Anti-communism and Senator McCarthy | UPSC Mains: World History PDF Download

Anti -communist feeling

• After the Second World War the USA took upon itself the world role of preventing the spread of communism; this caused the country to become deeply involved in Europe, Korea, Vietnam , Latin America and Cuba. There had been a strong anti-communist movement in the USA ever since the communists had come to power in Russia in 1917. In a way this is surprising, because the American Communist Party (formed in 1919) attracted little support. Even during the depression of the 1930s, when a mass swing to the left might have been expected, party membership was never more than 100 000, and there was never a real communist threat.
• Some US historians argue that Senator Joseph McCarthy and other right-wingers who whipped up anti-communist feelings were trying to protect what they saw as the traditional American way of life, with its emphasis on ‘self-help’ and ‘rugged individualism’ . They thought that this was being threatened by the rapid changes in society, and by developments like the New Deal and the Fair Deal , which they disliked because they were financed by higher taxation. Many were deeply religious people, some of them fundamentalists, who wanted to get back to what they called ‘true Christianity’ . It was difficult for them to pinpoint exactly who was responsible for this American ‘decline’ , and so they focused on communism as the source of all evil. The spread of communism in eastern Europe, the beginning of the Cold War, the communist victory in China ( 1949) and the attack on South Korea by communist North Korea (June 1950) threw the ‘radical right’ into a panic.

Troop demobilization

The rapid demobilization of American troops at the end of the war worried some people. The general wish was to ‘bring the boys home’ as soon as possible, and the army planned to have 5.5 million soldiers back home by July 1946. However, Congress insisted that it should be done much more quickly, and that the army should be dramatically reduced in size. By 1950 it was down to only 600 000 men, none of them fully prepared for service.

This thoroughly alarmed the people, who thought that the USA should be ready to take deterrent action against communist expansion.

Fear of espionage

Reports of espionage (spying) prompted Truman to set up a Loyalty Review Board to investigate people working in the government, the civil service, atomic research and armaments ( 1947). During the next five years, over 6 million people were investigated; no cases of espionage were discovered, though about 500 people were sacked because it was decided that their loyalty to the USA was ‘questionable’ .

Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs

• Much more sensational were the cases of Alger Hiss and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Hiss, a former top official in the State Department ( the equivalent of the British Foreign Office), was accused of being a communist and of passing secret documents to Moscow . He was eventually found guilty of perjury and given a five-year jail sentence ( 1950). The Rosenbergs were convicted of passing secret information about the atomic bomb to the Russians, though much of the evidence was doubtful. They were sentenced to death in the electric chair. They were eventually executed in 1953, in spite of worldwide appeals for mercy.
• These cases helped to intensify the anti -communist feeling sweeping America, and led Congress to pass the McCarran Act , which required organizations suspected of being communist to supply lists of members. Many of these people were later sacked from their jobs, although they had committed no offence. Truman , who felt that things were going too far, vetoed this Act, but Congress passed it, over his veto.

McCarthyism

• Senator Joseph McCarthy was a right- wing Republican who hit the headlines in 1950 when he claimed ( in a speech at Wheeling, West Virginia, on 9 February ) that the State Department was ‘infested’ with communists. He claimed to have a list of 205 people who were members of the Party and who were ‘still working and shaping policy’ . Although he could produce no evidence to support his claims, many people believed him, and he launched a campaign to root out the communists. All sorts of people were accused of being communists: socialists, liberals, intellectuals, artists, pacifists and anyone whose views did not appear orthodox were attacked and hounded out of their jobs for ‘unAmerican activities’ .
• McCarthy became the most feared man in the country, and was supported by many national newspapers. McCarthyism reached its climax soon after Eisenhower’ s election.
• McCarthy won many votes for the Republicans among those who took his accusations seriously, but he went too far when he began to accuse leading generals of having communist sympathies. Some of the hearings were televised and many people were shocked at the brutal way in which he banged the table with rage and abused and bullied witnesses. Even Republican senators felt he was going too far, and the Senate condemned him by 67 votes to 22 (December 1954). McCarthy foolishly attacked the president for supporting the Senate, but this finally ruined his reputation and McCarthyism was finished. But it had been an unpleasant experience for many Americans: at least 9 million people had been ‘investigated’ , thousands of innocent people had lost their jobs, and an atmosphere of suspicion and insecurity had been created.

After McCarthy

Right-wing extremism continued even after the disgrace of McCarthy. Public opinion had turned against him not because he was attacking communists, but because of his brutal methods and because he had overstepped the mark by criticizing generals. Anti-commu ¬ nist feeling was still strong and Congress passed an Act making the Communist Party ille ¬ gal ( 1954). There were also worries in case communism gained a foothold in the countries of Latin America, especially after Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, and began nationalizing American-owned estates and factories. In response, Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress ( 1961 ), which aimed to pump billions of dollars of aid into Latin America to enable economic and social reform to be carried out. Kennedy did genuinely want to help the poor nations of Latin America, and American aid was put to good use.
But other motives were important too.

• By helping to solve economic problems, the USA hoped to reduce unrest, making it less likely that communist governments would come to power in these states.
• US industry would benefit, because it was understood that much of the cash would be spent buying American goods.