DBQ Question: Was the overall reaction to the communist

threat reasonable?

McCarthyism and the “Great Fear”

At the end of World War II, the United States faced a rising communist power in the
Soviet Union, followed by China and Korea. The spread of communism, being
antithetical to capitalistic American values, posed an economic and political threat. From
1947 to 1956, a “Great Fear” arose among Americans that the spread of communism
would eventually reach the United States and destroy their way of life. In this
atmosphere, suspicions were easily aroused.

In 1947, the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated alleged

communist activities in the motion picture industry. These investigations led to
blacklisting the accused actors and writers, barring them from working in the industry.
This media attention on alleged communist activities within the country was soon
followed by concerns about state secrets and acts of espionage.

Acts of espionage contributed to the Soviet Union's development of the atom bomb. This
began with the case of Dr. Klaus Fuchs. Fuchs, a German born physicist working on the
atom bomb, testified in 1950 to giving the nuclear bomb secret technology to the USSR.
Then in 1951, the famous Rosenberg trial began. Riveting the country for two years, the
Rosenberg trial contributed to the anti-communist fervor that already pervaded the lives
of many Americans. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of espionage in 1953
and sentenced to death by execution.

Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, who wanted to rid America of communism,

claimed that he had a list of 205 State Department employees that were affiliated with the
Communist Party. From 1950 to 1954, in his search for communists, McCarthy
conducted Senate hearings of various governmental departments and individuals. After
numerous hearings, which failed to produce results, McCarthy was eventually censured
for his accusations of fellow Senate Committee members. Today, McCarthyism is a term
used to describe the act of making accusations without any hard evidence.

After McCarthy’s censure and drop in popularity, America's concerns about communism
turned to events that were playing out on the world stage rather than at home.