Edexcel History A: A Divided Union

Anyone got any good information on Fear of communism in America? Specifically Rosenburgs, Alger Hiss, Hollywood and McCarthyism.
If you can help, thanks. :eek3:

Reply 1

infintywhirls

In your textbook? I can give you a summary from the top of my head :P Baahh, revision -_-

Even before WW2, people had a fear of communism from the Bolsheviks in Russia. It was nicknamed the "red terror" and this only increased after the war due to the Cold War with USSR, the soviet atomic bomb, communism in China, the Vietnam War and what was happening in Berlin at the time (ie. The Berlin Wall). This led to the Truman Doctrine in 1941 and the Marshall Plan. The FELP was alo started to investigate Federal workers for communist sympathies. HUAC was set up in 1947 which investigated the film industry for communist infiltration, out of fear that they would use it to spread messeges. This led to the arrest of 10 directors and writers who had to testify in front of HUAC for being members of the Communist party. However, they pleaded to the 5th Ammendment and refused to answer. They were sent to jail for a year in comtempt of court and they were blacklisted.
In 1948, Whittaker Chambers informed HUAC that Alger Hiss was a communist spy (he was a high ranking member of the State Department). After being questioned, there was little evidence linking Hiss to Chambers and President Truman dismissed it. However Richard Nixon investigated further found evidence (the Pumpkin files) and Hiss was arrested for 5 years for perjury.
Not long after that in 1949, Julius Rosenburg and his wife were arrested, accused of passing atomis secrets to the USSR (they were previously linked to Communists). Although they were charged on little evidence and were executed in 1953, coded telegraphs between the Rosenburgs and the USSR were found later on.
And McCarthy I just cba to write about :P He basically fueled the hysteria and used it for his own gain as he accused any opposition that they were Communists. He often relied on bluffing and never produced any real evidence. However, people honestly believed him as he often mixed fact with lies, until it was hard to tell the difference. However, it turned out he wasent all that popular and when he accused the army of being spies in 1954, he lost all credibility as he appeared to be a bully, which constrasted with Joseph Welch, the army's attorney. From there on, McCarthyism was over.

Sorry if any of this is wrong... C;