How did McCarthyism and the Red Scare change American society and government?
A: While Americans were enjoying postwar prosperity and optimism, McCarthyism and the Red Scare caused society and government to fear Communism and an atomic attack. As a result, government officials led witch hunts, schools set aside special areas as bomb shelters and practiced duck and cover drills, and families built backyard fallout shelters.
While Americans were enjoying postwar prosperity and optimism, McCarthyism and the Red Scare caused society and government to fear Communism and an atomic attack. As a result, government officials led witch hunts, schools set aside special areas as bomb shelters and practiced duck and cover drills, and families built backyard fallout shelters. These fears also appeared in films and popular fiction.
McCarthy did not focus on nuclear war. That threat seemed real once the Soviets developed their own hydrogen bomb. What McCarthy was focused on was alleged Communists WITHIN the United States, especially in government jobs and in entertainment. Fear of the Soviet Union was one thing. McCarthy said there were traitors EVERYWHERE inside the United States, United States citizens who were spreading communism to youth and spying for the Soviets and making movies that had evil messages, like the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" where the whole town comes out to help George Bailey and the local miser is depicted badly.
I did not state that McCarthyism focused on nuclear war. I said, as I quote, "McCarthyism and THE RED SCARE caused society and government to fear Communism and an atomic attack."
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/huac
McCarthyism and "the red scare" are one and the same. Fear of nuclear war is not the same as "the red scare". The "red scare" involved fear of "reds" working in the State Department and other government jobs, Hollywood, teachers, etc.
Okay, then both McCarthyism and the Red Scare led people to fear Communism. But because they feared Communism, they also feared a surprise atomic attack from the Soviets.
Now, make no mistake. Fear of the Soviet Union and "communism" fueled "the red scare". The two are related. One involved foreign relations -- relations between the Soviets and the U.S. -- the other ended up accusing Americans of being communists trying to turn the United States "communist" from the inside.
Okay, then how do you suppose I should change my answer? Because I am becoming confused with all the information you're throwing at me.
Yes, we feared a nuclear attack from the Soviets. We also feared subversives, American citizens who may or may not have once attended a political meeting or joined the POLITICAL communist party in the U.S. (which never was illegal). Many people were suspected of being "communists" and were denied jobs or blacklisted. Most of those people were not at all trying to overthrow the government or turn anybody into a communist at all, but were falsely accused.
Okay. I don't blame you for being confused. The difference between "the red scare" and fear of the Soviet Union is really simple. The Red Scare involved people INSIDE the U.S.A., citizens, accused of supporting communism as an economic system and wanting to convert the U.S. to that economic system. Fear of the Soviets was fear of a foreign enemy that happened to be communist (and totalitarian).
So should I just include subversives in my answer?
"While Americans were enjoying postwar prosperity and optimism, McCarthyism and the Red Scare caused society and government to fear Communism, subversives, and an atomic attack. As a result, government officials led witch hunts, schools set aside special areas as bomb shelters and practiced duck and cover drills, and families built backyard fallout shelters."
The result of the JUAC's investigations and McCarthy's accusations falsely accused many peaceful, honest Americans of being traitors or subversives and spoiled thousands of lives. The Soviets WERE international competitors of the U.S. for power and influence, and we did threaten each other with "the bomb". The two are related, but not the same.
I guess I would say that McCarthyism and the "red scare" caused American society and the government to fear traitors and subversives inside the United States WHILE fearing an atomic attack from the Soviet Union.
I am beyond confused now. ):
Will you please just tell me what it is that I need to change in my answer? I'm sorry, but I don't understand the point you're trying to get across.
The point is that even if there were people in the US that liked the idea of communism, they were not going to send missiles to destroy the country out of the schoolroom or a Hollywood studio. We feared the Soviet Union might do that. The bomb shelters were not to protect ourselves from college professors or actors. They were to protect ourselves from a foreign enemy.
They were to protect ourselves from an atomic attack.
The red scare was not fear of nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. It was a fear that Americans were traitors to the United States. Two different things, all mixed up in the dislike and fear of communism.
There was a joke that some people had to sweep under their beds every night to chase the communists out, like the monster little kids might imagine in the dark. That's what the red scare was.
I don't understand!
Americans associated Communism with the Soviet Union. And an surprise Soviet attack was one of the things that American society and government feared. So why is my answer incorrect?
Fear of the Soviet Union was one thing. Fear of your neighbors in your own town and your own country is another thing. There probably were some nutty Americans who wanted our country destroyed for some reason. There still are! But the red scare accused many, many innocent people of being communists when they were not. They were the imaginary monster under the bed or in the closet that might come out to get us in the dark.
The fact is that the Soviet Union had nuclear bombs that we feared. Actors, teachers, movie producers, street-corner preachers, even bureaucrats did not have bombs. They could not destroy us. Spies might aid the Soviets, and we were looking for spies EVERYWHERE, and McCarthy fanned that fear, turning American against American. McCarthy lied A LOT. Fear of a foreign enemy is not the same as one American fearing another American for his/her political views, or accusing each other of holding views we didn't hold at all.
So how should I write my answer to this question?
You have all of the information. Read it over carefully. Take notes. Then, synthesize it and write it in your own words.
Is this correct?
While Americans were enjoying postwar prosperity and optimism, McCarthyism and the Red Scare caused American society and the government to fear Communists inside the United States while fearing an atomic attack from the Soviet Union. As a result, the president established a loyalty review program, government officials led witch hunts, and the FBI sent agents to infiltrate groups suspected of subversion and wire-tapped thousands of telephones. Following the federal government's example, many state and local governments, universities, businesses, unions, and churches began their own efforts to find Communists. Schools required faculty members to take loyalty oaths, and Catholic groups urged their members to identify Communists within the church. Furthermore, people incorporated fear of communism in film and popular fiction.
The so-called red scare, fueled by the House Unamerican Activities Committee and Senator McCarthy's hearings and rhetoric turned American against American. Fear of a foreign enemy in the form of the Soviet Union is different. That is the distinction I want you to understand, Victoria.
Okay.
Am I correct, though?