The Red Scare: The Rise Of Communism

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In the late 1940s to early 1950s, during the Cold War, hysteria became widespread throughout the United States after threats were posed by self-proclaimed communists living in America. This panic was widely known as the Red Scare. Rumors began to emerge of communists in Hollywood, so in an effort to contradict these views, studios tried to promote their anti communist views. Studios achieved this by blacklisting actors, producing movies showing the threatening effects that communism could have, and developing songs relating to the Cold War. One way that Hollywood Studios were demonstrating their anti communist views was by blacklisting various actors and studio personnel that were thought to be displaying communist views. One proclamation of blacklisted individuals, known as the Red Channels, was a list of people who were thought to be affiliated with communist principles. Different agencies, networks, and sponsors accessed the list to know which individuals to remove from their broadcasts. These lists would go through the clearance department of different agencies. These departments would determine which guest stars were allowed on talk shows, costars on …show more content…
One such movie released in 1949 beared the name I Married a Communist. This movie told the story of one “newly wed shipping executive who is targeted by communists operating on the San Francisco waterfront because of his past association with the Communist Party” (source 2). Playwright Arthur Miller describes his experience with the Red Scare panic in source 5. Miller received significant amounts of scrutiny following his play, Death of a Salesman. Individuals believed his work proved him to be un-American, and because of the opinions of these individuals, the studio that produced his play changed minor details in the film to allow it to appear more

Red Scare: The Rise Of Communism

The source of the communism fear was related to the bombings on US soil and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. It was expressed by immense fear from the American people for the perceived or assumed infiltration of communist elements and ideas in the country. Americans wanted to be the epitome of change for other European countries to follow suit. This led to the famous terminology, Red Scare, which began in the mid-1920’s. Communism was a big threat to the US especially with regard to the political…

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The Second Red Scare: The Rise Of Communism

Clashes between communism and capitalism dominated the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The conflicts included the Korean War in the beginnings of the decade and the beginning of the Space Race with the launch of Sputnik 1. Along with increased testing of nuclear weapons (such as RDS-37 and Upshot-Knothole), this created a politically conservative climate. In the United States, the Second Red Scare caused Congressional hearings by both houses in Congress and anti-communism was the prevailing…

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The Red Scare: The Rise Of Communism In The United States

Communism has been a threat to America since its creation in the mid 1800’s. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that it was apparent that Communism was going to be an even bigger concern as it began to spread at an alarming rate. Communism since its creation had grown immensely in its number of followers and level of influence and it would continue to travel as frequently as people could speak about it. The fear of communists (or “reds” as they were previously referred to) seizing…

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Red Scare Research Paper

A “Red Scare" is a widespread fear and government paranoia about a potential rise of communism, anarchism, or radical leftism. The red scare is used to refer to two different periods in the history of the US. The First Red Scare was imagined by US elites in order to threaten the American labor movement, stop an ongoing anarchist revolution and excuse violence committed to squash political radicalism. The Second Red Scare involved imagining the existence of national or foreign communist infiltrators…

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Red Scare Research Paper

Period 4 04/10/24. The Red Scare: Mob Mentality Disaster There are many instances of mob mentality in history, from the Salem Witch Trials to the influence of cults. However, there is one that is incomparable to the many others, which is the mob mentality tragedy of the first Red Scare. There are many contributions to the causes of why the First Red Scare happened, the Second Red Scare, and the effects of what this disaster did to the lives of the American people. The Red Scare is one of the most famous…

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The Communist Party USA

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America Turning Point Essay

R had been trying to spread communism throughout Europe while the U.S.A had been trying to contain it. In 1947, the Cold War had officially begun, the United States foreign policy had a strong impact on America's identity, America's Economy, and America's role in the world. America has been the land of the free and the home of the brave for 164 years. Once the cold war hit so did the red scare. The red scare came as a wave over america putting the fear of communism in every american. A vast majority…

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Vietnam War and Martin Luther King Essays

terrified of communism, people now used propaganda to represent the cold war, and during this time there was a conflict on racial inequality inside the United States. People in the United States were terrified of communism. They hated everything about it, for it was like the paradox of the US form of government, Capitalism. They wanted to contain Communism, preventing the spread of it to anywhere else. This fear led to the Red Scare, which was the fear of the potential rise of communism. “The Red Scare…

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Literary Elements In The Crucible

Joseph McCarthy is accusing many people of communism during this time period. Without having any evidence to support his claims people still believed a simple accusation was enough. In accordance to the crucible without any proof of “witchcraft” countless lives perishes on accusations. Arthur Miller represents the people in the red scare with the children in The Crucible. Abigail’s rise to power in the protestant community is in connection with the quick rise to publicity by Joseph McCarthy. Abigail…

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the World War II had just ended, and the Cold War had just began. Everybody was terrified of communists infiltrating America from the inside out. This is now known as America’s second “Red Scare.” A "Red Scare" is the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. The United States had a hatred of communism so deep, they had a lingering fear of being invaded by communists, and felt they had to do something about it. The House Un-American Activities was a committee of the US House of Representatives…

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