Most Frightening Claims
The claims made about communism would Americans in the 1950s and 1960s have found the most frightening was the shortage. This is an economic term that characterizes the lack of goods in free circulation (historycomestolife). For example, it was argued that under the communist system, Americans would have lost access to many necessary household items, such as good clothes (Fried).
It was frightening for Americans because it was at this moment that the concept of the American dream appeared. It is based on a culture of consumption and closely linked to material values (TED-Ed). In the American dream, everyone should strive to dress well, own a car, and live in a well-maintained house (PBS). A shortage of goods would deprive Americans of the right to excessive consumption and prevent them from achieving the American dream, a prospect that was frightening under communism.
Joining the Communist Party
The reasons some Americans may have joined the Communist Party or been attracted to communist ideology in the twentieth century were the appeal of the idea of shared equality. The main idea of communism was stability for every citizen, based on universal prosperity and the predominance of the middle class, which was attractive (history.com). These were likely people who did not have a stable income and believed they lacked equal access to benefits (PBS). These could be representatives of a poorer stratum on the margins, or students with a penchant for youthful maximalism who do not realize the utopian idea of communism.
Reality of Threat
The Soviet Union did not pose a realistic threat to American democracy or the American way of life in the 1950s and 1960s. The US Congress, guided by public opinion and mindful of the crisis in the Soviet Union, skillfully coordinated the United States’ foreign policy (Fried). It put forward a condition for the transition from confrontation to cooperation with the USSR, the solution of human rights problems and regional conflicts by Soviet party and government circles, which offset the threat of the Soviet Union to American democracy.
Communists within the U.S. were not a threat to the country either. Their formation was very few and unstructured (historycomestolife). The chaotic nature and absence of a charismatic leader who coordinated the actions and united the communities of American Communists made them not a threat to the state.
Warranted Actions
I believe such actions taken against communists in the U.S. after World War II, such as maintaining a register of people who supported communist views, were warranted. In this way, it was possible to control the Communists and prevent them from becoming a threat to American democracy (McCarthy “Wheeling Speech”). In my opinion, Joseph McCarthy’s ideas about changing the president and members of the government went too far. He reduced any problem that existed in American society to the actions of communists who flooded various government structures (McCarthy, “Wheeling Speech”).
In 1950, a law was passed establishing a new department whose tasks included the search for communist organizations and their subsequent liquidation (McCarthy “Letter to President”). At the same time, the Immigration and Citizenship Act was enacted, introducing strict restrictions on those seeking to move to the United States (McCarthy “Letter to President”). In my opinion, these actions went too far because there was no data or evidence to back up Joseph McCarthy’s words.
Works Cited
Fried, Richard. The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!: Pageantry and Patriotism in Cold-War America. Oxfordshire, UK, Oxford University Press, 1998.
historycomestolife. “What is Communism?” YouTube, 2014.
McCarthy, Joseph. “Letter to President Truman.” Alpha History, 1950.
McCarthy, Joseph. “Wheeling Speech.” University of Oregon, 1950.
PBS Learning Media. “McCarthyism | Asian Americans“. n.d..
TED-Ed. “What is McCarthyism? And How Did It Happen?” YouTube, 2017.