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Name: ___________________________________________ Class: ___________________ Date: _________________ Red Scare DBQ Anti-Communism in the 1950’s: Did the US Government go too far? Fallout shelter built by Louis Severance adjacent to his home near Akron, Mich., …., ca. 1960. Source: National Archives, Records of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Overview: After WWII, the fear of communism spread throughout American politics, culture, and society during the opening phases of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The “Red Scare” as it was known, impacted the lives of ordinary Americans. The US government took extraordinary steps to combat the threat of communism. The question for this DBQ is “Did the US Government go too far? The Documents: ● Document A: President Truman's Statement Announcing the First Soviet A-Bomb, September 1949 ● Document B: Civil Defense Poster, 1954 ● Document C: Excerpt from speech delivered by Senator Joseph McCarthy, February 1950 Background Essay Anti-Communism in the 1950s: Did the US government go too far? As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s, hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare. (Communism is a type of government and philosophy. Its goal is to form a society where everything is shared equally. In a communist government, the government owns and controls most everything including property, means of production, education, transportation, and agriculture). Communists were often referred to as “Reds” for their allegiance to the red Soviet flag. The Red Scare led to a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society. Federal employees were analyzed to determine whether they were sufficiently loyal to the government, and the House Un-American Activities Committee, as well as U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, investigated allegations of subversive elements in the government and the Hollywood film industry. The climate of fear linked to the Red Scare finally began to ease by the late 1950s. Following World War II (1939-45), the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union became engaged in a series of largely political and economic clashes known as the Cold War. The intense rivalry between the two superpowers raised concerns in the United States that Communists and leftist sympathizers inside America might actively work as Soviet spies and pose a threat to U.S. security. Such ideas were not totally unfounded. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had long carried out espionage (spy) activities inside America with the aid of U.S. citizens, particularly during World War II. As apprehension about Soviet influence grew as the Cold War heated up, U.S. leaders decided to take action. On March 21, 1947, President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) issued Executive Order 9835, also known as the Loyalty Order, which mandated that all federal employees be analyzed to determine whether they were sufficiently loyal to the government. Truman’s loyalty program was a startling development for a country that prized the concepts of personal liberty and freedom of political organization. One of the pioneering efforts to investigate communist activities took place in the U.S. House of Representatives, where the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938. HUAC’s investigations frequently focused on exposing Communists working inside the federal government or subversive elements working in the Hollywood film industry, and the committee gained new momentum following World War II, as the Cold War began. Under pressure from the negative publicity aimed at their studios, movie executives created blacklists that barred suspected radicals from employment; similar lists were also established in other industries. Another congressional investigator, U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (1908-57) of Wisconsin, became the person most closely associated with the anticommunist crusade–and with its excesses. McCarthy used hearsay and intimidation to establish himself as a powerful and feared figure in American politics. He made charges of disloyalty at celebrities, intellectuals and anyone who disagreed with his political views, costing many of his victims their reputations and jobs. The FBI and its longtime director, J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), aided many of the legislative investigations of communist activities using wiretaps and surveillance. Public concerns about communism were heightened by international events. In 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested a nuclear bomb and communist forces led by Mao Zedong (1893-1976) took control of China. The following year saw the start of the Korean War (1950-53), which engaged U.S. troops in combat against the communist-supported forces of North Korea. The advances of communism around the world convinced many U.S. citizens that there was a real danger of “Reds” taking over their own country. Americans also felt the effects of the Red Scare on a personal level, and thousands of alleged communist sympathizers saw their lives disrupted. They were hounded by law enforcement, alienated from friends and family and fired from their jobs. Examine the documents that follow and do your best to answer the question: Anti-Communism in the 1950s: Did the US government go too far? 1 Background Essay Questions 1. What two countries were involved in the Cold War? 2. What was the Loyalty Order and why did Truman issue it? 3. Define or explain each of these terms: -Communism -Cold War -subversive -House Un-American Activities Committee -blacklist 4. List two events or incidents which caused people in the US to fear the spread of communism. 5. What is a communist “sympathizer”? TIMELINE 1938 - HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) established 1945- WWII ends 1947 - Harry Truman issues “Loyalty Order” 1949- The Soviet Union detonates a test nuclear bomb 1954- Brown vs. Board of Education landmark decision declaring “separate but equal” unconstitutional 1955- First McDonald’s restaurant opens 1957- Soviets launch Sputnik- the “space race” begins 2 Document A Source: The American Presidency Project. John Woolley and Gerhard Peters. University of California, Santa Barbara. President Truman's Statement Announcing the First Soviet A-Bomb September 23, 1949 I believe the American people, to the fullest extent consistent with national security, are entitled to be informed of all developments in the field of atomic energy. That is my reason for making public the following information. We have evidence that within recent weeks an atomic explosion occurred in the U.S.S.R. Ever since atomic energy was first released by man, the eventual development of this new force by other nations was to be expected. This probability has always been taken into account by us. Nearly 4 years ago I pointed out that "scientific opinion appears to be practically unanimous that the essential theoretical knowledge upon which the discovery is based is already widely known…” And, in the Three-Nation Declaration of the President of the United States and the Prime Ministers of United Kingdom and of Canada, dated November 15, 1945, it was emphasized that no single nation could in fact have a monopoly of atomic weapons. This recent development emphasizes once again....the necessity for that truly effective enforceable international control of atomic energy which this Government and the large majority of the members of the United Nations support. The photograph shows the mushroom cloud from the "First lightning" test in 1949. This was the first Soviet nuclear test of a plutonium bomb. Document Analysis 1. Is this document a primary or secondary source? Explain your thinking. 2. What do you think President Truman is trying to emphasize in this speech? 3. How does this document help answer the question, “Anti-communism in the 1950’s: Did the US government go too far?” 3 Document B Source: Personal Files of James M. Lambie Jr., 1952 - 1961, Civil Defense Poster The text reads: “She looks to you for a real answer. She knows what she could do when the sirens sound at school. But what happens if they sound when she’s at home? Will you be ready, like teacher is? Ready to protect her from harm? Ready to help her if she is hurt? An atomic blast is something like a tornado, a fire and an explosion all rolled into one. Any of these may happen any day. They do happen every day, somewhere. But when they happen all at once, lots of people get hurt. Everybody needs help at the same time- and it may be hours before it comes to your home. U.S. Civil Defense, working with doctors and atomic scientists, has developed a list of “must” disaster first aid supplies. These few simple items may already be in your home or, if not, you can get them at any drug counter. For the sake of your children, your neighbors and yourself, these supplies should be in your home - and you should know how to use them.” 4 Document Analysis 1. Is this document a primary or secondary source? Explain your thinking. 2. What do you see as the purpose of this advertisement? Does it accomplish the purpose? Explain. 3. How does this advertisement help answer the question, ”Anti-communism in the 1950’s: Did the government go too far?” Explain. 5 Document C Source: U.S. Senate, State Department Loyalty Investigation Committee on Foreign Relations, 81st Congress; Joseph McCarthy to President Harry Truman February 11, 1950, Congressional Record, 81st Congress Editor’s note: In February 1950, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy gave a speech in West Virginia where he claimed to have a list of 205 communists working for the State Department. A few days later, he entered an edited version of the speech in the Congressional Record. Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity. The modern champions of communism have selected this as the time. And, ladies and gentlemen, the chips are down – they are truly down…. Ladies and gentlemen, can there be anyone here tonight who is so blind as to say that the war is not on? Can there be anyone who fails to realize that the Communist world has said, “The time is now” – that this is the time for the show-down between the democratic Christian world and the Communist atheist world? …. In my opinion the State Department, which is one of the most important government departments, is thoroughly infested with Communists. I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy. One thing to remember in discussing the Communists in our Government is that we are not dealing with spies who get thirty pieces of silver to steal the blueprints of a new weapon. We are dealing with a far more sinister type of activity because it permits the enemy to guide and shape our policy…. Document Analysis: 1. Is this document a primary or secondary source? Explain your thinking. 2. What is the tone of this speech? Explain. 3. How does this speech help answer the question, “Anti-communism in the 1950s: Did the US government go too far?” Explain. 6