18.2 Critical Thinking

1. 18.2 Critical Thinking • 1. Why were Americans worried about the security of the US? Soviet control of Eastern Europe & Communist takeover of China created fear that Communism would spread. 100,000 Americans were members of the Communist Party in the US. • 2. What was the purpose of the Loyalty Review Board? Investigate gov’t employees who may be communist and dismiss them if they were found to be disloyal to the US. • 3. What did the House Un-American Activities Committee do? Investigated possible commies in the US gov’t and civilians. Targeted Hollywood • 4. Who were the Hollywood Ten? Ten witness who refused to testify about commies in Hollywood because they felt the hearings were unconstitutional and were sent to prison. • 5. Why was State Department official Alger Hiss investigated? He was suspected of spying for the SU, claimed he was set up but was later found to be actually spying.

2. 18.2 Critical Thinking • 6. Who were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg? Jewish couple found guilty of spying and sentenced to death. They were the first Americans executed for espionage • 7. What was controversial about McCarthy’s tactics? Accused people of being commies without any actual proof. He often claimed to have lists of names of commies in the gov’t but never produced them. • 8. Why did most Republicans remain silent about McCarthy’s “Witch Hunt”? They wanted to use it as a political tool to when the election of 1952 by playing off the fears of the American public • 9. What caused McCarthy’s downfall? He went after the Army and people were turned off when they saw him bully witnesses on TV • 10. What other anti-Communist measures were enacted in the early 1950s? Laws were passed to make it illegal to advocate violent overthrow of gov’t. People had to take loyalty oaths and all professions were investigated for commie

3. The Cold War at HomeMcCarthyism • Work with your neighbors to answer the following questions about McCarthyism: • What seems to have motivated it? • Why did it succeed at first? • Why did it fall out of favor? • Your answers may require more than 1 sentence. Be sure to give examples.

4. The Cold War at HomeMcCarthyism • What seems to have motivated it? McCarthy’s desire to be reelected; Republicans’ desire to win presidential election; growing fears of communism & suspicion of foreign influences in the US • Why did it succeed at first? McCarthy fed on the public’s fears & gave them the impression that he was purging the nation of a very dangerous, and seemingly very real, Commie menace • Why did it fall out of favor? In televised hearings, McCarthy bullied witnesses, turning the public against him. There was no proof for his accusations

5. The Cold War at HomeRole Play • In groups of 3 you will create a role play describing how the following groups were affected by the Red Scare. • The Hollywood Ten • Alger Hiss • Ethel & Julius Rosenberg • During your role play, you must address the following questions: • What were they accused of? • How were they affected by the accusations? • Do the accusations seem to have been fair? Explain. • Each person in the group must participate. Be creative in your role play: news report, talk show, reenactment, court hearing, conversation during coffee, etc…. • Write your dialogues in your note book