The Red Scare (1950s)

Title: The Red Scare (1950s). Labels: Red_Jello, Red_Scare, McCarthy, McCarthyism, Rosenbergs, Blacklist, Alger_Hiss






For each term or name, write a concise sentence or two explaining its significance.


1. HUAC
HUAC was an agency that investigated possible Communist influence in the U.S. government as well as outside of it. HUAC investigated the movie industry for possible communist propaganda ideas.

2. Blacklist
The blacklist was a list that was instituted by Hollywood executives that was a list of people who they condemned to have a Communist background. Around 500 people were on the blacklist, and their careers were virtually ruined.


3. Alger Hiss
A former communist spy, Whittaker Chambers, accused Alger Hiss of being a soviet spy in 1948. Hiss was convicted of perjury
and sent him to jail.

4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
They were minor activists in the American Comunist party. The Rosenbergs denied all of the charges that were brought up and pleaded the fifth amendment. They were found guilty of espionage and were sentenced to death. To some, the Rosenbergs were responsible for one of the clashes of the Cold War.

5. Joseph McCarthy
He was the most famous anti-communist activist and he was a Senator. McCarthy needed an issue that would make him reelected and he came up with the issue that Communism was taking over the government.


6. McCarthyism
McCarthyism was when McCarthy made accusation after accusation with no evidence to back them up, the attacks on suspected communists in the early 1950s were referred to as McCarthyism. It is the unfair tactic of accusing people of disloyalty without being able to back it up.


7. In a paragraph, describe the motivations and actions of Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. What prompted his actions? What did he do? What happened as a result of his actions?
Joseph McCarthy was a senator and republican of Wisconsin. He was very much an anti communist. His actions were prompted because he had a reputation for being ineffective in the legislator. He needed a winning issue in order to be reelected in 1952. McCarthy came up with the idea that Communism was taking over the government. He made many accusations on suspected communists without supporting the accusations. McCarthyism was invented by the actions of Joseph McCarthy and it was the unfair tactic of accusing people of disloyalty without providing evidence to back it up.