Chapter 26 – Section 3:The Cold War at Home

vs.

Communism: The Ultimate Disease

• Many Americans become terrified of Communists

• Communist ideology is like a disease• People didn’t seek proof–Wild accusations were made

• Caused by the fall of Eastern Europe and China

• At its pinnacle, the American Communist Party had 80,000 members

The Public Criticizes Truman• Truman is viewed as soft on

Communism– Truman “gave away” Eastern Europe

• Attacks come from the Republican party

• In March of 1947, he responds• Federal Employee Loyalty Program– Loyalty Review Board

• Purpose was to investigate federal employees

The Loyalty Review Board• Attorney General lists 91 subversive

organizations• Between 1947 and 1951 3.2 million

employees were investigated • Further review could occur before a board– 27,000 full scale investigations– 212 dismissals – 2,900 more dismissed

• Truman now uses anti-communist fervor to gain support for his money programs

Fear of Social Change• Communist fear

lead to fear of changes in other aspects of society

• Feared the changing of gender roles– Role of Women

• The Civil Rights Movement was suspected of being Communist

House Un-American Activities Council

• Had its roots in the Overman and Fish Committees– Investigated Germans, Bolsheviks, and

Communists• Dies Committee in 1938 chaired by Martin Dies– Guilt by association

• Used ex-members of organizations as snitches• They found 563 names on a leftist mailing list• An additional 1,000 were sympathetic to

totalitarian regimes

HUAC Attacks Hollywood• Thought there was communist

propaganda in movies• HUAC calls 43 witnesses in

September of 1947–Most “friendly”– Ten “unfriendly”

• Hollywood responds with a “blacklist”• Hollywood begins to pump out tons

of anti-communist movies

The McCarran Act and Its Impact

• Sought to punish communist ideas• Made it illegal to plan an overthrow• Required organizations to register

with the AG– Americans could lose citizenship

• Truman vetoes the McCarran Act– Congress passes the law over his veto

• Kind of like the Patriot Act of the 1950s

Spies? In America? • In 1945 the Amerasia is accused of

spying– Editor pleads guilty

• In 1948 Alger Hiss is accused of spying

• Whittaker Chambers claims to have microfilm

• They convict him on charges of perjury

• Served 44 months in a federal prison• Declassified information points to his

guilt

Other Spy Cases• In October of 1949, eleven leaders of

the American Communist Party are convicted

• In 1950 Judith Coplon is convicted– One of the first major convictions

• Worked in the Justice Department• FBI figured out what she was going– Set her up using fake documents

The Rosenberg’s: A Spy Case that Rattles the Nation

• Soviet Union detonates their “bomb” in September of 1949

• Klaus Fuchs had been passing secrets to Soviets

• Fuchs admits to giving away information

• Implicates Julius and Ethel Rosenberg• Found guilty and sentenced to death• Executed by electric chair in June of

1953

Other Cold War Spy Cases• Aldrich Ames is

convicted in 1994– Named American

assets• Robert Hanssen

pleads guilty in 2001– Sold out American

spies• Neither received

the death penalty

The Witch Hunt Begins• Joseph McCarthy is a Wisconsin

Senator– Not a very good one

• Decides to play on fears in America• Starts to throw out wild accusations– In no way supported by fact

• This comes to be known as McCarthyism– Accusing someone without proof

The Witch Hunt Begins• February 9, 1950, Wheeling, West

Virginia– Speech to Republican Women’s Club

• Claims to have a piece of paper with names– Number of names varies

• Distorts information to the Senate• Republicans don’t try and stop him• He now makes a grave mistake

McCarthy Accuses the Army• Accuses members of the Army• Results in nationally televised hearings– Bullies witnesses– Appears dishonest

• McCarthy falls from favor after the hearings

• McCarthy upsets everyone in four years• Dies of alcoholism three years later• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2iiovYq70

Impact of McCarthyism• Distrust in the people around you• McCarthyism is alive and well today• Instead of communism, we fear

terrorism• We question the patriotism of people• We eliminate rights in the name of

national security