central intelligence agency started the red scare in the united states in the 1950s.
central intelligence agency started the red scare in the united states in the 1950s.
who started the red scare in the united states in the 1950s?
central intelligence agency
in the ensuing years from world war ii in the united states, media and culture portrayed a general sense of anxiety and fear of the spread of the soviet union's communism in american entertainment, political, social, and scientific sectors. as tensions between the two nations increased over the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, public hysteria over communism subverting american daily life was coined the "red scare", but more specifically the second red scare with respect to the 1950s. media coverage of the cold war served as a catalyst for acknowledging ideological differences between the two nations. written and illustrative forms of communication were the predominate source of information before the 1960s in the united states; political expressions in american newspaper cartoons, fliers, and movie posters with "easily de-codable [text]" and "emotive images" largely served as a casting mold for solidifying american ideals against its soviet counterpart. indeed, both us and ussr medias succeeded in producing rhetoric and imagery that bolstered the motives of their respective states while establishing a sense of jingoism in their people; which is effectively known as propaganda. the polarization of the cold war era and the dread resulting from a nuclear arms race between the us and ussr, in addition to a politicized system of media distribution, led to the escalated height of sentiments which included statements like "better dead than red" in american media and culture. as early as 1947 in the united states entertainment sector, the house un-american activities committee (huac) began holding hearings regarding the political orientation of american entertainment professionals, starting with the famous hollywood ten trial that resulted in the conviction of 10 hollywood directors and writers being charged with contempt of congress, and eventually leading to the broader entertainment industry blacklist; with the peak of the committee's actions occurring between 1953 and 1956. in the midst of all this included the mccarthy trials. targets of huac's entertainment industry blacklist included directors, actors, screenwriters, musicians, and other prominent entertainment professionals, which were ultimately blacklisted from their careers for having been alleged communist members or having communistic sympathies. soviet communistic ideals being propagated into american life was used as justification for the tactics employed by the highly publicized huac and mccarthy trials. during this period in america, television stations and motion picture corporations were considerably influential on the minds of the public as associations between federal and private corporations became more intimately associated; a deliberate measure to promote positive consensus for military and intelligence efforts against the soviet union in a time of war. after the downfall of senator joseph mccarthy and the mccarthy trials, which was due to his demagogic style and unsubstantiated accusations, the house un-american activities committee shortly after began its descent into ruin by the mid-late 1950's and early 1960's, and later was officially dismantled in 1975. just prior to the beginning of the 1960s, harry s. truman proclaimed that the committee was the "most un-american thing in the country today". prior to these events, there had never been such a socially and politically significant issue publicized to the american populace within culture and media regarding domestic threats to united states democracy during the 20th century.
cold war (1953–1962)
red-baiting, also referred to as reductio ad stalinum (), is an informal logical fallacy that intends to discredit the validity of an opponent's logical argument by accusing, denouncing, attacking, or persecuting an individual or group as anarchist, communist, marxist, socialist, stalinist, or sympathetic towards these ideologies. in the united states, the term red-baiting dates from at least 1927. in 1928, blacklisting by the daughters of the american revolution was characterized as a "red-baiting relic". a term commonly used in the united states, red-baiting in the united states history is most often associated with mccarthyism, a term which itself originated in the two historic red scare periods of the 1920s (first red scare) and 1950s (second red scare). in the 21st century, red-baiting does not have quite the same effect it previously did due to the fall of soviet-style socialism, but some pundits have argued that notable events in current american politics indicate a resurgence of red-baiting consistent with the 1950s. the word red in the term red-baiting refers to the red flag as a symbol of communism, socialism (including democratic socialism), marxism and left-wing politics in general (including anarchism, although its flag is black). the word baiting refers to persecution, torment or harassment as in dog-baiting.
red-baiting