The Red Scare

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The Red Scare

• Whoa- That guys a communist!

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The American Communist Party

• Founded in the 1920s.
• Why? Because during the great depression, many
  people felt that communism offered an alternative
  to capitalism.

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1947-The Hollywood 10 and the Blacklist

• Began around the time of the great depression,
  which also was at the time of WW2. It was at its
  greatest height from 1952-1956.
• Why was the list created?
• There was such a thing called, the American
  communist party. Some members of Hollywood were
  open communist sympathizers. The American
  government then began to probe into whether the
  communist were imbedding communist propaganda
  into films and radio.

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Famous Early Testifiers

• Walt Disney and Ronald Regan

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Why a Black List?

• Hollywood blacklist came to be after the first 10
  actors accused refused to name any names or
  cooperate with the house committee of un-American
  activities. They were fired from all acting jobs
  and removed from the actors guild. This prompted
  the 40 major movie houses to create a statement
  banning them from work. This was called the
  Waldorf statement, because the meeting took
  place in The Waldorf Astoria hotel.

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What it said

• "Members of the Association of Motion Picture
  Producers deplore the action of the 10 Hollywood
  men who have been cited for contempt by the House
  of Representatives. We do not desire to prejudge
  their legal rights, but their actions have been a
  disservice to their employers and have impaired
  their usefulness to the industry.
• We will forthwith discharge or suspend without
  compensation those in our employ, and we will not
  re-employ any of the 10 until such time as he is
  acquitted or has purged himself of contempt and
  declares under oath that he is not a Communist.
• On the broader issue of alleged subversive and
  disloyal elements in Hollywood, our members are
  likewise prepared to take positive action.
• We will not knowingly employ a Communist or a
  member of any party trying to overthrow the
  government.

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Who was in on it?

• The companies in this statement included
• Fox
• Metro Goldwyn Mayer
• Columbia
• Paramount
• Warner Brothers
• Universal

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The Red Channel Pamphlet

• 1950- Red Channels was published. This pamphlet
  attacked the broadcasting industry and named 151
  people. Most of these named were then barred from
  the industry.

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The Un-American Activity Committee

• Un-American Activities committee first came to be
  in the late 1930s, which targeted possible
  citizens with Nazi ties. It was only when
  McCarthy was a senator that the committee took on
  the role of the witch hunters they were known
  for. They later changed their name to House of
  Internal Activity, until was disbanded in 1975.

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Show us your papers

• In an effort to try and protect the United States
  from communist action, an alien registration act,
  or the smith act, which stated that any activity
  or affiliation with activity about over throwing
  the government would be detained. Hundreds were
  arrested.
• By 1957, 140 leaders and members of the Communist
  Party had been charged under the law, of which 93
  were convicted. Many later said they gave these
  testimonies under duress and were false.

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Brainwashing

• McCarthyism also believed that vaccination,
  fluoridated water and mental health services were
  a part of the communist ploy to brainwash
  America.

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A slow decline

• After the fever pitch, the decline began when the
  Supreme Court stepped in and began to see the
  McCarthy movement as more un-American that saving
  actually trying to save America. People were very
  close to not being allowed to plead the fifth,
  our constitutional law.
• BUT Many of the massive security procedures and
  regulations that were created in the McCarthy era
  still exist today.
• Patriot Act
• Treason Proceedings

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In conclusion

• It has been revealed that there was a substantial
  amount of spying being done by the Russians to
  the Americans, and the communist party was
  heavily funded by the Soviet Union. So in a
  sense, there was vindication for the McCarthy
  movement. But was it taken to an extreme?
• What do you think?

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Julius Ethel Rosenberg
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