The 1950s were a time wrought with anxiety about Communism and those who committed actions that were seen as “un-American.” The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated average citizens who were thought to have Communist affiliations, but they frequently went after those in the entertainment industry. In addition to those in the entertainment industry, Jewish people found themselves targeted by other Americans. At this time around 50 to 60 anti-Semitic groups existed and Jewish people were often associated with Communism due to the conviction of Ethel Rosenberg. During the Great Depression, Jewish women were seen as “materialistic and pushy,” reflecting poorly on their image. Two decades later, the perception of Jewish families…
The United States' political policies during the Cold War caused an increase in anti-Communist sentiment in the United States following WWII because causes such as McCarthyism led to there being a dislike towards Communism and a national anti-Communist sentiment. During the time after the conclusion of World War II, there was a rip in the European region, with there being dozens of countries whose entire economies and societies had been leveled by the amount of bloodshed that had occurred during…
The True Upholders of Liberty During the Cold War, Americans believed "it became necessary to destroy the town to save it” (Arnett) from the greater threat of Soviet domination. After World War II ended in 1945, the capitalistic democratic United States found itself fighting a battle of ideologies against its former ally, the communist totalitarian Soviet Union; state-controlled Soviet communism clashed with both American free market capitalism and representative democracy. When Ho Chi Minh and…
The era of the Cold War was a frightening and pivotal time in history. The threat of nuclear war and communism caused unrest among the American public. During the Cold War, the United States government used propaganda to combat growing social issues involving the communist threat. The United States government utilized agitprop to attack communism and defend the American way of life by promoting blacklisting, anti-Russian practices, and the desensitization of Americans. Blacklisting was a major…
two, considerable shifts in power had taken place throughout the world and many economies were struggling or crumbling. Out of the ashes of a terrible war, the Soviet Union emerged as a new superpower capable of tremendous influence. The United Sates recognized the strength of the Soviet Union and the vulnerable state of many European countries. And American officials feared a possible expansion of communism in Europe. The United States hoped to differ communist expansion and protect…
in the South. Ho Chi Minh, leader of the communist forces in the North (Vietminh), was a Vietnamese nationalist who was prepared to do anything in order to earn his country’s independence. Many believed that Ho was an agent under the Soviet Union sent to Indochina in order to spread communism. In The Quiet American, an anti-war novel by Graham Greene, Thomas Fowler, a British Journalist, and Alden Pyle, an undercover CIA agent, navigate through Vietnam, developing their own ideas for what is…
somebody damn well needed to go to their aid. Well, by God, I 'm going to Vietnam 's aid! ' ' Lyndon B. Johnson, a United States’ president from November 22, 1963 to January 20, 1969, delivered this powerful quote presumably to garner support from the American people to execute his plan to export more American troops to aid Southern Vietnam. Although initially reluctant to station troops in Vietnam, Johnson changed his mind after the attack of the Southern Vietnamese garrison by the Viet Cong…
Communism for many years has been a controversial issue in America. It was a form of government that many Americans learned to stay clear of. Communism is known by definition as, a political and economic ideology that aims to replace private property with public ownership. (Communism) Living in capitalist America, this system would remove many freedoms we enjoy as Americans. One of the ways communism directly affected americans was through the Cold War. Although the Cold War, was a global…
The United States during the 1960’s was a time characterized by domestic tensions and foreign conflicts with the rising Civil Rights movement and progressing Cold War. With the Cold War came the irrational fear of Communism heightened by the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory motivated the US entrance in the Korean War because the United States wanted to prevent Communism spreading to South Korea, fearing that if one Southeast Asian country fell to Communism then all of Southeast Asia would fall…
hysteria still lingered. At the end of World War I, many people adopted strong anti-immigrant and nationalistic beliefs, around this time the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia, which led many to believe that immigrants wanted to overthrow the United States. The end of the war led to a decrease in demand and then an increase of unemployment which then led to labor unions and then labor strikes. The lingering hysteria of World War I, widespread labor unrest, the suspicious of foreigners…