Chapter 40 – Fighting the Cold War at Home

How did Anxieties raised by the Cold War affect life in the United States?

Americans come under suspicion at home

Communist Sympathizers

People who believed in Communism but did not join the party

Some, feeling communism might destroy wealth and prosperity, accused people of being disloyal and subversive (overthrow gov’t)

Loyalty Oath and background ensued causing hundreds to lose their jobs

House Un-American Activities Committee

Investigated film industry and other groups for communists

Studios blacklisted people ruining many careers

1957, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not give Congress unlimited power to investigate citizens’ private lives. Hollywood

10

Paul Robeson

Charlie Chaplin

Alger Hiss

Advisor to President Roosevelt accused of being a spy and convicted of perjury.

confirmed suspicion that Soviet spies were working in the United States.

Led to more fear and accusation

Rosenberg Trial

charged with passing atomic secrets to the USSR. After a trial, both were executed

Some questioned whether the search for communists was going too far

some protested the severity of the sentence.

McCarthyism

the practice of publicly accusing someone of subversive activities without sufficient evidence

creating a climate of fear

On a scale from 1 to 10, how concerned do you think Americans should have been about the possibility of communist subversion and the presence of Soviet spies in the United States during the Cold War?

Do you think the United States had the right to complete background checks and require loyalty oaths of government employees? Why or why not?

Were the actions of the House Un-Americans Activities Committee appropriate? Why or why not?

Does the government ever have the right to limit or even take away some of our freedoms in order to keep us safe ?

Living with Nuclear Anxiety

How might 1950s fifth graders have felt during a duck-and-cover lesson?

In what ways could such a lesson make you feel safer against the threat of a nuclear attack? What anxieties might have remained?

After learning to duck and cover, how might you have tried to change how you lived your life?

Why do you think the government would want to teach such a lesson to children?

Atomic Age

Federal Civil Defense Administration