The Second Red Scare

The Second Red Scare

Multiple Select

What were some factors that fed into the red scare?

• The Soviets making an atomic bomb

• Communism spreading in Europe and Asia

• The government had been infiltrated by communists.

Red China

• The Chinese Nationalist government, an ally of the United States, had collapsed and been replaced by a communist one.

• The worlds most populous nation was now communist!

Multiple Choice

What government policy does the United states use in Asia after China became communist?

• Isolationism

• Containment Policy

• Big Stick Policy

Poll

Why might New Deal Democrats be concerned being labelled "soft" on communism.

• Democrats were president during WW2 and allied with USSR

• Democrats are naturally more on the left side of the political spectrum

• The New Deal was based off of more government control over the economy

Truman Trying to be Tough

• President Truman like many Democrats worked hard to keep up an image of being anti-communist

• Using the Smith Act and McCarran Act, Truman made efforts to weaken the communist party within the United States

Executive Order 9835 "Loyalty Order"

• 3 million government employees were investigated to determine their loyalty to the US.

• 3,000 employees were either dismissed or released

• Similar loyalty investigations were conducted in every other line of work.

HUAC and the Hollywood Ten

• The House Un-American Activities Committee was formed in the 1930s to look out for any threats to the security of the US government.

• One of HUAC's major investigations was sniffing out possible Communist party within members in Hollywood. Possible communists were "blacklisted."

Poll

Do you think identified possible communist party members deserved to be blacklisted?

• Yes

• No

• It depends

Paul Robeson

"you are the un-Americans, and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves"

J Robert Oppenheimer

• Led the Manhattan Project, and was a committee member of the US Atomic Energy Commission.

• He loyalty to the US was questioned and lost his position due to his brother and wife both being Communist Party members

Multiple Choice

How might many Americans treat friends who were identified as communists.

• Break off those friendships

• Defend those friends

Rosenberg Trials

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of sharing military secrets with the Soviet Union on how to make an atomic bomb.

• They were sentenced guilty of espionage and sentenced to death.

• Their case was controversial due to many Americans believing the death penalty was severe.