In the years after World War II ended, events at home and abroad seemed to many Americans to prove that the “Red menace” was real. In August 1949, for instance, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. Later that year, Communist forces declared victory in the Chinese Civil War and established the People’s Republic of China. In 1950, North Korea’s Soviet-backed army invaded its pro-Western neighbors to the South; in response, the United States entered the conflict on the side of South Korea.
Did you know?
Along with the Army-McCarthy hearings, journalist Edward R. Murrow’s exposés of McCarthyism played an important role in the senator’s downfall. On March 9, 1954, millions of Americans watched as the national news program "See It Now" attacked McCarthy and his methods. |
At the same time, the Republican-led House Un-American Activities Committee (known as HUAC) began a determined campaign to extirpate communist subversion at home. HUAC’s targets included left-wingers in Hollywood and liberals in the State Department. Investigations were made into alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having Communist ties. No one was immune to investigation. If anyone believed you could be a communist, your life would be investigated.
In 1950, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act, which required that all “subversives” in the United States submit to government supervision. (President Truman vetoed the Act—he said it “would make a mockery of our Bill of Rights”—but a Congressional majority overrode his veto.)
In 1950, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act, which required that all “subversives” in the United States submit to government supervision. (President Truman vetoed the Act—he said it “would make a mockery of our Bill of Rights”—but a Congressional majority overrode his veto.)