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Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an intense rivalry.
- Anti-communism in South Korea
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- Anti anti-communism
Criticism. Related topics. Communism portal. Socialism...
- Anti-communism in South Korea
Anti-Communist Action, also shortened to Anticom, is a right-wing to far-right political organization based in the United States and Canada. The group has described itself as "the right's response to antifa." Anticom has espoused neo-Nazi ideology and members have attended neo-Nazi events.
Criticism. Related topics. Communism portal. Socialism portal. v. t. e. Anti anti-communism is opposition to anti-communism as applied in the Cold War. The term was first coined by Clifford Geertz, an American anthropologist at the Institute for Advanced Study, who defined it as being applied in "the cold war days" by "those who ... regarded ...
McCarthyism, also known as the Second Red Scare, was the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United States during the late 1940s through the 1950s. [1]
- Overview
- Red fears
- HUAC
- Joseph McCarthy
- What do you think?
Learn about the Rosenberg trial, HUAC, and Joseph McCarthy.
In 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic device, ending the United States' short reign as the sole atomic power on Earth. The entry of the Soviets into the atomic club made Americans nervous, not to mention a little suspicious: how did the USSR get the bomb so fast?1
When it came to light that Soviet spies in the US atomic program had passed secrets to Russia, Americans began to worry that spies might be lurking in every corner of society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, there were several highly-publicized espionage trials that convicted leading scientists and government figures of espionage, culminating in the 1953 execution of scientist Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel for passing information about the atomic bomb to Russia. These convictions served to justify fears that spies could be active throughout the country.2
In this atmosphere of mistrust, a broad range of institutions rushed to root out suspected communists from their ranks. The US government stepped up loyalty programs and purged itself of anyone deemed a security threat. Individuals believed to be particularly susceptible to bribery or blackmail, such as debtors or homosexuals, were summarily dismissed. Schools and universities fired teachers who refused to swear an oath that they were not communists. Even civil rights organizations like the NAACP and the Urban League moved quickly to rid themselves of communists, lest they be accused of subversion.3
Although it is true that Soviet spies were at work in the United States (recently declassified documents reveal that Julius Rosenberg was indeed sending atomic secrets to the Russians, though Ethel was innocent), only a tiny fraction of those who lost their positions were actually connected with the USSR in any way.4
First formed in 1938, the House Committee on Un-American Activities, or HUAC, was a special committee in the US House of Representatives tasked with investigating subversive individuals and organizations. In the 1950s, HUAC turned its attention to hunting reds (a slang term for communists, associated with the red flag of the Soviet Union).5
Influenced by a pamphlet called Red Channels, which alleged that communists had infiltrated the entertainment industry and intended to use the suggestive power of media to spread propaganda to American audiences, in 1950 HUAC began investigating Hollywood figures. Red Channels charged 151 actors, writers, and directors with having ties to the Communist Party. All of them were immediately blacklisted, whether or not the charges were substantiated. Studios refused to hire anyone on the blacklist, fearing backlash from sponsors and audiences, destroying the careers of many talented entertainers.6
Some politicians also profited from this Red Scare, notably Republican Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. Fearful that his weak record in the Senate would prevent his reelection, McCarthy cast about for an issue that would shore up his image to voters. He seized on communism. At a meeting of Republican women in 1950, McCarthy brandished a sheath of papers and declared that he had in his hand "a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department."7
McCarthy's allegations shocked the nation. Finding himself in the spotlight, McCarthy held hearings in the Senate, relying on innuendo and hearsay to condemn members of the State Department of communist ties. For more than four years, McCarthy railed against supposed communists, eastern "establishment" Democrats, and homosexuals. He never produced a shred of real evidence against anyone, but even those powerful enough to stop him were afraid McCarthy would turn his accusations against them if they spoke out. "I will not get in the gutter with that guy," President Eisenhower reportedly said of McCarthy, thus leaving McCarthy to operate without challenge.8
McCarthy finally went too far in 1954 when he initiated hearings against the US Army. The televised Army-McCarthy hearings showcased McCarthy's increasingly erratic behavior and reliance on guilt-by-association rather than evidence. In December 1954 the US Senate voted to censure McCarthy.9
McCarthy died of complications of alcoholism less than three years later, but use of the term McCarthyism to describe the practice of making unsubstantiated accusations has lived on.10
Did the threat of Soviet espionage justify the reaction from HUAC and McCarthy?
What was the role of media (movies, radio, and especially television) in the rise and fall of the Red Scare?
Do you think President Eisenhower was right not to interfere in McCarthy's witch-hunt?
[Notes and attributions]
Communism was seen as an evil set of ideas that challenged all cultural hierarchies and moral values, and these, as the central framework of civilization, had to be defended at all costs. One of the main sources for this view was a revived interest in Christianity after 1917 and again after World War II as a form of "moral rearmament."
In this curriculum unit students will study this turbulent period of American history, examining the various events and ideas that defined it, and considering how much of the anticommunist sentiment of the era was justified, and how much was an overreaction. Guiding Questions.
