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Extent the Cold War affected life within the USA - Coggle Diagram
Extent the Cold War affected life within the USA
Anti-communism and Cold War context
1949, USSR had the atomic bomb, confirming fears that spies and subversion had provided the USSR with information to produce nuclear weapons
1947 Truman ordered new loyalty and security checks on all federal employees to see if they had communist sympathies
Canadian government employees were caught handing over atomic secrets to Soviet spies - seen as a serious threat to the US
Under Executive Order 9835, the Federal Employee Loyalty Programme was created - investigated employee lives
There was fear of communist spying and subversion after bundres of secret State Department documents were discovered in the offices of communist magazine Amerasia
Between 1947 and 1951, nearly 3000 federal employees resigned over the program and 300 were dmismissed
USA was gripped by a Red Scare after WW2 - Eastern Europe was communist between 1945-48
HUAC
He was accused of giving secret documents to Whitaker Chambers who was a self-confessed former communist - Hiss denied this and was convicted for lying to the HUAC in January 1950 - case was publicised nationwide
Democrat Truman was re-elected in 1948 where HUAC investigated Alger Hiss who was part of the State Department was accused of being a communist sympathiser
China going communism in 1949 was blamed on Truman for being soft - Republicans thought Truman should've offered effective assistance
HUAC increased national hysteria against communists - fear of 'Reds under the bed' undermined the American way of life
Investigations were filmed and broadcasted on TV so average Americans could watch the witch-hunt against suspected 'Reds'
Height of anti-communism came from Joesph McCarthy
HUAC investigated communist infiltration across American society and expose supporters in federal government
In March 1947 Truman made a speech stating the USSR was a major threat to democracy in Europe and the world
HUAC became a powerful tool in Republican campaign against communism
HUAC aided by Smith Act of 1940 which allowed prosecution of anyone who supported/promoted communism
Created in 1938 by the House of Representatives to protect the USA against Nazi spying - after WW2 used as communist subversion
McCarthy(ism)
Anti-communist crusade gave Republicans a vote-winning formula stopping the democrats who had dominated since 1933
1950 the Internal Security Act was passed which required all communist and communist-front organisations to register with the Subversive Activities Control Board
McCarthy's anti-establishment and anti-privlege stance won support in the Midwest and West - USA was believed to being undermined from within
1952 McCarran passed the Immigration and Nationality Act which established new and strict quotas on immigration and set up procedures to screen any subservices from entering the government
Fear of communism was widespread among businessmen
McCarthy's attack on the State Department weakened morale in the federal government and created a climate of fear and accusation which undermined American life
Catholics supported McCarthy because the saw how their co-religionsts in Eastern Europe and Asia suffered persecution under communism
Fear of Red's under the Bed became a feature of US life in the early 1950s
He was popular despite his claims never being substantiated - offered simple answers to questions many Americans were asking
Once the Republicans were in power in 1953, his usefulness was gone - didn't stop making accusations about communist infiltration - claimed armed forces were under suspicion
1950 mid-term elections, McCarthy's tactics worked as 2 anti-McCarthy senators lost their seats
Senate was irritated by his behaviour and was seen as an embarrassment and heavy drinker to the Senate
In 1950, 61% of Americans said if a person was proved to be a communist sympathiser, they should be dismissed from the teaching profession
McCarthy attacked other departments like the American Bar, Medical and Teaching profession
From April 1954 he was under questioning in the Senate Caucus Room for 35 days with 20m watching the proceedings on TV
He said 205 names, then 57 and then said a lot - Senate Committee appointed to look at his claims, no evidence supported it
He dominated the national scene for 5 years - he was ineffective in the nuclear age - claims of domestic treachery wasn't effective
1950 he announced the State Department was infiltrated by communism and claimed it was full of communists and sympathisers who were undermining USA's conflict with communism
Reality of nuclear age
Federal Highways and Defense Act of 1956 was passed which allowed the rapid evacuation in cities in case of an attack
July 1950 Julius Rosenberg, engineer in the Army, was arrested who passed on secret information to Soviet agents
Families who could afford it built anti-nuclear war shelters under their houses or in their yards - large cities had public shelters - civil defence plans were drawn up
At school, children were taught what to do in case of a nuclear attack and practiced hiding under their desk when they heard the warning in regular drills
Reality of nuclear age affected all of American life
People were concerned with how the USSR got knowledge to make a nuclear weapon so quickly
US was under threat which lead to a growing fear that USA's position in the world could be undermined by communist subversion
Between 1949 and 1991, superpowers faced each other with nuclear weapons
By 1949, Soviet Union had their own atomic weapon