McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare

1
McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare

• American Cold War Culture and Law

2
President Truman

• Expands the federal bureaucracy.
• National Security Act of 1947
• NSC
• DoD
• CIA

3
President Truman

• Expands fed govt size and power
• Executive Order 9835
• Barred members of the Communist Party from
  federal employment.
• Fascists too
• States started to do this too
• Loyalty oaths

4
Senator Joseph McCarthy

• Wisconsin Republican facing defeat in election of
  1950
• Turns to a platform of anti-Communism

5
The List

• I have here a list of 205 names that were made
  known to the Secretary of State as being members
  of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are
  still working and shaping policy in the State
  Department.

6
Definition of McCarthyism

• The fear, suspicion, and scapegoating that
  surrounded McCarthy, his accusations and the
  general curtailment of civil rights during the
  Cold War era. It was a witch-hunt style campaign
  to silence critics of the Cold War.

7
House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC)

• Subcommittee of the House of Representatives
• Purpose To root out subversion of the
  American system
• The Question Are you now or
• have you ever been a member of
• the Communist Party?

8
The McCarran Act

• Formal name The Internal Security Act
• Requires communist organizations to register with
  the Subversive Activities Control Board
• Authorizes the arrest of suspect persons during
  national emergency
• Six concentration camps
• built for this purpose

9
The Immigration and Nationality Act

• Another McCarran-authored law
• Barred people who were deemed either subversive
  or homosexual from becoming citizens or even
  visiting the U.S.
• Power to deport immigrants who were members of
  the Communist Party, even if they were citizens
• In effect until 1973

10
Examples of McCarthyism

• In NYC, citizens must take loyalty oath to
  receive a fishing license
• FDRs New Deal is re-evaluated as a socialist
  conspiracy and 20 years of treason
• Jonas Salk invents vaccine for Polio a
  congressman suggests that it be distributed to
  all school-age children for free. Eisenhowers
  Secretary of Health rejects the idea as an
  attempt to socialize medicine through the
  backdoor.