Communism? Red Scare?
Mabrey O'Brien
Communism frightens America
When the Cold War began, many people feared the spread of Communism. This was known as the Red Scare. Fear of communism began when the US fought with many different countries in order to try to contain communism from spreading to the US. Some efforts of containment were successful, while others were not. Fear of communism rose throughout America when the Soviet Union developed the A-Bomb. Many feared that with nuclear weapons now involved that the spread of communism would be much harder to contain. Anti-Communist Republicans then accused President Truman of begin "soft" on communism. In other words, Truman wasn't doing much to try to retaliate after the Soviet Union created the bomb to try to keep communism from spreading further.
Spying for Communism?
The Red Scare pandemic heightened when Americans found out spies were beginning to spread secrets to the Soviet Union. Alger Hiss, part of the former State Department, was officially accused of spying for the Soviet Union. He was later convicted of perjury. The Rosenbergs, an accused couple, were also found to be passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. They were later convicted and executed for their involvement in passing secrets. Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin Senator, also began to make unsupported accusation of communism, known as "McCarthyism." He blamed the Democratic party for communism and Republicans did little to reign him in. After these incidents, the American government began to keep a closer eye on any suspicious activity involving the Soviet Union.