McCarthyism and the Red Scare (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

McCarthyism and the Red Scare

Introduction

Following the Second World War, the United States experienced an intense period of anti-Communist anxiety known as the Red Scare. This atmosphere of fear and suspicion reached its height between the late 1940s and mid-1950s, culminating in the phenomenon of McCarthyism. The period witnessed widespread accusations of Communist infiltration, loyalty investigations, and the persecution of individuals suspected of holding left-wing sympathies.

Origins of the Red Scare

Post-war tensions and the Communist threat

After 1945, rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union intensified, driven partly by American anxieties about the global spread of Communism. While the US Communist Party had attracted fewer than 100,000 supporters and possessed limited active membership, government officials worried that Communists occupying influential positions could inflict serious damage on American institutions and security.

The vulnerability Americans felt at home mirrored their concerns about Soviet expansion abroad. The question facing policymakers was not simply the size of the Communist movement, but the potential harm that strategically placed sympathizers might cause within government, military, and cultural institutions.

The impact of international events

Several external developments shocked Americans and heightened Communist fears during the late 1940s:

The fall of China (1949): The unexpected Communist victory in China's civil war caught many by surprise. Critics argued that the State Department should have done more to prevent this outcome. This perception led to the formation of a powerful 'China lobby' that campaigned vigorously against the new Communist regime. Democratic Senator Pat McCarran from Nevada emerged as a prominent figure through his work on the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, which investigated how the United States had allegedly "lost" China. McCarran promoted the theory that secret Communist infiltrators within the State Department bore responsibility for China's fall to Communism.

The Cold War in Europe and Korea: The development of Cold War tensions in Europe after 1945, combined with increasing American involvement in Asia, particularly during the Korean War, intensified fears about Communist expansion toward the United States. The Korean conflict, in which American forces fought against Communist North Korea and Chinese forces, brought the threat uncomfortably close to home.

Spy scandals and atomic espionage

The Fuchs and Gold cases

A series of spy scandals in Britain, Canada, and the United States terrified the American public. British physicist Klaus Fuchs was convicted of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. One of his American contacts, Harry Gold, faced arrest on similar charges in the United States.

The revelation that the USSR had developed its own nuclear weapons far more quickly than anticipated seemed to confirm that Soviet agents had infiltrated the Manhattan Project. Scientists Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for transmitting atomic secrets to the Soviets. Evidence suggested they had acquired information about the atomic bombs manufactured in both the United States and Britain.

The scale of Soviet infiltration

The Soviets later claimed they had positioned 221 operatives across various branches of the US government during the war years. This admission, whether accurate or exaggerated, reinforced American fears that Communist infiltration had reached deep into the machinery of government. The perception that the United States had enabled Soviet nuclear development through its own security failures caused profound anxiety and anger.

The Alger Hiss case

The trial of Alger Hiss captured public imagination more than any other case. Hiss had served as President of the Carnegie Institute and held a respected position in American public life. He had joined the State Department in 1936 and participated as a prominent figure at the Yalta Conference, where the Allied powers negotiated post-war arrangements.

Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist who had become editor of the strongly anti-Communist Time magazine, accused Hiss of having been a Communist during his State Department years. When Hiss sued Chambers for defamation, Chambers produced evidence suggesting that Hiss had indeed handed over copies of secret documents to the Soviets in 1938.

Although the alleged treason had occurred too long ago for prosecution under existing laws, Hiss was convicted of perjury for lying to the court about his actions. He received a five-year prison sentence. The case demonstrated that Communist infiltration had occurred at high levels of government and fuelled accusations that more traitors remained in positions of power.

Government responses and loyalty investigations

The Loyalty Review Board

President Truman appeared to validate these concerns in 1947 when he established the Loyalty Review Board. This body examined government employees and could dismiss any found to be sympathetic to 'subversive organisations'. The consequences proved extensive:

Prosecutors argued that the beliefs of these Communist leaders suggested they would attempt to overthrow the government, despite having taken no concrete actions toward this end. The investigations reflected a shift from punishing actions to punishing suspected intentions and associations.

The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)

Congress had established the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1938 to investigate citizens suspected of supporting Communism. During the late 1940s, HUAC turned its attention particularly to the Hollywood film industry, targeting members of the film community for allegedly producing content with Communist messages designed to influence American audiences.

The Hollywood investigations: HUAC's campaign resulted in several notable outcomes:

• Film-maker Charlie Chaplin, a British citizen, was effectively forced to leave the United States
• Many Hollywood actors, including Gary Cooper, supported the Committee's investigations
• Others refused to answer questions posed by HUAC
• A group called the 'Hollywood Ten', consisting mainly of writers and directors, lost their jobs and eventually received prison sentences for contempt of Congress when they declined to testify before HUAC

The arms race and nuclear anxiety

In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon, ending the American monopoly on atomic weaponry. President Truman responded by ordering development of a hydrogen bomb with power potentially a thousand times greater than an atomic bomb. When both sides finally tested hydrogen weapons in 1954, they entered into an arms race involving weapons of mass destruction capable of ending human civilization. This terrifying escalation reinforced the stakes of the Cold War struggle and justified, in many minds, extreme measures to prevent Communist gains.

McCarthy and McCarthyism

McCarthy's rise to prominence

Joseph McCarthy was a relatively unknown junior Senator from Wisconsin before 9 February 1950. On that date, he delivered a speech claiming that the State Department was infiltrated with spies. Although McCarthy lacked concrete evidence to support his assertions, many Americans listened and believed him.

This speech inaugurated a witch-hunt targeting members of the State Department, other public servants, and eventually the army itself. In 1953, McCarthy received control of the Senate Committee on Government Operations and its subcommittee on Investigations. His team included the future Senator Bobby Kennedy.

McCarthy's methods and support

Initially, McCarthy proved highly effective. His accusations gained him a following, and he became one of the most recognized men in America. McCarthy's support came from diverse groups:

• The American Legion
• Christian fundamentalist organizations
• Less well-educated and less affluent members of society, who often proved more willing to accept simplistic conspiracy theories

These groups had also supported earlier attacks on well-established members of the State Department. McCarthy's targets expanded beyond suspected Communists to include broader progressive causes.

McCarthy's impact on American society

The atmosphere McCarthy created stifled political debate and cultural expression. Americans became cautious about expressing opinions that might be interpreted as sympathetic to left-wing causes. The threat of being labeled a Communist carried devastating personal and professional consequences, regardless of whether accusations had any basis in fact.

McCarthy's influence extended beyond formal investigations. His willingness to make reckless accusations without evidence created a climate where suspicion and denunciation became tools of political advancement and personal vendetta. The term "McCarthyism" came to represent this practice of making accusations without proper substantiation.

McCarthy's downfall

McCarthy's aggressive manner and careless accusations eventually caused his downfall. He condemned highly respected figures such as General George Marshall, who had introduced the Marshall Aid programme that helped rebuild post-war Europe. In 1954, McCarthy began investigating the army itself, claiming it harbored a possible nest of Communists. By accusing an institution recently embroiled in full-scale war against Communism in Korea, McCarthy appeared to criticize the very military establishment he claimed to defend.

The televised hearings

Millions watched the hearings on television in December 1954, observing McCarthy's bullying tactics directed at members of the army. McCarthy appeared drunk at times. Children mocked his manner at school and in the streets. Generally, audiences recognized that he possessed no hard evidence to support his accusations.

Censure and decline

The situation turned decisively against McCarthy when he faced accusations of seeking preferential treatment for one of his aides who had been drafted into the army. The Senate censured him and he returned to obscurity until his death from alcoholism in 1957. The Red Scare, which McCarthy had done so much to intensify, gradually subsided.

Key figure: Joseph McCarthy (1908–57)

Joseph McCarthy was born on a farm in Appleton, Wisconsin, on 14 November 1908. He left school at fourteen and worked as a chicken farmer before managing a grocery store in the nearby town of Manawa. McCarthy returned to high school in 1928 and, after achieving the necessary qualifications, won a place at Marquette University.

After graduating, McCarthy worked as a lawyer but found limited success and supplemented his income by playing poker. He originally supported Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. However, after failing to secure the Democratic Party nomination for district attorney, he switched parties and became the Republican candidate in an election to become a circuit court judge.

When the United States entered the Second World War, McCarthy resigned as a circuit judge and joined the US marines. After the war, McCarthy ran against Robert La Follette to become the Republican candidate for the Senate. McCarthy won election to the Senate and died in 1957 when he was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver. Newspapers reported that McCarthy had drunk himself to death.

Key dates: McCarthyism and the Red Scare

Year	Event
1947	Truman established the Loyalty Review Board
1949	China fell to the Communists; the Soviet Union exploded its first atom bomb
1950	McCarthy's speech accusing the State Department of being infiltrated with spies
1954	McCarthy's bullying tactics exposed when he investigated the army

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