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RED SCARES AND ANTI-COMMUNISM, 1917-80 - Coggle Diagram
RED SCARES AND ANTI-COMMUNISM, 1917-80
FIRST RED SCARE, 1919-20
Russian revolution paired with large numbers of Americans going on strike increased anti-communist fears.
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1919: 1 in 4 workers striked, 3600 strikes.
Anarchists distributed pamphlets, urging revolution.
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SECOND RED SCARE, 1947-54
Increasing fears of communist takeovers due to Eastern European countries being occupied by the USSR emerging with soviet govts
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Truman contributed partly to the Red Scare:
- Truman Doctrine speech depicted a frightening world of communist expansion- scared a lot of people.
- 1950: Congress passed the McCarren act which required Communist organizations to register with the United States Attorney General and established the Subversive Activities Control Board to investigate people suspected of engaging in subversive activities. Truman vetoed the bill, but congress overrode his veto.
Media began to question whether the govt was doing enough to fight communism, which contributed hugely to the levels of fears in the USA.
MCCARTHYISM
Joseph McCarthy:
- Senator
- Made a speech to a Republican women's group saying that he had the names of 205 known communists working in govt.
- Number decreased to 81.
- Had lots of support
- Tydings Committee set up to investigate McCarthy's accusations.
- Months that followed McCarthy's announcement: he led investigations of suspect communists
- McCarthy's use of speeches, interviews, and TV appearance caused many ordinary people to support and follow him.
Tydings Committee majority report, 1950:
- Stated that McCarthy's accusations were a muddle of half-truths and lies
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He eventually lost support, due to his unreasonable treatment of interviewees. This led the senate to pass a vote of censure against him.
He was influential on committees investigating communists, which caused about 1200 people to lose their jobs, for example 600 were schoolteachers.
Anti-communism, 1954-80
Red scares changed the political landscape because they led to a significant curb/attack on civil liberties
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At the peak of both scares, people had their freedom of speech/expression limited by fear of what would happen if they expressed even vaguely liberal views