The Cold War at Home

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The Cold War at Home
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A. Fear of Communism the Red Scare
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Paranoia Sets in

• Fear of Communism spread thru the U.S. after WWII
• Result of
• Economic Recession
• Fear of Soviet Expansion
• Fear of spies nuclear
• warfare
• Politicians

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B. The Government Responds
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Smith Act (1940)

• Made it illegal to advocate the overthrow of the
  U.S. government
• Used to convict members of the Communist Party
• 11 in NY were sent to jail

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House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

• Investigative Committee in the HOR
• Investigated Communist influence in the United
  States

• Focused on the film industry believed there
  was propaganda in movies

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Blacklisting

• Hollywood Ten refused to cooperate with the
  HUAC
• Industry responded by blacklisting 250 people

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Trumans Loyalty Program

• Executive Order 9835 March 1947
• Designed to root out Communism from Federal
  Departments
• Investigate 3 million employees
• Employers began demanded loyalty oaths

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McCarran Internal Security Bill (1950)

• Communist organizations had to register
  activities were regulated
• Subversive activities could result in the
  de-naturalization of citizens
• Vetoed by Truman Congress over-rode
• Later overturned by the SC

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C. The Spies
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Alger Hiss

• Accused by Whittaker Chambers of spying

• Richard Nixon HUAC investigate
• He is convicted of perjury in 1948
• Sentenced to 5 years in prison

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Julius Ethel Rosenberg

• American Communists
• Accused of supplying secrets
• of the atomic bomb to the
• Soviets
• Convicted spy Klaus Fuchs
• accused them
• Convicted in 1951
• Executed in 1953

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D. McCarthyism
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Joseph McCarthy

• Feb 20, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy says he had
  the name of 205 Communists in the State Department

"I have here in my hand a list of 205a list of
names that were made known to the Secretary of
State as being members of the Communist Party and
who nevertheless are still working and shaping
policy in the State Department."
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Tydings Committee

• Senate Committee investigations into accusations
• Began a 4 year long witch hunt for communists
• Red-Baiting people began accusing others of
  being Communists

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Downfall of McCarthy

• Americans lived in a state of fear that they
  would be accused and would go on trial
• McCarthys downfall came when he accused the U.S.
  Army of supporting communism

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E. Living with Fear
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• Americans not only feared Communism at home, but
  also an attack from the Soviet Union
• Sputnik caused these fears to grow
• Many families built bomb shelters in their
  backyards
• Schools held Duck
• and Cover drills

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Interstate Highway Act (1956)

• Cities seen as targets of nuclear age
• Highways designed to evacuate cities move the
  military in
• 90 of the cost paid by the federal government
• Over 41,000 miles created
• Cost 32 billion