The Fear Of Communism In The 1920's

In the 1920s, the fear of communism spread throughout America. That fear and panic became known as the Red Scare. Even though the red scare died out in the 1920s, it reoccurred in the 1950s. Because of the impending nuclear war, the fears of communists or being labeled a communist resurged. The efforts made by Eisenhower, to address these fears, failed because they aggravated the Cold War situation and elevated the fears of Americans. The fears of the American population grew immensely with the threat from communists looming over head. The threat overhead became real when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik.Because of Sputnik’s successful launch, the Soviets had the ability to launch a nuclear attack on america using missiles. Consequently, people had bomb shelters built, performed duck and cover drills, and made little kids wear dog tags out of fear of a nuclear strike. Life Magazine, which shows popular trends and styles, included a photo of a bomb shelter in their issue of May 1955. The image depicts a happy family in a well stocked bomb shelter. The mother and father are sitting and reading while the two children play around them (doc C). The photographer revealed that bomb shelters were good things to have during this time of fear. Americans were not only afraid nuclear strikes, they were afraid of communists spies as well. The conviction of Alger hiss, Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg as spies elevated American fears. With fears of communist spies growing, Joseph McCarthy sought power by accusing people of being communist. Joseph McCarthy used America’s existing fears to gain power and create more fear. He accused Secretary of State George Marshall and President Truman of communism. His actions caused Americans to to turn on …show more content…
These fear were aggregated by the failed attempts to calm them, as well as the major fear of the impending nuclear