THE COLD WAR AND AMERICAN
SOCIETY
Chapter 13, Section 3
LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Explain the occurrence of the second Red Scare
and McCarthyism following World War II.
BRAIN DUMP

Write down everything you can remember about
the first Red Scare during World War 1… (Who,
What, When, Where, Why, How?)

Remember the 1st Red Scare. The Communist
Revolution. The Red Army is terrifying. It is
enormous. Truman takes a black and white
stance against communism. He brings freedom
into the dialogue. Then, they begin to look
inside. There are communist party members in
our own country. They may be trying to subvert.
Therefore, he must do something. His party
cannot be seen as the party that is weak on
communism.
A NEW RED SCARE
As Cold War tensions rose,
Americans worked to combat
Communist influence at home.
 Subversion: the effort to
secretly weaken a society and
overthrow its government.

LOYALTY REVIEW PROGRAM

Created by Harry Truman to screen all federal
employees.
HUAC

House Un-American
Activities Committee,
created to investigate
Communist and fascist
activity in the US.
PAGES 644-645
Alger Hiss
 The Rosenbergs
 Project Venona
 Hollywood Blacklist

“A CONSPIRACY SO IMMENSE”

1949: Soviet Union successfully test an atomic
bomb AND China falls to communism.
“A CONSPIRACY SO IMMENSE”

The Red Scare intensified as Senator Joseph
McCarthy presided over a Senate committee
charged with exposing Communists in
government.
“While I cannot take the time to name all the
men in the State Department who have been
named as members of the Communist Party and
members of a spy ring, I have here in my hand a
list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of
State as being members of the Communist Party
and who nevertheless are still working and
shaping the policy of the State Department.”
 -Joseph McCarthy, quoted at a Political Rally in
1950.

MCCARTHYISM

The tactic of damaging reputations with vague
and unfounded charges.





He May be A Communist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWeZ5SKXvj8
Red Scare and HUAC, Hollywood Blacklist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sgom1snPaQ
Make Mine Freedom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D6d6_-Vngo
As you watched the cartoon, what social, economic, and political aspects did
the film present as consequences of what would happen to you as a result of a
Communist regime? Do you agree or disagree with the cartoons assumptions?


To what extent does the cartoon portray American ideals and how they are
fundamentally different from communist ideals? Do you agree with the film’s
perspective and view of American society?


Can you use the themes of good vs. evil or us vs.? them interchangeably and
can you use the same themes to represent different periods of time. Please
provide several examples and why you used them
LIFE DURING THE EARLY COLD WAR

Fear of nuclear attack and of communism
dominated American popular culture during the
early Cold War years.