The Red Scare (1950s).

For each term or name, write a concise sentence or two explaining its significance.


1. HUAC
House Un-American Activities Comittee. This comittee's purpose was to accuse the film industry of tinging their movies with communist idea's, even though they were created when the Soviets were an american ally. This is the comittee that sent The Hollywood ten to jail.

2. Blacklist
A list that was created by Hollywood directors that condemned people with communist backgrounds. This list ruined the carreers of so many actors, directors, producers, and writers.

3. Alger Hiss
A man accused of being a Soviet Spy. He was charged by Whittaker Chambers who was a former communist spy himself. Hiss's only evidence against him was supposed documents, but in the 90's Soviet cables were realeased pointing him towards guilty soviet espionage.

4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
Jewish radical communists directly associated with the Soviet's being able to explode the first atomic bomb in the Soviet Union.

5. Joseph McCarthy
A very famous anti-communist who because he was losing the race to be re-elected, claimed that communists were taking over the country.

6. McCarthyism
The attacks on communism and using people's fear of communists to benefit his McCarthy's cause. Now refers to any form of accusation without evidence.

7. In a paragraph, describe the motivations and actions of Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. What prompted his actions? What did he do? What happened as a result of his actions?
Joseph McCarthy's actions were prompted by his fear of not getting re-elected to the Senate position. Also, he was an anti- communist activist therefore he saw this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone so to speak; get re-elected and eliminate communist "threat". He launched his campain, claiming that he had a list of 204 communists living in the U.S and this was due to "20 years of treason" by the democratic party. He never produced any names of communists and only accused specific demicrats in the senate house where he was immune from a law suit. As an extreme measure McCarthy made accusations against the U.S army which resulted in a Senate investigation. This cost him public support and the Senate condemned him for his actions. He died a a "broken man" and alchohlic.