McCarthyism and the Red Scare

McCarthyism and the Red Scare — page 3 — INTRODUCTION THE FIRST AND SECOND RED SCARES Communists were typically associated with Russia and the U S S R and called Red because of the color of the Soviet flag The term Red Scare has been used to describe a fear of communism or extreme leftist political beliefs It refers to two periods in history when people in the United States and Canada became concerned about the potential rise of communism in their countries In a communist society all wealth and resources are owned by the government and shared among the people Individuals cannot own property farms or factories The goal of communism is to create a society without class divisions The First Red Scare took place in the early 1900s In 1917 during World War I the Russian Empire’s economy was crumbling The czar or ruler was forced to give up his throne The Duma or government was replaced temporarily However many people in Russia were still unhappy Food was scarce prices were high and working conditions poor People wanted Russia to leave the war A revolution led to the government being overthrown It was replaced by a communist system under the Bolshevik political party The new government took Russia out of the war and changed people’s lives Some Americans were inspired by the revolution and believed a socialist government in the United States could solve problems such as poverty Years later the Second Red Scare was brought on by the start of the Cold War The U S S R was an ally of the United States and Canada during World War II After the war the U S S R and the United States became the world’s super powers They had different ideologies In October 1947 ten well known U S writers and movie directors were accused of communist activities They were sentenced to jail time and banned from working at the major Hollywood studios These Hollywood actors flew in to Washington D C in support for the Hollywood Ten There are today many Communists in America They are everywhere in factories offices butcher stores on street corners in private businesses And each carries in himself the germ of death for society J Howard McGrath President Truman’s attorney general in 1949 6 UNCOVERING THE PAST

McCarthyism and the Red Scare — page 4 — and views about how countries and economies should work They competed for influence over other countries The governments in the United States and Canada feared the spread of communism viewing it as a threat to democracy Eventually the United States pledged to help countries around the world that were under Soviet pressure to adopt communism U S government officials started to accuse innocent Americans of wrongdoings In particular Joseph McCarthy became widely known for investigating potential communists and their sympathizers in the United States His campaign was relentless ruthless and widespread Igor Gouzenko wears a hood to hide his face during an interview with newspaper reporter Saul Pett in April 1954 Gouzenko worked at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa when he exposed a Soviet spy ring in Canada in 1945 He spent the rest of his life hiding from the Soviet government MCCARTHYISM AND THE RED SCARE 7

McCarthyism and the Red Scare — page 5 — HISTORICAL SOURCES TYPES OF EVIDENCE Facts are stubborn things and whatever may be our wishes our inclinations or the dictates of our passion they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence John Adams politician and future U S president in 1770 Historians require evidence of past events to be able to understand them Evidence is a collection of facts clues or information that supports a certain viewpoint or provides proof that a specific situation took place and how it happened When studying history historians look to source materials as evidence Source materials are any artifacts or objects that were created during or about the time in history being studied They can include articles recordings books photographs paintings and more We can find source materials on the Internet and in libraries and museums There are two main types of source materials primary sources and secondary sources Historians use source materials like pieces of a puzzle They weave together the information they find in different sources It can take years for them to gather enough evidence to understand a certain time or event that happened in history Because the Second Red Scare was fairly recent there is a lot of source material available about it Events that occurred during that era are well preserved in interviews newspapers reports posters photographs and more Modern technologies such as television and audio recording devices documented the many different viewpoints of the time Each of these sources provides a snapshot of North America in the 1950s and 1960s Together they help us look back and give us clues as to what people were thinking feeling and doing 8 UNCOVERING THE PAST During World War II the Canadian government imprisoned known and suspected communists On September 23 1942 the Secretary of the Communist Party of Canada far left and other communist leaders met at the office of lawyer J L Cohen far right to fight for their rights

McCarthyism and the Red Scare — page 6 — ANALYZE THIS In a time of war what reasons might the government have had for imprisoning communists Were these reasons valid Are some people treated similarly today MCCARTHYISM AND THE RED SCARES 9

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