C W Homefront Mood l Strong fear

C. W. Homefront

Mood l Strong fear of commie. takeover in world paranoia (again) l Loyalties questioned l Loyalty oaths taken in some professions (teachers, reporters, union leaders)

Are You Loyal? l l Gov. workers’ questioned– 19471951 Truman issued Fed. Employee Loyalty Program = investigate gov. workers & fire peeps found to be disloyal to U. S. l l Created list of “subversive” orgs. ; if member, you were suspicious Peeps not allowed to see “evidence” against them

Commies in Movies? l l House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) – formed 1947 Investigated commie. influence in movie industry l l Sneaking pro. S. U. propaganda into films 43 witnesses subpoenaed in Hollywood l 10 refused to testify (a. k. a. “Hollywood 10”) = felt it violated their constitutional rights; sent to prison

HUAC Outcome l Hollywood execs. created a blacklist Blacklist = list of peeps condemned for having commie background or association l Careers ruined ‘cuz nobody would hire them l Approx. 500 peeps affected l

Witch Hunt in D. C. l Sen. Joseph Mc. Carthy charged commies were taking over gov. l l Held hearings 1951 -1953 l l Played on Am. paranoia Unsupported accusations against gov. officials Mc. Carthyism = tactic of accusing peeps of disloyalty w/o evidence

Mc. Carthy vs. U. S. Army l l 1954 – accused Army officers of commie ties Televised hearings showed him bullying witnesses l Lost a lot of support & charged w/dishonoring the Senate

Space Race l l Arms Race Ams. built bomb shelters & held air raid drills 1956 – Nikita Khrushchev new leader 4 S. U. l Favored “peaceful coexistence” w/U. S. l Compete econ. & scientifically

Space Events l l l Oct. 4, 1957 – S. U. launched 1 st satellite “Sputnik” Jan. 31, 1958 – U. S. launched 1 st satellite April 12, 1961 – S. U. puts 1 st man in space May 5, 1961 – 1 st American in space (Alan Shepard) July 20, 1969 – U. S. puts 1 st man on moon (Neil Armstrong)

Summary l Recap in your own words what you have learned from the previous slides about the attitude and atmosphere of the Cold War in the U. S. during the 1950 s & ‘ 60 s.