McCarthyism and the ‘Red Scare’

What was McCarthyism?

• The USA had always had a hatred of Communism. Right from the start the USA had seen Communist Russia as a danger and had aided Lenin’s opponents in the Civil war (1918-21). The USA had even refused to recognise Soviet Russia until the 1930s. Stories of the horrors committed by Stalin only served to increase the belief in the USA that communism was bad. Yet in 1941 both the USA and Russia were at war with Hitler. They sank their differences and tried to adopt a friendly approach in order to defeat a common enemy. In the USA, Stalin was no longer portrayed as an evil tyrant but as “Good Old Uncle Joe” standing shoulder to shoulder with the USA against Hitler. This was only a temporary truce in hostilities and once Hitler was defeated, the old hostilities resurfaced. In the Cold War this increased. There was an intense fear and hatred of Communism by many Americans. “Better dead than Red” was a popular slogan. Americans looked abroad after 1945 and saw Communism taking over in East Europe (1945- 48), China (1949), Korea (1950). For many it was simple. Communism was taking over the world. The apparent success of Communism – the victory of Communists in China in 1949, the Soviet explosion of an atomic bomb in 1949, the Korean War which began in 1950 – seemed to confirm the danger. Stalin’s brutal take-over of Eastern Europe and his blockade of Berlin led to the USA developing programmes to stop the spread of communism. The Marshall Plan aimed to build up the economies of Western Europe so that the people would turn away from communism and the countries would be strong enough to stand up to Stalin; the Truman Doctrine stated that the USA would use every means at its disposal to stop the spread of communism; and the founding of NATO meant that the West now had a military organisation prepared to defend the west against the Soviet Union.

·                    President Truman went along with an anti-Communism policy that was popular with US voters. He talked about the “Enemy Within”, that is people inside the USA who were spying for Russia and weakening the USA. Some accused him of being too soft and so he introduced the Federal Employee Loyalty Programme (FELP) in 1947 aimed at combating security ‘risks’ (Communists) from working for the Federal Government. Every person taking on a new job in the civil service or government would be investigated. After five years 6.6 million people had been investigated, 3000 people were forced to resign and 200 were sacked simply because there were rumours or suspicions – no proof was ever produced and no spies were discovered.

*Later in 1947 Congress set up the House Committee on UN- American Activities (HUAC) that investigated ‘Communist’ involvement in the film industry, education, unions and the government. Witnesses were supposed to prove their loyalty by naming former Communists they had known, if they didn’t they could face a jail sentence and be ‘blacklisted’ so they couldn’t get a job. There was a fear that communists were taking over Hollywood and using films as a means of spreading communist ideas. Ten Hollywood writers and directors had to testify before the HUAC and were asked if they had ever been communists. These became known as THE HOLLYWOOD TEN. They refused to testify claiming that under the FIFTH AMENDMENT to the Constitution they had this right. However Congress declared that they were in contempt of Congress and jailed them. They all lost their jobs and spent a year in prison.

*Anti- Communism became hysterical in 1948 when the Russians ‘Blockaded’ West Berlin in Germany.

*In 1948, Alger Hiss, a former official of the US State Department (Foreign Affairs) was accused by a former Communist of handing over 200 secret state documents to him and being a communist. Whittaker Chambers, an editor on Time magazine, and a former communist, informed a leading member of the HUAC, Richard Nixon, that Hiss was a spy. Hiss had held important positions in government and had played a part in the establishment of the UN and was now working for a peace group. Nixon interrogated Hiss but could find no evidence of spying. Chambers then invited Nixon to his farm and took him to a pumpkin patch where a roll of microfilm was hidden. The microfilm had government documents on it, some of which had been copied on Hiss’ typewriter. The documents became knows as the “Pumpkin Papers”. Hiss denied the charges, but was sent for prison for 5 years (for perjury - lying under oath), but never convicted for being a Russian spy. He wasn’t a spy! However, it all added to the ‘Reds under the beds’ hysteria and established Nixon’s reputation as a relentless pursuer of communists.

*In 1949, two events greatly increased American’s fears of Communism. Firstly, China went Communist under Mao. Secondly, the Russians exploded their first ‘A’ bomb, so America had lost their nuclear monopoly.

*Hysteria peaked when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of selling nuclear secrets to the Russians during the WW2.  The couple had been members of the Communist Party in the past, but had no links to it when they were arrested. The government claimed that they had been involved in plots to give Russia nuclear secrets. Both were found guilty and sentenced to death. They spent two years on “death row” and all their appeals were rejected. They were executed by electric chair on the same day in June 1953.

* The paranoia that followed the Hiss and Rosenberg trials, coupled with the start of war in Korea, led to the passing of the McCarran Internal Security Act (1950), which stated that it was illegal for Americans to take part in any actions that might lead to a communist government in the USA and imposed other controls on communists. The Act forced organisations to give lists of members (they might be Communists), Communists had to register with the justice department so they could be monitored; in the event of war, the government could hold all suspected communists in detention camps, a Subversive Activities Board was set up to watch communist activities in the USA and Communists were not allowed to work in armaments factories. President Truman had tried to veto this Act stating that “There is no more basic truth in American life than the statement – ‘In a free country we punish men for their crimes they commit but not for the opinions they have’.” Congress rejected Truman’s appeals and passed the Act.

* It seemed that ‘Witch- Hunts’ were taking place in America and the scene was set for appearance of Senator Joe McCarthy, the biggest witch- hunter of all.  He was a  Senator from Wiscosin.

*Senator Joe McCarthy made a name for himself by exploiting these fears.

*McCarthy attacked members of the government, scientists, diplomats, politicians, actors, film producers and writers.

*McCarthy in 1950 claimed that he had a list of 205 communists working in the State Department. He never had any evidence, but just waved his list for the cameras, although he never showed it to anyone. He also named Owen Lattimore, a professor at a top university, of being the “top Russian spy”.

* Many came to doubt his claims as over the following weeks he kept changing his claims and never showed his list and only named Lattimore, who in 1955 was eventually cleared of any wrong-doing.  Yet McCarthy was able to dominate the HUAC. When a Senate committee chairman said that McCarthy’s claims were a “fraud and a hoax” , McCarthy accused him of being a communist and he lost his seat at the next election. This frightened many politicians into either keeping quiet or into going along with McCarthy.

* McCarthy was made Chairman of the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate and this allowed him to investigate government organisations and interview hundreds of people about their political views. He claimed that his aim was to identify communists and to root them out. Little evidence was ever produced – just being accused was enough to destroy someone’s life. Yet his activities at first proved popular with the American public and helped his party, the Republicans, to win the 1952 presidential election. Some politicians saw the McCarthy “witch-hunt” as a golden opportunity. Richard Nixon jumped on the band wagon to help his own political career by claiming that as the new Vice-President he intended to cross the country exposing communists.

*The HUAC summoned 2,375 men and women, which was enough to cost them their jobs. Many of the people he attacked were blacklisted and could not find work for years. 9,500 civil servants were dismissed and 15,000 resigned; 600 teachers lost their jobs.

* Hollywood continued to be one of the main areas attacked by the HUAC. Actors and writers were blacklisted and between 1947 and 1954 Hollywood turned to making 50 films that showed communists as the enemy of the USA. Many fine actors and scriptwriters were unable to work again. Charlie Chaplin, the biggest Hollywood movie star of the pre-war years (and also a Communist) left America in disgust to live in Switzerland and only returned in the 1970s to receive an Oscar.

*400 Americans went to jail – not having a fair trial – what lawyers would risk his career defending suspected communists? McCarthy bullied, threatened and abused witnesses while he accused them of Communist sympathies. With the Korean War raging many Americans believed him. In 1952 his researchers even went to libraries to root out anti-American books written by communists. As a result of the searches, many of these books were taken out of circulation.

*In fact, only one or two cases were ever brought, such as that against Alger Hiss in 1948, which added fuel to McCarthy’s accusations.

* Yet some people were prepared to stand up to him. In November 1953 former President Truman stated : “McCarthyism … the meaning of the word is the corruption of the truth, the abandonment of our historical devotion to fair play. It is the abandonment of ‘due process’ of law. It is the use of the big lie and the unfounded accusation against any citizen in the name of Americanism and security … The horrible cancer is eating at the vitals of America and it can destroy the great edifice of freedom.” Even business leaders were concerned about Mccarthyism. Philip Read, Head of General Electric, wrote to President Eisenhower in 1953 warning him that McCarthyism was damaging the USA’s reputation abroad : “I urge you to take issue with McCarthy and make it stick. People in high and low places see in him a potential Hitler … That he could get away with what he already has in America has made some of them wonder whether our concept of democratic government and the rights of individuals is really different from those of the communist and fascists.”

* Despite this, the anti-communist hysteria continued into 1954 when the Communist Control Act banned the Communist Party altogether. All these were legacies of McCarthyism. The biggest effect though, was the anti-democratic atmosphere that McCarthyism created. Anyone who was liberal, a trade unionist, civil rights worker, showed sympathy for the poor, was automatically a ‘Commie’.

Why was McCarthy so successful?

• Many Americans believed that he was defending the country, they saw him as a crusader against communism.

• McCarthy was also clever, he always attacked and if anybody stood up to him he tried to smear them as well. This meant that few people were prepared to stand up to him, not even President Truman.

• McCarthy was the chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee. This gave him real power in Washington and access to television and the media.

• In 1953 President Eisenhower agreed to an investigation of the Civil service and nearly 7,000 people lost their jobs.

• Many Americans believed that communism was a real threat to the USA and believed McCarthy’s statements. In 1950 and 1951 the communist victories in Korea gave McCarthy a perfect opportunity.

• He forced General Marshall to resign for ‘deliberately allowing communist victories’. General Marshall had played a leading role in the defeat of Japan in the Second World War and the halt of the communist advance in Korea in the early 1950s. The destruction of such a man only made people more fearful of McCarthy.

• McCarthy was a skilful and powerful speaker, able to mix up facts with lies until it was difficult to know what to believe.

Why did McCarthy’s influence disappear in 1954?

• He never actually produced any real evidence, he always claimed that it was in his briefcase.

• In 1954 McCarthy attacked the army and accused officers of being communist spies.

• The hearings of HUAC were shown on TV, and McCarthy was revealed as a bully. He never produced any of his lists of names. The claims against the army were seen to be unfounded and the tide now turned against McCarthy. McCarthyism and the Red Scare were over.

* In March 1954 the acclaimed journalist Ed Murrow produced a programme based almost entirely on McCarthy’s words and this showed clearly the shabby nature of his baseless claims. This led to other journalists attacking him and soon people began to lose their fears and speak out.

• In December 1954 he was censured by the Senate. The vote was 67-22 in favour of censuring him (only one Democrat did not vote for reprimand – John F Kennedy). McCarthy then lost the chairmanship and he died in 1957.

* However, McCarthy’s influence survived him. The communist party was banned in the USA in 1954 and people that he had accused continued to be blacklisted for many years.

What were the effects of McCarthyism?

• He had managed to divide the USA – people turned against friends and neighbours during the witch-hunt
• The words ‘red’, ‘pinko’, ‘commie’, and ‘lefty’ became associated with people who were politically suspect, unpatriotic and a threat to the USA.
• McCarthy had created a climate of fear, and with the Cold War present in the background, many Americans found it hard to escape this fear. There was much spying on neighbours, and government films constantly encouraged people to expose people suspected of having communist sympathies.
• Anyone who criticised the USA, such as black Civil Rights leaders, were accused of being communists and were spied on by the FBI.
• The hatred of communism never died away.
• In 1953 Arthur Miller wrote his famous play, THE CRUCIBLE, which dealt with hysteria over false claims, in this case about people being witches. It was clearly aimed at making a comparison with those making false claims now, although this time against communists rather than witches.

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