THE SECOND RED SCARE

Our study of this topic is mostly concerned with the social and cultural impact of the Second Red Scare (1946-1954). However, it is important to gain an understanding of the causes and immediate effects of the Second Red Scare which requires study of the politics of this era.

What was the Second Red Scare and what caused it?

The immediate post-war period in the United States was dominated by the Cold War. Within a hundred days of the successful defeat of Nazi Germany in Europe, the Allies were divided. Many Americans from being so concerned about what they saw as Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe following a string of Cold War events between 1945 and 1949: the creation of satellite states in Eastern Europe that possessed communist governments loyal to the Soviet Union, the Greek Civil War between forces loyal to the Greek government and monarchy and communist rebels, electoral success of communist parties in France and Italy, a communist coup d'etat in Czechoslovakia and the continued division of Germany.

This concern transformed to fear following the discovery of evidence that there were Soviet spies within the American government.
As a result of a top secret US intelligence services operation, known as the VENONA project, a number of individuals were accused of handing over secrets, including information about nuclear weapons, to the USSR. These people included Alger Hiss, a high-ranking State Department official and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were later executed for espionage in 1953. When China 'fell' to communism under Mao Zedong and the USSR gained their first nuclear bomb in 1949, the suspicion that there were members of the Truman administration and federal government working for the Soviet Union only hardened.

These events ushered in the Second Red Scare, which was characterized by communist witch-hunts and intense paranoia that damaged American society and discredited the USA abroad. Anti-communist investigations during the period 1946 and 1954 were carried out by:
  • HUAC (House Un-American Affairs Committee- made of members of the House of Representatives): 1947-1950
  • Joseph McCarthy (Senator from Wisconsin): 1950-1954
Apart from Cold War events, some of the other causes of the Second Red Scare were:
  • Fear of immigrants (communists were associated with immigrants from Eastern Europe)- communism was used a convenient way of attacking different minority groups
  • Threats to big business and corporate interests from unions or radical political forces
  • Republican motivations to end Democratic control of the White House and Congress by attacking the legacy of Roosevelt's New Deal, which was supported by the Truman administration (Many Republicans associated aspects of the New Deal with socialism or communism)

The era of HUAC (1947-1950)

HUAC really began investigating alleged communists within the Truman administration and American society following a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives and the Senate following the 1946 congressional elections.

They began by investigating Hollywood- a reliably liberal or left-wing community- and called on many actors, screenwriters, directors and producers from the American film industry to testify before congress. Famous individuals subpoenaed (ordered to give evidence) included Ronald Reagan, Walt Disney and Gary Cooper. Some suspected communists were asked the question: "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"

Failure to answer this question or a request to plead protection under the 5th Amendment (which allows individuals to not self-incriminate under oath) was seen as implying guilt. The so-called 'Hollywood Ten' were found in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions before HUAC and they, as well as many other members of Hollywood, were blacklisted, meaning they were barred from employment in the entertainment industry. See the gallery (to the right) for pictures of blacklisted individuals.
Hot on heels of the Hollywood hearings was the investigation into Alger Hiss. Former Communist Party member Whittaker Chambers accused Hiss of being a Soviet spy and HUAC responded by launching an investigation. Following the House investigation, unable to charge Hiss with espionage, he was eventually sentenced instead to 15 years in prison for perjury.

In response to attacks on his government from HUAC, Truman launched the Federal Loyalty Program. This was designed to investigate the presence of communists or communist sympathizers in the executive branch of the federal government. The effects of the Federal Loyalty Program were:
  • Mass firings and mass resignations- 200 employees were fired and 2000 more resigned between 1947 and 1951.
  • FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover began to undertake separate investigations into individuals suspected of subversive activities. Hoover's investigations would prove to be particularly intrusive and damaging to those people targeted.

Joseph McCarthy (1950-1954)

The worst excesses of communist paranoia within US society only began when Senator Joseph McCarthy achieved political prominence. McCarthy was a career-focused demagogue (someone who stirs up the fears, prejudices and ignorance of a large part of the population for political gain) from Wisconsin and on New Year's Day 1950 delivered his infamous "Wheeling speech" (so named because the speech was delivered in Wheeling, West Virginia), where he claimed to have a list of 57 Soviet spies working in the US State Department.

His claims of Soviet espionage and sabotage were notoriously inconsistent; over the years the number of people he claimed to be Soviet spies working within the US government variety dramatically.
McCarthy's attacks followed the Soviet Union's development of an atomic bomb and the "fall" of China to Mao's Communist Part in 1949 and were bolstered by the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950.

Such was McCarthy's power (his accusations led to furious and alarming levels of witch-hunt within the federal government and American society) that many Democrats failed to confront him, no matter how absurd his claims were, for fear of being accused of being accused as a communist. For his part, McCarthy used his attacks to ruthlessly increase his power and influence within American society.

One of the sole critics of McCarthy was CBC news anchor Edward R. Murrow. He, along with a few other journalists, committed to hold McCarthy accountable for his vague and outlandish claims that were not supported by solid evidence.

McCarthy's downfall finally arrived in 1954 when he took on the U.S. Army. The Congressional Army-McCarthy hearings were televised and exposed McCarthy as rude, evasive, arrogant and abusive. Finally, U.S. senators felt empowered to criticise McCarthy. Soon after the hearings, the Senate voted to censure him for his conduct during his many investigations.


McCarthy's public image was irreparably damaged and he died 3 years later. While the witch-hunts dwindled after his censure, the fear of communism remained in American society for decades to come.