The Red Scare General fear of Communist subversion into government agencies through infiltration Subversion: Effort to secretly weaken a society and overthrow its government Infiltration: Gradually move into, usually with hostile intent We became very afraid of Soviet spies We looked for subversives everywhere! The Loyalty Review Program Program established to screen all federal employees for their loyalty It was supposed to calm Americans fears Instead, it led to the fear that Communists really WERE infiltrating the government Loyalty is hard to define. You could be suspect for. Reading certain books Belonging to certain groups Traveling overseas Seeing certain foreign films Talking to certain people House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Formed to investigate Communist and Fascist activities in the United States Under Hoovers leadership, the FBI sent agents to investigate suspected groups and to wiretap thousands of telephones. The accused could be fired if they had once belonged to a group or signed a petition, if the board determined it subversive 1,200 were fired for being disloyal or a security risk Another 5,000 resigned under pressure Edgar J. Hoover urged the HUAC to hold public hearings on Communist subversion The Rosenbergs Charged with heading a Soviet spy ring They denied the charges but were condemned for espionage They were executed in June 1953 First Soviet test called Joe 1 After the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb the search for spies intensified the Russians couldnt have developed atomic weapons that fast unless Klaus Fuchs, a British scientist, (employee of the Manhattan Project) admitted giving information to the Soviet Union. He gave secrets on how to build an atomic bomb Project Venona- In 1946 American cryptographers cracked the Soviet spy code, allowing them to read messages between Moscow and the United States. This confirmed extensive Soviet spying. This information was deemed top secret until 1995 when the government revealed Project Venonas existence. It provided strong evidence against the Rosenberg's! Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, in a political speech, stated that he had a list of 205 Communists in the state department. Gaining power through fear: He never produced the list, but did keep making accusations it helped him win elections! McCarthy won the Senate race after accusing his opponent of being a Communist. He accused Democratic Party leaders of corruption and of protecting Communists. Congress passed the Internal Security Act or McCarran Act in The act made it illegal to combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to... the establishment of a totalitarian government. Truman tried to veto it, believing people are entitled to their opinions, but he was overridden. It was later taken apart by the Supreme Court. Senator McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations. His investigation turned into a witch hunt as he searched for disloyalty based on poor evidence and fear. He ruined reputations without proper evidence. This bullying tactic became known as McCarthyism. People feared McCarthyism and being targeted, so they often didnt demand real evidence. However, in 1954 McCarthy began looking for spies in the US Army: Americans watched televised Army-McCarthy hearings and saw McCarthys ugly, bullying attacks on witnesses, and his popularity faded. Finally, an army lawyer named Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy the way many had wanted to. Later that year, the Senate passed a vote of censure, or formal disapproval, against McCarthy. The Red Scare and fear of nuclear attack had a profound effect on life in the 1950s People were preparing for communist takeovers and atomic attacks. Duck and Cover wouldnt protect you from fallout. For every person killed instantly by a nuclear blast, four more would later die from the radiation left over after the blast. Some families built fallout shelters in their backyards.