Second Red Scare
Junior Rodarte
McCarthyism
- What caused McCarthyism to begin were the suspicions of Communism in America, also known as the Second Red Scare. There were communists in this country and we were in a cold war with the Soviets who stated they wanted to destroy us. Some of the targets were Hollywood people who had their careers destroyed by black lists because they were suspected communists. Some of them were offered deals if they would name other suspects so some innocent people were victims of this period.
HUAC
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having Communist ties.
Hollywood Ten
In October 1947, 10 members of the Hollywood film industry publicly denounced the tactics employed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), an investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, during its probe of alleged communist influence in the American motion picture business. These prominent screenwriters and directors, who became known as the Hollywood Ten, received jail sentences and were banned from working for the major Hollywood studios.