Second red scare
After the end of World War II in 1945, U.S. relations with the East and West were strained. Americans witnessed the rise of communism in the Soviet Union and China and feared it would gain strength in their own country. Americans were on the lookout for communist sympathizers. "To most Americans, describing someone as a 'Communist' was the same as saying the person was un-American." (Hanes)
The HUAC
In 1945, The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was established. It had the authority to investigate any individuals or groups it suspected of being Communist sympathizers. Richard Nixon, who would later become Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower, was one of its most staunch members. The HUAC soon compiled a list of roughly forty groups that it labeled communist fronts. (Hanes)
Hollywood Ten
In1947, The HUAC began to investigate the Hollywood film industry. Some Hollywood artists were known, or suspected of being, members of the Communist Party. Ten Hollywood writers and directors were required to testify before the committee. After refusing to answer the HUAC's question, feeling it was a violation of their constitutional rights, the ten eventually were blacklisted and fired from the film industry. Each witness was asked, "Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?" (Dibaccio 455)
In 1950 John Berry directed a documentary about these ten:
In 1950 John Berry directed a documentary about these ten:
Successful Soviet Atomic Test
In August 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb, striking more fear in the American public. "The United States was no longer the only country that possessed the ultimate destructive weapon. Worse still, the Soviets had apparently built their bomb using technical information they received from spies within the Manhattan Project, a top-secret U.S. government program…. Americans realized with horror that their country had indeed been betrayed from within. " (Hanes)
People's Republic of China Takes Hold
In October of 1949, Mao Zedong and the Communists took over mainland China and established the People's Republic of China. Americans viewed it as more proof of a communist conspiracy to take over the world. "The Communist victory caused a storm of debate in the United States. Republican critics blamed Truman for 'losing China'. But the President said that nothing short of an all-out war could have stopped the revolution." (DiBaccio)