Transcript Old World, New Worlds

Opening Assignment
• Do you believe that people in
the United States should be
prosecuted or persecuted for
their beliefs if those beliefs
pose a threat to the security of
the US?
• Why or why not?
• Essential Learning Goal:
• The Cold War between the Soviet Union and United States helped
shape the culture, history, and politics of the United States during the
20th Century.
• Learning Targets:
• I can identify the Loyalty Review Board and the
McCarran Act and explain how they violated US
citizens’ rights.
• I can explain the significance of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) and Joseph
McCarthy’s role in anti-communist persecution.
• I can identify the term McCarthyism and how it
shaped attitudes toward Communism in the US.
• I can explain the role of Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs
in helping to increase anti-communist sentiment in
the US.
The Second
Red Scare
• Started in 1945 as the domestic
counterpart to the Cold War but
reached its climax during the Korean War
• Evidence of espionage
– By 1950 anticommunism had created
a climate of fear, where legitimate concerns mixed with
irrational hysteria.
• Truman signs executive order for federal employee loyalty
program, creates the Loyalty Review Board. 212 employees
fired, thousands refused to cooperate. Why might they do
this?
The McCarran Act
• The McCarran Act made it illegal to plan any action that might
lead to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship in the US.
• President Truman vetoed the bill stating “in a free country we
punish men for the crimes they commit, but never for the
opinions they have.”
• Congress voted to override the President’s veto and passed the
McCarran Act without the President’s signature.
The Second
Red Scare
• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Part of the US
House of Representatives.
– Accusations about pro-Communist subversives in government
• The Alger Hiss case
– Whittaker Chambers, former Soviet agent, accused Hiss, who
worked at the State Department, of passing secret documents to
the Soviets.
– Hiss was convicted of perjury, or lying on the stand.
• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
– Accused of espionage and convicted with limited evidence.
Executed in the electric chair in 1953.
Senator Joseph McCarthy
• Witch-hunt
• Saw an
opportunity to
improve his
political career
• Army-McCarthy
Hearings (1954)
McCarthyism
• McCarthyism is the practice of making
accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or
treason without proper regard for evidence.
• It also means "the practice of making unfair
allegations or using unfair investigative
techniques, especially in order to restrict
dissent or political criticism."
Senator Joseph McCarthy
• When McCarthy accused the US Army of having been
infiltrated by Communists he signaled his own demise.
• Finally an Army lawyer Joseph Welch stood up to Senator
McCarthy saying;
“Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the
Lawyer's Guild... Let us not assassinate this lad further,
Senator; you've done enough. Have you no sense of
decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of
decency?”
• Shortly after this the US Senate investigated McCarthy’s
behavior and he lost respect and power.
The Eisenhower Doctrine
• After the Soviet Union offered support for Egypt
during the Suez War in 1955 the United States
decided to take a firm stance in opposition to the
Soviet Union expanding it’s influence in the
Middle East.
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a warning
in 1957 that said the US would defend the Middle
East against an attack by any communist country.
• Why might the US offer this protection to Middle
Eastern nations?
Notes for Today: Brinkmanship
• A strategy of the United States during the Cold
War of threatening nuclear war in an effort to
get your opponent to back down and make a
compromise.
• This strategy was based on the belief that
should the US and Soviet Union go to war it
would lead to destruction for both sides.
• This situation brought about the idea of M.A.D.
or Mutually Assured Destruction.
Sputnik
• The first man-made satellite to successfully orbit the earth.
• In October 1957 the Soviet Union launched the satellite
which traveled around the earth at 18,000 miles per hour.
• The United States’ national prestige was injured by this
technological advantage the Soviets had and the U.S. began
to create their own satellites.
• This competition led to what we call the Space Race, a
competition between the US and USSR to make advances in
the field of space exploration.
Homework
• Chapter 18 Section 4
• Read Pages 622 – 627
• Answer Main Idea Questions A -D
• Complete SkillBuilders;
Page 624 #1-2
Page 626 #1-2
• Copy Vocab into Notebook
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• The Central Intelligence Agency or CIA was created to gather
information from nations around the world.
• The CIA used spies to gather information, carry out covert, or
secret, operations to weaken or overthrow governments
unfriendly to the United States.
• This included helping establish dictators who were friendly to
the United States and who opposed communism. These
dictators were not always good to their people and this
helped create lingering resentment toward the US that
persists to this day, especially in Central and South America.
Activity
• Create a loyalty oath with a partner for
Americans to take that promises to support
the United States and oppose Communism or
any behavior that would threaten the security
of the United States.
• Turn this oath in on a piece of paper with you
and your partner’s names.