The early 1950s was a time of great international tension. Divisions between the USA and the USSR had become extremely deep. Both sides had formed armed alliances opposing each other (NATO and the Warsaw Pact). The Soviet Union had blockaded Berlin and also tested atomic weapons. China had become Communist in 1949 and in 1953 the Korean War had broken out. Some good general sites on the Cold War can be found at the National Archives website at http://tinyurl.com/csmkdbm and the BBC site at http://tinyurl.com/25wz3j. You can test your own knowledge of the period at http://tinyurl.com/24u7q7s and at the excellent www.coldwar.org.
Once you have grasped the Cold War context it becomes easier to understand what happened during the period known as the ‘Red Scare’. In an atmosphere of tension both the Americans and the Russians became paranoid that spies and traitors were destabilising their societies. The USA had historically prided itself on its tolerance but this began to change as Americans became increasingly convinced that there was a Communist ‘plot’ to take over the USA.
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