The Cold War - the Red Scare

The 2nd Red Scare

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. Communists were often referred to as "Reds" for their allegiance to the red Soviet flag.

Alger Hiss

In 1948, he was accused of spying for the Soviet Union in the early 1930s when he was a State Department official. Because the statute of limitations had run out, he was not tried for treason. Instead, he was charged with two counts of perjury. Though many believed that Hiss was a much-maligned official who became a victim of the anticommunist hysteria of the late-1940s, others felt strongly that he was a lying communist agent.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of passing nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union, were the first American civilians executed for espionage. At the time, many felt that they had been wrongly convicted.

Loyalty Review Program

President Harry S. Truman signed United States Executive Order 9835, established the first general loyalty program in the United States, designed to root out communist influence in the U.S. federal government.

House Un-American Activities Committee

The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having Communist ties.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite sent into space and orbited the earth. It was launched by the Soviets in October, 1957.

McCarthyism

a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950-54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. Today any campaign that endorses the use of unfair allegations and investigations.

Lavender Scare

refers to a witch hunt and the mass firings of homosexual people in the 1950s from the United States government. It paralleled the anti-communist campaign known as McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare. Gay men and lesbians were said to be security risks and communist sympathizers, which led to the call to remove them from state employment.