The Second Red Scare

Main idea: Between 1945 and 1955, the Second Red Scare assaulted the civil liberties of Americans in the effort to investigate Communist sympathizers.

Main idea: Fears of Communist Party subversion led to the U.S. government instituting loyalty programs and dismissing thousands of workers for alleged ties to “subversive groups.”

Communist Party in the US was actually in rapid decline after World War II

Republicans often used “red-baiting” as a campaign technique, accusing their more liberal opponents as Communist sympathizers played on Americans’ fears of Communism and helped get Republicans elected; in return, Democrats sometimes accused Republicans as fascists or Nazi sympathizers

Truman initiated loyalty programs for government employees in 1947, which authorized their dismissal if found to have even a “sympathetic association” with Communist or subversive groups

While some accusations were legitimate, many were simply gossip or false; employees worked under a cloud of fear and questionable tactics; over 2,000 employees were fired and over 10,000 resigned under Truman and Eisenhower

Main idea: Many Americans were blacklisted for their supposed Communist ties or their refusal to respond to charges.

House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), created in 1945 –investigated “un-American propaganda,” especially Communist

HUAC was infamous for attacking Hollywood’s actors, directors, producers, writers; most proclaimed they were innocent and anti-Communist; however the “Hollywood Ten” refused to discuss their pass politics, citing free speech under the 1^st Amendment; the Supreme Court disagreed and sent them to jail; as a result, leftists or liberals Hollywood came increasingly under fire and were added to a blacklist that prevented them from getting jobs or services

HUAC and other committees turned to attack other occupations, including diplomats, union leaders, and teachers

Some Americans were accused of guilt simply because they “took the Fifth” Amendment

Main idea: In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the U.S. government brought suspected radicals to trial and convicted some of illegal subversion.

In 1949, eleven Americans were convicted of “conspiring to advocate the violent overthrow of the US government” through their speech and publications

Another famous trial was that of Alger Hiss, a state department official who was accused of being part of a Communist spy ring; his trial remains controversial today

Probably the most famous trial was that of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg; they were confirmed Communist radicals but were convicted of being involved in the Fuchs spy ring who had sold secrets about the atomic bomb to the Soviets; both were electrocuted in 1953, the only U.S. civilians to be executed for espionage in American history; today we know Julius was most likely involved in some Soviet espionage but Ethel has not been connected; still controversial today

In most of these cases, circumstantial evidence, accusations, fear and anger were the driving force for convictions rather than solid facts

Main idea: The symbol of the second Red Scare was Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was known for investigating suspected Communists and was eventually denounced for them.

Joseph McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin – despite misconception, was not part of HUAC, but a similar committee in the Senate

He was known for having a list of, accusing and investigating hundreds of government officials who were involved in the Communist party and were attempting to subvert the nation; he gained popularity quickly in the early 50s

While some of the accusations might have been true, McCarthy’s methods were often based on mere hearsay, circumstantial evidence, and untrue information; he attacked George Marshall (WW2 General and architect of the Marshall Plan) and was denounced by army lawyer Joseph Welch famously: “Have you no sense of decency?”; soon after, he faded from popularity and was censured by the Senate, then died in 1957
Understanding McCarthyism

Main idea: McCarthyism was based on a number of factors in the Red Scare and was used by Republicans to gain political force in the 1950s.

McCarthyism – anti-Communist or simply loyalist attitudes and actions associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy, sometimes simply to gain political power, including smear tactics, innuendo, exaggeration, unsubstantiated claims, and demagoguery with little regard for actual evidence

Though McCarthy lost power quickly, the Red Scare continued throughout the early 1950s; it reached deep into society, involved in employers, local government, sports, Hollywood, etc. Reasons:

1. 
   Legitimate but exaggerated concern for Soviet spies and radical revolutionaries
   
2. 
   Nativism and anti-Semitism (anti-Jewish attitudes) – Communism was associated with New Immigration
   
3. 
   Resentment of Northeastern Ivy League intellectual elite
   
4. 
   Reassurance that Communist success could be attributed to American traitors rather than their own strengths
   
5. 
   Political opportunism – politicians often promoted the fear to gain power for their party
   

Main idea: Americans in the 1950s were confident in their ability to progress economically, domestically and internationally, though some there was still some criticism.

Brown v. Board of Education 1954 – Supreme Court decision declaring that “separate but equal” school facilities are inherently unequal, striking down Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 and reaffirming the 14^th Amendment; considered a great victory for the NAACP and a catalyst in the Civil Rights Movement

Often domestic American events in the 1950s-1960s were seen in light of the Cold War

Main idea: During the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, industrial economy and Americans’ standard of living increased.

Eisenhower easily defeated Adlai Stevenson for president in 1952 and 1956; Eisenhower won as a Republican but was considered a moderate—both conservatives and liberals claimed him as one of theirs; he accepted much of the New Deal but did not seek further reform

Economy of the 1950s increased 3.2 percent per year, as well as worker productivity, which led to wages rising faster than prices; Americans standard of living increased; much of the industrial growth was led by the resurgence of the American automobile industry

Labor unions became less radical and tied to Americanism rather than Communism

Minorities also benefited from industry jobs, but not all of them; as African-Americans and Hispanics continued to move to Northern and Western cities, some were still limited to sweatshop and menial jobs, and were often the first to be cut when needed; Native American benefits in government were cut and were encouraged to assimilate into US society faster

Main idea: Urban areas were reshaped in the 1950s by new facilities, the interstate system and continued suburbanization.

“Urban renewal” turned low-income urban areas into new hospitals, civic centers, sports arenas, etc. at the expense of poor and minority communities

Federal Highway Act of 1956 – created the Interstate system of highways for increased travel, shipping, and protection during the Cold War; interstate highways were large enough to help evacuate cities, haul military trucks and even land planes if necessary

Interstates halved travel time between cities, increased automobile shipping and decreased railroad shipping, and stimulated more industry to produce the 41,000 miles of concrete roads

Suburbs continued to grow, especially spurred by interstates and new highways that gave more access

Main idea: Consumerism increased as Americans bought many new goods on credit, using new highways and shopping malls.

Americans bought many new consumer goods on credit in the 1950s; houses were bought with FHA and VA mortgages with little down payment; furniture, appliances and home goods were bought on installment plans; consumer debt tripled between 1952 and 1964 (excluding home mortgages)

First shopping centers and malls were built in the 1950s

1950s cities and shopping became more dependent on automobiles, whereas early 1900s cities were built around streetcars, railroads, and subways; retail businesses moved to suburbs and highways; franchise stores and fast-food restaurants sprung up such as Holiday Inn and McDonald’s

Large-scale consumer entertainment was created like Las Vegas casinos and Disneyland amusement parks

Main idea: Television promoted the ideal of 1950s American life as a single family living in a home in the suburbs as a bulwark against Communism.

Prosperity promoted more education and more marriages earlier

Single adults were at their lowest proportions in US history by 1960; family life and values became the focus of American life; people married early and averaged three kids

Television and magazines promoted the all-American family as the ideal of American life, pressuring women to become homemakers instead of pursuing college and professional jobs; 87% of families had TVs; despite the stereotypes, the number of employed women actually increased

New electric appliances became popular, but the amount of time spent on housework actually increased

Main idea: Consumerism turned to teenagers in the 1950s and promoted a distinct “youth culture” known especially for rock and roll music.

Teenagers began buying things under consumerism just as adults had since the early 20^th century, esp. clothes, movies, cars, and music; advertisers promoted a “youth culture” and cashed in

Education began to match social status—college prep for middle-class whites, vocational and technical prep for lower classes, and separate schools or tracks for minorities

Rock and roll – new music of the 1950s popular with young people; it combined black rhythm and blues music with white country music and other influences; it worried or alienated adults, was often sexually suggestive and sometimes considered immoral; famous rock and roll musicians: Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, Chuck Berry
Turning to Religion

Main idea: Christian church attendance increased in the 1950s.

Eisenhower and J. Edgar Hoover (director of the FBI) promoted church as a defense against Communism (which usually discouraged religion); US government added “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” to currency in the 1950s

Radio and television preachers became popular in the 1950s: Bishop Fulton Sheen (Catholic), Norman Vincent Peale (Protestant) and Billy Graham (Protestant); Graham was especially popular as an evangelical revival leader

Southern Baptists became the largest Protestant denomination in the US in the 1950s, though Catholicism remained the largest Christian denomination overall

African-American churches also grew and continued to be community institutions offering social service programs; in the South, they would be centers for the growing Civil Rights Movement

Some Supreme Court decisions of the 1960s would alarm Christian evangelicals
The Gospel of Prosperity

Main idea: Writers and politicians attempted to explain the prosperity of 1950s America.

Numerous books were written attempting to explain why 1950s US was so prosperous

Kitchen debate – Vice President Richard Nixon explained to Soviet chairman Nikita Khrushchev that the reason the US was so prosperous was because of the “right to choose”

Main idea: Criticisms of 1950s America included inequalities, power, conformity and consumerism, and feminism.

Biggest criticism was that the prosperity of the 1950s hid vast inequalities of poverty, especially in inner cities and rural areas

Others criticized the “military-industrial complex” in which the government, big business and the military have an alliance to feed off each other and make lots of money and power

Other famous criticism was the Beat Generation, a group of Americans who criticized the 1950s culture as empty, materialistic, and conformist; similar to 1920s Lost Generation, they were also the predecessors of 1960s hippies; included Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg; sometimes referred to as “Beatniks”

1950s culture also found criticism in regards to women; some of them found a sense of emptiness and lack of fulfillment in being a housewife or mere consumer; Betty Friedan called it “the problem that has no name” in her famous book The Feminine Mystique of 1963

Main idea: The Eisenhower administration continued the Cold War foreign policy of Truman with the nuclear arms race and containing Communism.

Main idea: Eisenhower focused on foreign policy, avoiding crises, and sheer likeability in his first presidential term.

Dwight Eisenhower is known as a “foreign policy president” who avoided or struggled with domestic affairs; he campaigned on foreign policy expertise as a major general in World War II and NATO

He refused to dismantle the New Deal programs and avoided outright wars during the Cold War

“I like Ike” – Eisenhower campaign phrase emphasizing his nickname and just his likeability as a “smiling grandfather”
A Balance of Terror

Main idea: The Eisenhower administration concentration on nuclear technology accelerated the arms and technology race in the Cold War.

Eisenhower believed in “massive retaliation” as a Cold War foreign policy; instead of wasting more money on military forces, the US should focus on its supposed edge in nuclear arms and technology; if the huge forces of the USSR or China was to attack, they should expect a “massive retaliation” in nuclear warfare; it could be considered successful as no major war broke out during Eisenhower’s administration

USSR developed more of its own nuclear arms in response, heightening nuclear war fears; air raid/fallout shelters, drills, etc. increased

USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in 1957, then launched the first animal (a dog named Laika) on Sputnik II; Soviet propaganda led to American fears that it was losing its technological edge; the US created NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1958 and worried about losing the “missile gap” between the US and USSR
Containment in Action

Main idea: The U.S. attempted to contain Communism from spreading in Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

Eisenhower’s Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had proclaimed a “roll-back” policy of attacking Communism, but in actuality his administration kept to the “containment” policy of Truman—accepting the existing sphere of Communism around the world, but preventing its growth any further

Often the U.S. (esp. the CIA) would intervene in smaller countries in the name of containment against Communism but in actuality was looking out for US self-interests—in Iran in 1953, it helped the Shah overthrow self-determination; in Guatemala, it helped overthrow a leftist government that threatened US fruit companies; in Egypt, it negotiated a ceasefire to protect its oil interests

Eisenhower ended the war in Korea by moving atomic bombs closer to China and negotiating a truce between the two sides

The US sent money and supplies to support the authoritarian non-Communist South Vietnam against the Communist North Vietnam, esp. after the French dropped out of support

The US stayed mostly out of European affairs, afraid of nuclear war; Eastern Europeans who resisted Communist rule were put down by harsh Soviet measures without US support
Global Standoff

Main idea: Negotiations over nuclear weapons and the Cold War were frustrated when an American spy plane was shot down over the USSR and the Eisenhower administration was embarrassingly caught in a lie about the situation.

U-2 incident – 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was flying over the USSR when it was shot down; the pilot and the plane were recovered; Eisenhower and the US lied about knowledge of the plane and denied violating USSR air space and laws, but the Soviets showed photos of the plane and its pilot, embarrassing Eisenhower by showing their lie

Eisenhower refused to apologize at a summit meeting in Paris, causing Khrushchev to walk out, thus setting back nuclear disarmament for years