheviks were also fueled by the poor conditions of the Russian Army. Nicholas II,
in a letter to his wife Alexandra, admitted the obstacles that the Russian Army faced, "Again that
cursed question of shortage of artillery and rifle ammunition – it stands in the way of an energetic
advance." Czar Nicholas tried to deny the fact that his Army was in no condition to continue the
fight. Lenin and the Bolsheviks used this information to gain...show more content...
"Fully 90 percent of the Communist and Anarchist agitation is traceable to aliens." Through the use
of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 Palmer began his campaign against this
threat against our government. Palmer used this legislation as justification of his actions. The best
example of Palmers manipulation of the law to take normally illegal action against suspects was on
January 2nd 1920. Palmer had federal agents round up thousands of suspected subversives without
respecting those individuals' constitutional rights as American citizens. This was not the first time in
our history that the government has backed the unnecessary persecution of a group of people based
on fear that they would eventually take over the United States and change the American way of life.
One event in history that has similar attributes to this period is the passing of the Chinese exclusion
act. These two occurrences, although for different reasons, were very similar in the tactics that were
employed to enforce and justify superfluous panic. Around the late 1870's the country was beginning
to worry about the constant immigration of aliens into the Untied States. This frightened Americans.
Widespread worry infected the country. The biggest fear was that America would lose its identity
and be run over by the ideas of these immigrants and the nations they came from. One of the largest
groups of immigrants into the United States was the Chinese, California

The Red Scare Essay
In the long years between 1947 and around 1957, fear of communism froze the very voices of
America into unison. A supposedly enlightened country, the United States of America succumbed to
the mass hysteria of the Red Scare with shockingly little resistance. Communist "Reds" and
Communist sympathizing "Pinks" were seen everywhere and were often persecuted by the House
Committee on Un–American Activities (also known by the inaccurate acronym HUAC). Many of
these individuals' only crime was that of sensibility; they saw the truth behind the terrifying chaos.
One of the best records of this dark chapter in America's history is its literature, which expressed
opinion when it could be dangerous to do so. The American public's paranoid fear of...show more
content...
So states Prometheus after his discovery of singular pronouns in a world where only the plural forms
are permitted, under the threat of execution.
The parallel between Rand's hive–minded society and the fear of communism in America is
abundantly clear. Most American's saw communism as an all–consuming force, slowly but surely
winding its way into their politics and ultimately, their homes (Zeinert 67). There was a fear that
America would become a Communist society like the one in Anthem, an unhappy, oppressed people
deluded into preserving their way of life for fear of change and the responsibility of freedom. The
idea that Communist's are everywhere is a pervading theme throughout the cold war and red scare
and a continuing trend in the literature of the time. Not all works were so openly anti–communist
however, just as not all individuals believed that communism was the threat it was made out to be.
When Senator Joe McCarthy came into power in the 1950's he brought fear into the hearts of
American citizens, fear of Communists, and fear that they would be accused of associating with
Communists. "McCarthy attacked individuals and organizations without proof. If someone rose to
defend these victims, he lashed out at the defenders, accusing them of being Communists, pinks, or
punks...His methods were given a name: McCarthyism" (Zeinert 69).

Example Of The Red Scare
The red scare left an ugly legacy. Whole sale violations of constitutional rights, deportations of
hundreds of innocent people, fuel for the fires of nativism and intolerance. battling ideologies
provided the surface for political entities to battle for personal gains while individual human rights
would be caught in the crossfire. A notorious example of this happening would be the Palmer raids,
where any person suspected of communism is detained indefinitely so long as they are not a citizen
of the United States.

The Red Scare
The Red Scare represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of
communist subversion within society. Americans believed, especially during the Cold War, which
was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union, that communism was attempting
to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. While this is not necessarily the best analogy, you can relate
the widespread fear of communism during the Cold War as being similar to the heightened alert
Americans had toward terrorism and suspected terrorists during the beginning of the modern century.
Instigating this fear was Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was a Republican senator from Wisconsin and
was the leader behind the ethos of McCarthyism. The term was created...show more content...
It promotes posturing; encourages speculation; and creates hysteria. This theme permeated American
politics and popular culture during the McCarthy era of the 1950s. As WWII ended, nations began
to polarize. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the leading economic and military
states, and began competing for influence throughout the countries they now occupied upon
liberation from Germany and Japan. Under the banner of their own brand of idealism, they
individually sought geopolitical control and economic benefit. As the stakes increased, competition
between the two powers spread to the atomic arena and the exploration of space. The result for the
next 45 years is a saga of fear not only of the other side, but also fear of contamination of ideals and
subterfuge of power from within.
However, to condemn those in positions of power for their actions is to misinterpret the volatile
climate of the Cold War Era in which they operated. The polarized political thought and the turbulent
domestic events that shadowed everyday life had a profound impact on American thought and
culture and the lives of public figures who dominate the story. To truly understand the impact of
these characters and the climate of the American Cold War theatre, the complexity of the dynamics
within society must be understood from the point of view and the ideology of the primary characters
that occupied the stage and the prevailing fears dominated American thought and

The Red Scare Essay examples
The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of
communism and proved to be one of America's largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the
years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and
articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period
however is shown to be completely different compared to now. Major and still important was the
First Red Scare stemming from the First World War's end and America's Great Depression
beginning to kick off. With food and living expenses drastically increasing certain propaganda
began to appear. Perhaps one of the most notable of these was Lenin's "Letter to the...show more
content...
After the war however a kind of two–faced attitude is quickly adopted by the United States as the
Berlin Crisis occurred and fear of espionage was suspected to be on the rise. (Fitzgerald, p. 32–33)
This marked the beginning of the Second Red Scare, a period of time held within the Cold War itself
and seen as a main cause for a very deep–rooted hate towards communism that formed a bitter taste
in the mouths of the American people.
In 1950 the emergence of the Second Red Scare's driving force, Senator Joseph McCarthy, appeared
and gave a speech proclaiming that America will soon be lost to communism if the people do not
stand up to combat it. He revealed that night a list of 205 people working for Soviet Russia in the
United States' State Department whose intentions were to mold America from the inside to become
a socialist nation. (Fitzgerald, p. 14) It was thanks to this newfound hysteria that began to break out
thanks to McCarthy's claims that the HUAC and other like–minded organizations began to gain
momentum during this time period.
The HUAC (House Un–American Activities Committee) started small in the 30's and became a
much more permanent as well as prominent after the war. Thanks to McCarthy again they gained
reason to investigate many, as the name suggests, un–American activities in order to root out the
Soviet collaborators. They also

The Red Scare
McCarthyism basically is the practice unfair accusations that are made against a person or group of
people. During the cold In the time of the Cold War Americans were paranoid and vulnerable, as they
never knew when the Soviet Union, or any other communist–totalitarian state would attack.
"McCarthyism" gave Americans a sort of "hope" to get fight against communism in their own
country. Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator, became the face of the national fear of communist
infiltration. Officials could not stop McCarthy from destroying people's by accusing them of being a
communist as then they themselves would be accused.
The "Red Scare", the fear of communism rising and becoming widespread. This further propelled
the McCarthy's agenda and caused him to become more widely accepted and believed. The House
Un–American Activities Committee, which investigated the "disloyalty" of people and
organizations. This committee stepped all over Americans rights, as shown in a political cartoon
drawn by Herb Block. They were able to do this as the majority of Americans supported it, because
of the fear of at–communism taking over. The Rosenberg case revealed how biased and fearful the
American judicial system and public were. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were...show more content...
Edward Murrow stated, "we must not confuse dissent with disloyalty", as stated in the Topic
Inquiry DBQ. In other words, it is wrong to believe the disapproval of the states' actions and
perceptions meant that person or group of people were disloyal to their country. This is never the
case as someone can believe in a cause or goal, but not support the actions being taken to help that
cause or goal. These dismissive and biased views made many American who opposed the action of
McCarthy's followers keep their mouth shut, as they did not want to be targets

The Second Red Scare Essay
The Second Red Scare
The McCarthy era, which generally spanned from 1947 to 1957, brought to the forefront of
American politics the question of civil rights. At issue were controversies about both First
Amendment rights to assembly and free speech and Fifth Amendment rights to due process and
freedom from self–incrimination. Anti–Communist actions often involved restrictions on these rights
, and heading the anti–Communist movement was the House Committee on Un–American Activities
(HUAC). This committee, which consisted of government officials from Congress, was formed to
investigate the threat of Communism in America. In doing so, the committee brought in witnesses,
usually individuals thought to have, or to have had, Communist...show more content...
It violated, however, the civil rights necessary for democracy. While the ACLU proposed to protect
civil rights no matter the cause, it refused at times to extend those civil rights to Communists or
Communist sympathizers on the grounds that Communists sought to suppress civil rights. Thus,
although the ACLU and HUAC are generally perceived as diametrically opposed groups, the
ambivalence of both groups makes it difficult to paint the former as the archetypal protector of civil
rights and the latter as the archetypal suppressor of civil rights.
While HUAC's actions were not laudable, it paradoxically had the best interests of the American
public in mind, including protecting American civil rights. Insofar as Communism seemed to
threaten the American way of life, HUAC's attempts to root out Communists reflected a concern for
American civil rights. The authoritarian nature of the Communist Party, as described by some,
seems to support the idea of a Communist threat to American ideals. As a friendly witness before
HUAC, for example, former Communist Party member Elia Kazan confessed that he left the party
because "I had enough regimentation, enough of being told what to think and say and do, enough
of their habitual violation of the daily practices of democracy to which I was accustomed" (406). In
his testimony, Kazan portrays the Communist party as a suppressor of civil rights ("daily practices,"
such as the right to "think"

Red Scare Essay

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