McCarthyism and the Red Scare led many Americans to fear communists during the Cold War era of tension with the Soviet Union. Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that 205 communists worked in the state department without evidence, using bold tactics to accuse people like Charlie Chaplin and Samuel Mostel. While thousands were arrested in raids like the Palmer Raids, most were detained without trial and no communist revolution occurred as claimed. Eventually, the Red Scare was viewed as a hoax as the predicted revolution never materialized.