|
After WW2,
fear and tension began to spread between the two superpowers. The American society was fed ideas, through propagandas and news outlets, which claimed that the Soviet’s wanted world domination. U.S citizens feared this, because it would mean that their freedom would be taken away and they would live the ‘unpleasant’ communist life (3). Multiple policies were established in the U.S to help prevent this. |
Joseph McCarthy fed into this fear to gain power and control, after his almost shameful beginning. A campaign was started, against suspected communists operating in the government. He introduced this on the 9th of February in 1950, when he delivered a speech at the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club in West Virginia. He began claiming that he had a list of 205 government officials who were “working and shaping policy in the state department” and were part of the communist party. (7)
|
11 days later, he presented 81 dubious and doubtful claims in front of the Senate. He skipped a lot of his cases and repeated the same information with many of them. Regardless of lack of evidence, the senate still launched a full investigation on the topic. The House Committee on Un-American Activities underwent investigations, while the FBI investigated the actions and lives of public officials. (7) (8)
|
|
Despite the fact that most of his hearings did not have sufficient evidence, and almost always resulted in a loss for him, almost 2,500 government officials lost their jobs and individuals who managed to keep their jobs realized that their reputations have been destroyed. Many consequences came from being prosecuted. Public figures almost always suffered social dishonor and shame. Individuals who were proven innocent, after hearings, still had difficulty trying to convince the public of that. Psychologically, individuals were effected by the trauma of going through personal investigations by their nation. Some political relationships were destroyed because of the lack of trust. Many officials', that were being investigated, children had to be taken out of school because of the harassment they received. (6)
|
On July 16th of 1945, the U.S detonated the first atomic bomb ever, called ‘Trinity’. They would later use these weapons on the August of that year to demolish Japan during the World War. This served as an advantage to the U.S during the cold war, as the Soviet’s feared the possibility of a situation similar to Hiroshima. However on the 29th of August in 1949 the USSR detonated their first atomic bomb which, when measured, equaled to Trinity’s power. The U.S were taken back as they did not expect them to get plans and access the knowledge of the bombs so quickly. This is when fear of a nuclear holocaust and suspicion began to increase in communities. It ultimately led to the background checks and McCarthyism, which was aimed to prove espionage cases in the U.S. This is especially true in the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Case. (11)
|
|
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a married couple accused, in 1950, of espionage charges and passing secret intel which aided the production of USSR’s nuclear bombs. Julius was arrested in July, and Ethel in August of 1950. They were put on a very brief trial on March 1951, where they claimed innocence throughout the trial and never admitted to any wrongdoing. They were sentenced to death a month later, and were placed in Sing Sing Prison in New York to await their execution. Many believe that if it wasn’t for the extreme case of red menace roaming through the U.S, they may have been let go. They became one of the biggest controversial topics, discussed by many. Due to the major debate they were causing, the president released a statement that eased them. He said “I can only say that, by immeasurably increasing the chances of atomic war, the Rosenbergs may have condemned to death tens of millions of innocent people all over the world. The execution of two human beings is a grave matter. But even graver is the thought of the millions of dead whose deaths may be directly attributable to what these spies have done.” - (President Dwight D. Eisenhower). Ultimately they were executed on the 19th of July 1953, still denying any involvement. Eventually putting an end to the most debated espionage cases. (10)
|
|