HIST 405N Week 7 Case Study Assignment Option 1: McCarthyism and Anti-Communist Campaigns – Graded An A+
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies; however after the defeat of
...
HIST 405N Week 7 Case Study Assignment Option 1: McCarthyism and Anti-Communist Campaigns – Graded An A+
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies; however after the defeat of the Axis powers, they would soon realize their ideologies and goals for European were incompatible (OpenStax, 2019). Diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1933 would open the door to a parade of Russian spies who would infiltrate the American government and threaten national security. In 1949, American confidence in containing communist subversion was severely diminished when the Soviet Union dropped its first atomic bomb and then when Chinese Communists won the civil war over the Nationalist forces (OpenStax, 2019). Suspicions of Russian spies and Communist sympathizers giving Russia U.S intelligence exploded. As a result, the FBI began investigating federal employees and loyalty boards were initiated to dismiss potential disloyal workers (OpenStax, 2019). In addition, HUAC targeted Communist in media, academia, and business including Hollywood and liberals in the State Department. This atmosphere of fear, distrust, and repression paved the way for opportunists like Joseph McCarthy to gain power and political influence exploiting these fears hence fueling the “Red Scare” across America.
The Red Scare is often called McCarthyism after the anti-communist, Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy. At the Lincoln celebration in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1950, he took full advantage of American fears of growing Soviet power and the prospects of communist subversion and nuclear holocaust to expand his political forum. In McCarthy’s speech, the specific threat posed was the destruction of democracy, “not from enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within”. During his speech, he waved a sheet of paper in the air, and proclaimed: “I have here in my hand a list of 205…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 [US] policy.”, however, he didn’t actually have a list and also changed the number of accused several time. Much of McCarthy’s allegations of communist subversion invasion seemed plausible since there had been actual spies in government, however most had been purged by late 1940’s and McCarthy was wrong about “95 percent” of the people he accused (Friedman, 2017).
McCarthy also declared in his speech that “we are in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity”. The hysterical fear of communism led many to cling to God and their religion for comfort; this led to political leaders, like McCarthy, using God and “religious revival” as a political statement of their loyalty (Wall, 2007). He used Christianity and Marxism as a contrast between the “good” USA with the “evil” USSR. The relationship between American nationalism and religion amplified during the Cold War, anti-communist Christian Americans began to believe that any religion was better than being an atheist. Dwight Eisenhower said that “our form of government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply-felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is.”
McCarthy did not care if his accusations were accuracy.” Nevertheless, his complete disregard for the truth only made him more powerful and frightening” (Wall, 2007). McCarthy, HUAC, and many other red baiters, substantially exaggerated the domestic communist threat in America. Hundreds of Americans were accused of being either communist or communist sympathizers. During the HUAC trails, individuals received a subpoena to appear before the committee. Anyone who refused to answer questions or provide them with communists names were held in contempt and sent to prison (History.com Editors, 2009).
Invoking the right to avoid self-crimination “pleading the Fifth” created an impression of guilt. Those who refused were blacklisted. Targets of these aggressive investigations were government employees, teachers, labor union activists, homosexuals, and those in the entertainment industry (History.com Editors, 2009). Many people were blacklisted or imprisoned, destroying their careers and reputations. Were there communists in America? The answer is absolutely yes. However, many of the accused had attended party rallies 15 or more years before the hearings, in fact, it had been fashionable to do so in the 1930s during the Great Depression when Americans felt democracy was failing.
Today there has been an emerging culture of fear in the United States. Some argue the current fears of terrorism come from deliberate campaigns by world capitalism’s elites. Social analysis traces the history of political scares to the 1900’s and shows an evolution from Red Scares to terrorism (Skoll,
2016).The obsession with terrorism has basis of early anti-communist hysteria. “Despite the collapse of its rival, Soviet Union, America became so frightened in 2009 they incarcerated each other at an unprecedented rate and held many in concentration camps for immigration” (Skoll, 2016, p. 28). Also during this period, the U.S lashed out against weaker and smaller enemies; attacking villages in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen in search of a few disaffected individuals who objected to U.S. imperialism. Another example in American history when mass hysteria caused people lashed out at the perception of being attacked by a secret enemy was the Salem Witch trials at the end of the 1600’s. When a society is stirred up by irrational fears they tend to act irrationally. Like during the Red Scare, these young women we falsely accused with no evidence and then persecuted and executed. The danger to democracy in false accusations, religious extremism, and the lack of due process cannot be overly emphasized. During extreme situations, we can often become what we fear or hate. The stairway to Hell is lined with small steps. It is never the one decision but several of them then a few more that can lead us down the wrong path. And before you know it wars are waged, people are being falsely persecuted, and mass panic leads to more irrational choices.
Although, there had been Russian spies in the U.S. government exploiting national secretes during and after World War II, the mass hysteria of the anti-communist movement created a hostile and unjust environment for many Americans. Political leaders, like Joe McCarthy, used citizen’s irrational fears of a secret attacker to create a chaos they could manipulate to their advantage. As seen during the Salem Witch trails and today’s Fight against Terror, we must use our democratic due process and rely on evidence not accusations during times of stress. The threat of communist subversion was definitely real. However, I feel, political leaders did not handle the threat in a realistic and productive way.
References
Friedman, U. (2017) Trump and Russia: Lessons from the Red Scare. The Atlantic: Retrieved from https://amp-threatlantic-com.cdn.amproject.org
History.com Editors (2009) Joseph McCarthy: History. A&E Television Networks.
URL: http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
Joseph McCarthy “Enemies from Within” Speech Delivered in Wheeling, West Virginia (1950) Digital
History Project, University of Houston. PDF: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3633
OpenStax (2019) U.S. history.OpenStax: Retrieved from https://cnx.org/contents/p7ovulkl@6.18:gMXC1GEM@7/IndroductionLinks to an external site
Skoll, G. (2016) Construction of Fear Culture in the United States from Red Scares to Terrorism. In:
Globalization of America Fear Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, NY. doi: https//doi.org110.1007/978-1-137-57034-52
Wall, W. (2007) Anti-Communism in the 1950’s.The Glider Lehrman Institute of American History.
Retrieved from: https://ap.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/fifties/essays/anti-communism-1950s
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