8.3 The Red Scare

As the Cold War intensified, many Americans feared communist influence inside the United States. The Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1954, led to loyalty investigations, congressional hearings, blacklists, and accusations against government workers, entertainers, and private citizens.

Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress

What to Know About the Red Scare

• Truman's 1947 Loyalty Review Board checked more than 3 million federal workers, and hundreds lost their jobs or quit.
• Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act over Truman's veto, restricting Communist group members and allowing camps for people the government considered dangerous.
• HUAC questioned people about communist connections, especially in Hollywood, and its blacklists kept suspected communists from getting jobs.
• The Alger Hiss and Rosenberg cases fueled fears of Soviet spying; Hiss went to prison for lying under oath, while Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
• Senator Joseph McCarthy gained influence by accusing government officials of communism without showing real evidence, creating fear that an accusation alone could damage someone's reputation.
• Televised Army-McCarthy hearings exposed McCarthy's bullying in 1954, and the Senate condemned him that December; the Red Scare also left many innocent people harmed by false accusations.

Government Loyalty Programs

As fears of communist infiltration grew after World War II, the American government created several programs to identify and remove suspected communists from positions of influence. These efforts started at the federal level but eventually spread throughout many sectors of American society. Democrats and Republicans disagreed about how far these programs should go and which methods to use, but both parties supported the broader strategy of containing communism and believed these measures were necessary to protect national security.

Truman's Loyalty Review Board

In 1947, President Truman set up a Loyalty Review Board because Republicans were pressuring him to do something about potential communists in the government. This program:

• Checked the backgrounds of more than 3 million people who worked for the federal government
• Used the FBI to dig into employees' personal lives and connections
• Looked for workers who might have ties to communist or other "un-American" groups
• Led to hundreds of government employees losing their jobs or quitting

The McCarran Internal Security Act

In 1950, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act even though President Truman tried to stop it with a veto. This law:

• Required Communist organizations to register with the government
• Limited where members of Communist groups could work and travel
• Allowed the government to set up camps to hold people they thought were dangerous
• Created a special board to investigate and make lists of groups they thought were communist fronts

The Supreme Court initially upheld parts of the law, including the Communist registration requirement in 1961, but later rulings in the 1960s and 1970s struck down other parts of the law for violating the Constitution.

Congressional Investigations

While the executive branch was checking government employees for loyalty, Congress launched its own efforts to find communists in American society. These investigations often involved public hearings where accused individuals were questioned about their political beliefs and associations. The hearings received extensive media coverage, spreading fear of communist infiltration across the country and encouraging people to report suspicious activities.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

HUAC was first created in 1939 to look for Nazi supporters, but after World War II, it switched to hunting for communists. The committee:

• Questioned government workers about possible communist connections
• Looked into organizations like the Boy Scouts for communist influence
• Put a lot of focus on Hollywood and the movie industry
• Made actors, directors, and writers testify about their political beliefs
• Created "blacklists" - lists of people who couldn't get jobs in their field because they were suspected of being communists

People called to testify faced a tough choice: either name others as communists (even if they weren't sure) or risk going to jail for not cooperating. Many people lost their jobs and friends just because they were accused.

Espionage Cases

Several high-profile spy cases in the late 1940s and early 1950s seemed to confirm American fears about communist infiltration. These cases received extensive media coverage and convinced many Americans that there really were Soviet spies working in the government. The cases involved government officials and regular citizens who were accused of passing secrets to the Soviet Union, especially information about America's nuclear weapons program.

The Alger Hiss Case

In 1948, a man named Alger Hiss who used to work for the State Department was accused of being a Soviet spy. His accuser was Whittaker Chambers, who had once been a communist himself. This case:

• Was investigated by Congressman Richard Nixon, who became famous because of it
• Involved claims that Hiss had given secret government documents to the Soviets
• Ended with Hiss going to prison in 1950 for lying under oath (they couldn't charge him with spying because too much time had passed)
• Made many Americans worry that Soviet spies might be working in high government positions

The Rosenberg Case

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. Their case:

• Started when another scientist confessed to spying, which led to the arrest of David Greenglass (Ethel's brother)
• Included testimony from Greenglass saying both Rosenbergs were involved
• Resulted in both Rosenbergs being found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage
• Ended with both being executed in 1953 - the first American civilians executed for espionage during peacetime
• Is still argued about today, with many historians questioning whether Ethel was really guilty

McCarthyism

Image Courtesy of Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy became the most prominent figure in the anti-communist movement of the early 1950s. His aggressive tactics and sensational claims about communists in the government gave rise to the term "McCarthyism," meaning making accusations without proper evidence. For almost five years, McCarthy dominated headlines and created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion that affected people from all walks of life.

Rise of McCarthy

In February 1950, McCarthy gave a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, that made him suddenly famous. He claimed:

• "I have here in my hand a list of 205 names that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who are still working and shaping policy in the State Department."
• McCarthy never showed real evidence for his claims, and the number of supposed communists kept changing from 205 to 57 to 81

Even though he couldn't back up his accusations, McCarthy gained a lot of power because:

• He was good at using newspapers and radio by always promising bigger revelations tomorrow
• He attacked important people like Secretary of State Dean Acheson and General George Marshall
• Regular Americans liked that he went after "elite" government officials
• He offered a simple answer to the Cold War: find the "enemy within"
• Republican politicians found his attacks on Democrats useful
• Many senators were afraid to speak against him after Senator Millard Tydings lost his re-election for criticizing McCarthy

McCarthy's Methods

McCarthy didn't do much real investigating. Instead, he:

• Relied on tips from people who were upset with their bosses or coworkers
• Used old reports from earlier investigations without checking if they were still true
• Made new accusations before people could prove his old accusations were false
• Created a scary atmosphere where just being accused meant people thought you were guilty

McCarthy's Downfall

McCarthy's power began to fade when he went after the U.S. Army in 1954:

• The Army-McCarthy hearings were shown on TV, and millions of Americans saw how McCarthy bullied people
• Army lawyer Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy, famously asking, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"
• The Senate voted to condemn McCarthy in December 1954
• McCarthy lost his committee leadership and public influence
• He died in 1957, partly due to heavy drinking

The Red Scare was a dark time in American history when fear made people forget about important rights like free speech and fair trials. While there were some real Soviet spies in America, many innocent people had their lives ruined by false accusations. This period shows what can happen when we let fear take over and forget about the rights that make America special. The effects of the Red Scare lasted for decades and reminds us to be careful about giving up freedoms in the name of security.