User:AdamPerrine/Red Scare

The executive order along with determining loyalty to the United states also required all U.S. federal employees had to take a loyalty oath to the united states of america.

The “red” in the red scare refers to the red flags the communists used.

During the first red scare the espionage act of 1917 and sedition act of 1918 heavily infringed on the first amendment right of free speech by criminalizing many forms of disloyal language and criticism of the U.S. government.

The first red scare resulted in many supreme court cases over the debate to free speech. In the case of Schenk v. United states using the clear and present danger test the espionage act of 1917 and the sedition act of 1918 were deemed constitutional.

During the palmer raids acting attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer ordered the arrest and deportation to the Soviet Union of people suspected of being radicals.

The communist control act of 1954 prohibited communists from holding office in labor unions and other labor organizations

Yates v. United States and Scales v. United States made it harder for the government to enact laws that opposed the first amendment.

In the united states v. Robel, a ban of registered communists from working in the defense industry was declared unconstitutional.

After the non-aggression pact was signed between Hitler and Stalin in 1939 the communist party in the United states took an anti-war approach and were consequently treated with more hostility than they had been previously by the public because they were seen as to be working with the Nazis.

After the Soviet Union and the United States allied with each other the Communist party took a very pro war stance.

Senator Joseph McCarthy Stirred up further fear in the United States of communists infiltrating the country by saying that communist spies were omnipresent, and he was America’s only salvation. Using this fear to increase his own influence.

In 1950 Joseph McCarthy addressed the senate citing 81 separate cases made accusations against suspected communists. Although providing little or no evidence and while being able to not prove anything, this prompted the senate to call for a full investigation.

The House committee of unamerican activity held a large interest in investigating those in the entertainment industry in Hollywood, they interrogated actors, writers and producers. The people who cooperated in the investigations got to continue working as they had been but people who refused to cooperate were blacklisted.

As a result of the communist hunts and targeting of unions the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of iIdustrial Organizations merged into one organization to consolidate their power in order to protect themselves.

The escalating cold war with the soviet union along was also a major cause of the red scare.

Republicans used the red scare to attack there democratic rivals by talking about the disloyalty of the Truman administration

When the senate formally censured McCarthy he lost a lot of his standing and political power relieving some of the tension of a communist takeover.

Workers that had refrained from striking during the war as well as veterans returning from war wanting raises and protection from huge inflation led to more than 3300 strikes throughout the U.S..