1 / 14

American Odyssey

American Odyssey. Chapter 19 – Cold War Politics Section 2 – The Cold War at Home. The Hunt for Communists (p.641-644). The fear of communism grew, explosively, in the climate produced by the development of the Soviet atomic bomb.

rhonda
Download Presentation

American Odyssey

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. American Odyssey Chapter 19 – Cold War Politics Section 2 – The Cold War at Home

  2. The Hunt for Communists (p.641-644) • The fear of communism grew, explosively, in the climate produced by the development of the Soviet atomic bomb. • The spread of communism also caused some Americans to use anti-communism as a means of grabbing power.

  3. The Hunt for Communists • The House Un-American Committee (HUAC) was created in 1934. • Attempted to link FDR to communism • They had little success against FDR • During the Great Depression, HUAC questioned The American Communist Party. • The committee began their hearings again during the Cold War with new people to harass.

  4. The Hunt for Communists • Some committee members of HUAC resorted to demagoguery. • Stirring people up by appealing to their emotions • Character assassination

  5. The Case of Alger Hiss (p.642) • Many American politicians and voters wanted to see a strong case against the spies they thought infiltrated the American government. • Richard Nixon, at this time, was the voice of reason of HUAC. • He was often surrounded by emotional, vindictive, and racist men. • In the case of Alger Hiss, Nixon used his approach to place himself into the public eye.

  6. The Case of Alger Hiss • Hiss was implicated by Whittaker Chambers, a staunch anti-communist, who was formerly involved in Communist espionage activities. • Chambers had been looking for years to prosecute Hiss, but failed. • Nixon and HUAC decided to hear the case against Hiss. • Hiss graduated from Harvard, worked with the Supreme Court, and served on FDR’s staff at the Yalta Conference.

  7. The Case of Alger Hiss • Hiss was president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. • Peace organizations in general were highly suspect as instruments for “softening” the United States, so the Soviets could take over the nation by surprise. • Hiss was a perfect target for the HUAC.

  8. The Case of Alger Hiss • In 1948 Chambers handed Nixon the evidence he needed – a roll of microfilm found hidden in a pumpkin patch. • The microfilm showed secret State Department documents – known the Pumpkin Papers. • Some documents had been copied on a typewriter traced to Hiss. • The evidence led to Hiss’ conviction, and the case paved the way for Nixon to move to the Senate. • Hiss was sentenced to five years for two counts of perjury.

  9. The Hunt for Communists • Truman, who had a strong dislike for Communists, joined the Red Hunt in 1947 by instituting the Federal Employee Loyalty Program. • The program was used and abused to evaluate the loyalty of government employees. • Truman did this out of fear of being labeled “soft” on communism.

  10. The Hunt for Communists • To many in Congress, Truman’s anti-Communist measures were not enough. • In 1950, Congress passed it own tough law – the McCarran Act. • The law did not outlaw the Communist party, it made it illegal to engage in activities that would create a Communist government. • Truman overrode the act, but Congress overrode the veto.

  11. The Hunt for Communists • On the heels of the Hiss Case, a young British scientist, Klaus Fuchs, implicated Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in transmitting top-secret atomic secrets to the Soviets. • Fuchs had actually given the designs to the Soviets. • The Rosenbergs were tried and convicted of espionage. • They were executed after their conviction because espionage is a form of treason. • Debate of their innocence continues, but documents released by the Soviets indicate their guilt.

  12. The McCarthy Era (p. 645-646) • Senator Joseph McCarthy • Republican Senator from Wisconsin • He grabbed the spotlight in 1950 while speaking at a Republican women conventions in Wheeling, WV. • He held up a list of names that “proved” there were Communists working in the Truman administration. • He never produced a shred of credible evidence; but his wild accusations ruined the reputation of many officials.

  13. McCarthyism • McCarthy’s untested accusations against governmental officials became known as McCarthyism. • McCarthyism is the use of intimidation and often unfounded accusations in the name of fighting communism. Senator Joseph McCarthy

  14. The McCarthy Era • McCarthy took over the chair of a Senate subcommittee on investigations into Communist activities. • For nearly four years, McCarthy continued his public attacks. Then he went too far – he implicated the United States Army. • In televised hearings, army attorney Joseph Welch overcame McCarthy’s charges. • He even went on to attack Secretary of State George Marshall – he blamed Marshall for the loss of communism to China and MacArthur’s dismissal. • In 1954 the Senate voted to condemn McCarthy, but the red hunt continued.

More Related