The Cold War And Red Scare The Largest Non-military Endeavor In USA
The Cold War And Red Scare The Largest Non-military Endeavor In USA
The Cold War affected the social and political climate in the United States during the 1950s in many ways. The Cold War led the United States to fight communism. According to Keene (2013), “As the Cold War took shape, the United States did not gain any noticeable advantage from its atomic monopoly in dealing with Stalin. Losing it, nonetheless, caused angst in the United States. In 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested its own atomic bomb, challenging Americans’ view of their own nation as the world’s dominant military power. Suddenly the chances of an international crisis escalating into nuclear war appeared greater. As Americans digested this news, the epicenter of the Cold War shifted to Asia. By 1950, a Communist government controlled China, and the Korean War had begun. In the Korean War (1950–1953), the United States and its allies fought Communist North Koreans and Chinese to a stalemate, frustrating Americans (p.728).”
According to History.org (2010), “As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s, hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare (p.1).” History.org (2010) also stated, “The Red Scare led to a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society. Federal employees were analyzed to determine whether they were sufficiently loyal to the government, and the House Un-American Activities Committee, as well as U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, investigated allegations of subversive elements in the government and the Hollywood film industry. The climate of fear and repression linked to the Red Scare finally began to ease by the late 1950s (p.1).”
I think September 11th,2001 was a modern parallel to these events, in which fear and paranoia threated basic American liberties. Due to the extent of these events our country is in an ongoing battle with foreign and domestic terrorism.
Reference:
Editors, H. (2010, June 01). Red Scare. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/cold- (Links to an external site.)
war/red-scare
Keene, J., Cornell, S. & O’Donnell, E. (2013). Visions of America: A History of the United
States (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
