## Learning Outcomes

- Explain why domestic anti-communism intensified after World War II
- Distinguish between the **Second Red Scare** and **McCarthyism**
- Identify the roles of **Executive Order 9835**, **HUAC**, and the **Hollywood blacklist**
- Recall major espionage cases including **Alger Hiss** and the **Rosenbergs**
- Analyse the tension between national security and civil liberties
- Trace change over time from early repression to later judicial limits in the **1950s**

## AP United States History Syllabus

For the AP United States History, you are expected to understand domestic anti-communism debates in the early Cold War, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that the **Second Red Scare** was a late **1940s-1950s** wave of fear that communists had infiltrated U.S. government and society
- Identify the purpose of **Executive Order 9835 (1947)** and the **Federal Employee Loyalty Program**
- Explain the difference between **HUAC** investigations and **Joseph McCarthy’s** accusations
- Understand how anti-communism affected government, labor, education, and entertainment
- Recognise the significance of the **Hollywood Ten**, the **Hollywood blacklist**, and loyalty oaths
- Explain how the **Smith Act (1940)** and **McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)** expanded anti-communist powers
- Analyse why the **Hiss** and **Rosenberg** cases made anti-communist fears seem more believable
- Understand how Supreme Court cases such as **Dennis v. United States (1951)**, **Yates v. United States (1957)**, and **Watkins v. United States (1957)** reflect changing attitudes toward civil liberties

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What was the difference between the **Second Red Scare** and **McCarthyism**?
2. How did **Executive Order 9835** change the federal government in **1947**?
3. Why are the **Hollywood Ten** important in debates about civil liberties?
4. How did the **Hiss** and **Rosenberg** cases strengthen anti-communist fears?
5. What changed between **Dennis v. United States** and **Yates v. United States**?

## Introduction

Domestic anti-communism was the home-front side of the Cold War. After World War II, many Americans feared that communist influence had spread not only abroad, in places such as Eastern Europe and China, but also inside the United States. That fear shaped politics, culture, labor relations, and law.

For APUSH, this topic matters because it links major Unit 8 themes: **Cold War consensus**, conformity, civil liberties, and the power of the federal government. Strong answers do not just describe fear of communism. They explain why fear grew, how institutions acted on it, and why later critics argued that the response often violated basic freedoms.

> **Key Term: Second Red Scare**
> The late **1940s-1950s** wave of fear that communists and Soviet spies had infiltrated American government, culture, and society.

### Why domestic anti-communism grew after World War II

The immediate postwar setting made anti-communist fears easier to spread. The Soviet Union had emerged from World War II as a superpower. Communist governments were established in Eastern Europe. In **1949**, the Chinese Revolution brought **Mao Zedong** to power. That same year, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. To many Americans, communism no longer looked like a distant theory. It looked like a growing global rival.

Fear abroad encouraged fear at home. If the Soviet Union was expanding overseas, many Americans asked whether it also had helpers inside the United States. That question became more persuasive because some espionage cases were real rather than invented.

The **Alger Hiss** case mattered because it gave anti-communists a respectable, educated, government-connected target. Hiss, a former State Department official, was accused in **1948** by **Whittaker Chambers** of communist espionage. Hiss was convicted in **1950**, but for **perjury**, not for espionage itself. Students often miss this distinction. He was not convicted of spying, but the case still convinced many Americans that communist infiltration in government was possible.

The **Rosenberg** case made fear even sharper. **Julius and Ethel Rosenberg** were arrested in **1950**, convicted of espionage in **1951**, and executed in **1953** for passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. Whether all aspects of the case were handled fairly was debated, but politically the effect was clear: it seemed to prove that the “enemy within” was not fantasy.

> **Key Term: espionage**
> Spying, especially the secret gathering or passing of government or military information.

These cases are crucial for evaluation. A strong APUSH answer should avoid saying anti-communist fear was entirely imaginary. Some Soviet espionage did occur. The better argument is that real dangers were often used to justify much broader campaigns of suspicion, guilt by association, and attacks on civil liberties.

> **Test Tip:** On essays, avoid absolute claims like “there was no real communist threat.” A higher-scoring answer usually argues that some fears had a basis, but the reaction often became excessive.

### How the federal government and Congress acted on anti-communist fears

One of the biggest mistakes students make is starting with McCarthy. Domestic anti-communism became official federal policy before McCarthy was nationally important.

In **1947**, President **Harry Truman** issued **Executive Order 9835**, creating the **Federal Employee Loyalty Program**. This required loyalty investigations of federal employees. The FBI investigated workers, and people could lose jobs if there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect disloyalty. That standard matters. It was not the same as criminal proof in court. Suspicion, associations, or accusations could be enough to damage a career.

> **Key Term: Executive Order 9835**
> Truman’s **1947** order creating the Federal Employee Loyalty Program to investigate federal workers for possible disloyalty.

This policy shows how Cold War anxiety entered everyday government. Truman was often criticised later as weak against communism, but this order proves he also acted aggressively at home. It also helps explain why the Red Scare cannot be reduced to McCarthy alone. Anti-communism was not just a senator’s stunt. It was built into federal practice.

Congress acted too, especially through **HUAC**, the **House Un-American Activities Committee**. HUAC investigated alleged communist influence in government, labor unions, schools, and the entertainment industry. The committee’s hearings helped turn accusation into public theatre. Witnesses were pressured to answer questions about political beliefs and to identify others.

> **Key Term: House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)**
> A House committee that investigated alleged communist or subversive influence in American institutions.

HUAC’s most famous investigations involved Hollywood in **1947**. Ten film industry figures, later called the **Hollywood Ten**, refused to answer questions about communist affiliations. They argued that the hearings violated constitutional freedoms. Congress cited them for contempt, and they were fined, jailed, and excluded from much of the film industry.

The result was the **Hollywood blacklist**. This was not a formal criminal sentence imposed by a court. It was an informal but powerful system in which suspected communists, or people who refused to cooperate, were denied work in film, television, and radio.

> **Key Term: Hollywood blacklist**
> The informal exclusion of people from entertainment jobs because they were suspected of communist ties or refused to cooperate with investigations.

This is a good example of how the Red Scare worked beyond the courtroom. Many people were punished without conviction. Employers, universities, unions, and state governments often imposed loyalty oaths or dismissals simply to avoid suspicion.

Labor was affected as well. The **Taft-Hartley Act (1947)** required many union leaders to sign anti-communist affidavits if they wanted access to National Labor Relations Board protections. This linked anti-communism to a broader conservative effort to weaken labor militancy after the strike wave of **1946-1947**.

The federal government expanded anti-communist power through law too. The **Smith Act (1940)** made it illegal to advocate the violent overthrow of the government or to organise for that purpose. During the early Cold War, it was used against Communist Party leaders. The **McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)** required communist organisations to register with the federal government and expanded internal security powers. Truman vetoed it, but Congress overrode the veto.

This combination of executive action, congressional hearings, and legislation shows the structure of domestic anti-communism. It was not one person. It was a system.

### McCarthyism, blacklisting, and the limits of civil liberties

**McCarthyism** is best understood as the most famous and aggressive phase of the broader Second Red Scare. Senator **Joseph McCarthy** rose to national prominence after his speech in **Wheeling, West Virginia**, in **February 1950**, when he claimed to have a list of communists in the State Department. He changed the numbers repeatedly, which should have raised doubts, but the political atmosphere helped him.

> **Key Term: McCarthyism**
> Aggressive anti-communist accusation tactics associated with Joseph McCarthy, often relying on weak evidence, intimidation, and guilt by association.

McCarthy mattered because he turned suspicion into spectacle. He accused not just officials but also teachers, writers, and soldiers. His methods relied on headline-grabbing charges more than proof. The larger significance is that accusation alone could ruin lives. This is why the era is often described as a “witch hunt.”

Yet students should be precise: **HUAC was not McCarthy**. HUAC was a House committee active before and during McCarthy’s rise. McCarthy was a senator. Confusing them weakens essays.

The legal system initially supported much of this climate. In **Dennis v. United States (1951)**, the Supreme Court upheld the convictions of Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act. The Court accepted that the government could limit speech if it believed the danger was serious enough. This reflected an early Cold War willingness to prioritise security over liberty.

That helps explain why civil liberties were under pressure. During the early 1950s, free speech, due process, and freedom of association were often narrowed by fear. Teachers could lose jobs. Federal workers could be dismissed. Film workers could be blacklisted. People named in hearings could become unemployable.

But there was change over time. McCarthy’s influence fell after the **Army-McCarthy hearings (1954)**, which were televised nationally. When McCarthy accused the Army itself of harboring communists, he finally targeted an institution strong enough to resist. The hearings exposed his methods to the public. During one famous exchange on **June 9, 1954**, Army counsel **Joseph Welch** asked, “Have you no sense of decency?” That moment symbolised a turning point.

McCarthy was formally **censured by the Senate on December 2, 1954**. His decline did not end anti-communism overnight, but it weakened its most reckless form.

The Supreme Court also became somewhat more protective by the late **1950s**. In **Yates v. United States (1957)**, the Court ruled that advocating an abstract doctrine was different from urging actual action to overthrow the government. That distinction sharply limited Smith Act prosecutions. In **Watkins v. United States (1957)**, the Court limited congressional investigations by ruling that committees such as HUAC could not ask vague, abusive questions without clear relevance.

These cases matter for **change over time**. Early in the Red Scare, the government and courts often accepted broad restrictions. Later, backlash set some limits.

> **Test Tip:** For continuity and change essays, a strong structure is: early **1950s** expansion of anti-communist repression, then mid-to-late **1950s** backlash through the Army-McCarthy hearings, Senate censure, and Supreme Court limits.

### Why this debate matters for APUSH arguments

Domestic anti-communism is one of the best topics for building a balanced argument. It connects directly to **Politics and Power**, **American and National Identity**, and **America in the World**. It also rewards careful evaluation.

The strongest judgement is usually that anti-communist fear was partly grounded in reality but often pushed far beyond the evidence. The Soviet Union was a real rival. Espionage cases existed. But many responses treated dissent as disloyalty, used guilt by association, and damaged constitutional protections.

This debate also shows how Cold War ideology shaped daily American life. Anti-communism promoted conformity. It pressured workers, teachers, artists, and public servants to prove loyalty constantly. In that sense, the Red Scare was not just a political event. It was a social climate.

For essays, keep the distinction clear:

- **Second Red Scare** = the broad national atmosphere of anti-communist fear
- **McCarthyism** = the especially accusation-driven politics associated with Joseph McCarthy
- **HUAC** = a House committee that carried out investigations
- **civil liberties debate** = the argument over whether anti-communist measures protected the nation or undermined the Constitution

If you keep those categories separate, your writing will sound much more precise.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- The **Second Red Scare** was the broad late **1940s-1950s** fear of communist infiltration in the United States
- Domestic anti-communism intensified because of Cold War tensions, the **Chinese Revolution (1949)**, and the Soviet atomic bomb
- **Alger Hiss** was convicted of **perjury** in **1950**, not espionage
- The **Rosenberg** case made fears of internal communist threats seem more credible
- **Executive Order 9835 (1947)** created the **Federal Employee Loyalty Program**
- **HUAC** investigated suspected communist influence in government, labor, and entertainment
- The **Hollywood Ten** and **Hollywood blacklist** became symbols of civil-liberties conflict
- The **Smith Act** and **McCarran Internal Security Act** expanded anti-communist powers
- **McCarthyism** was a more specific accusation-based form of the broader Red Scare
- The **Army-McCarthy hearings (1954)** and Senate censure weakened McCarthy’s influence
- **Dennis v. United States (1951)** upheld restrictions, while **Yates** and **Watkins** in **1957** imposed limits
- A strong APUSH judgement is that anti-communist fear had some basis but often produced excessive attacks on civil liberties

## Key Terms and Concepts

- Second Red Scare
- espionage
- Executive Order 9835
- House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
- Hollywood blacklist
- McCarthyism


The Red Scare - Domestic anti-communism debates