The Red Scare was one of the landmark events that marked the very beginnings of the Cold War. The Red Scare was "a period of mass hysteria caused by the idea of the supposed rise of communism in a non-communist state" (Red Scare: Cold War, McCarthyism & Facts). The fear of communism was the fuel for the Red Scare and to further understand how the Red Scare happened in the first place, you must first understand the concept of communism. Communism is a political and economic doctrine in which there is no private property, meaning that everything is owned by the government. In communism all natural resources, property, and means of production such as factories. Other doctrines are similar to communism such as Socialism, with the main difference being that Communism adheres more to the teachings of Karl Marx. Karl Marx is often seen as the father of communism. When the Bolsheviks adopted communism after the Russian Revolution many feared it would spread west through Europe and eventually to the United States.

The First Red Scare began amid the First World War. In 1917, the Russian Revolution was won by the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenon. This was the rise of communism as we know it. In the United States, where the Scare occurred, there were many labor strikes on the rise as the working class wanted better conditions and better pay. The media of the time sensationalized these strikes making those participating in the strikes, especially immigrants, as people looking to destroy the American way of life. The Sedition Act of 1918, which was essentially a continuation of the Espionage Act of 1917, made it “a crime to print, utter or publish… any false, scandalous, or malicious writing’ about the government”(Alien and Sedition Acts 1917). This act added to the idea that there were fears of radicals trying to overthrow the government. In reality, this anti-immigrant act only caused more harm as self-proclaimed anarchists carried out a series of bombings through the mail in 1919. These Galleanist anarchists, those who followed anarchist Luigi Gaellini, mainly targeted anti-immigrant or anti-anarchist politicians, anti-anarchist officials, and prominent businessmen. The climax of the First Red Scare occurred in 1919-1920 through a series of raids known as the Palmer Raids, led by A. Mitchell Palmer. These raids were aimed at arresting foreign anarchists, communists, and radical leftists. Following the raids,  many of those arrested were deported. These raids were violent with between 3,000 to 10,000 being arrested. These raids kicked off the period known as the Red Summer, a period in which white supremacist race riots and terrorism occurred throughout more than thirty-six cities. The First Red Scare came to an end in 1920 as public and court opinion turned on Palmer due to the raids and a wrong prediction of a bloody uprising on May Day.

After the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in a mainly political and economic war known as the Cold War. The rivalry between the two was so intense that many feared there might be communists inside the United States working as Soviet spies, threatening United States security. These fears were not baseless as throughout World War II the Soviet Union carried out several espionage missions with the help of American citizens. To fight against these fears, President Harry Truman executed Executive Order 9835, or the Loyalty Order. This order meant that all federal employees were to be analyzed to determine their loyalty to the United States government. This was the start of the second Red Scare, as the Loyalty Order shocked a country that held personal freedom, privacy, and liberty above all else. This order was questionable among many but was only the start of the questionable acts that occurred during the Red Scare. The House of Representatives was one of the first to begin investigating communist activities with the formation of the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1938. This Committee primarily investigated those in the federal government or certain parts of the film industry in Hollywood. The committee gained a large amount of momentum after World War II as the Cold War began to grow in intensity. The impact of the committee was seen greatly in Hollywood as many studios began to create Hollywood blacklists due to external pressures. There is one congressional investigator who would become most famously known for his anti-communist campaign. This man was Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy used several tactics, such as hearsay and intimidation,  to establish himself as a powerful politician. He accused many of being a communist destroying people’s lives and careers along the way. The FBI was also thoroughly involved in the second Red Scare as the agency created extensive files on potential communists through the use of things such as wiretaps, surveillance, and infiltrating left-wing groups. The information that the FBI collected played a great part in the conviction of many important cases. One such case occurred in 1949, where twelve important members of the American Communist Party were arrested on charges of advocating to overthrow the government. Another case that the FBI had great input on was the case of the Rosenbergs, a couple who were convicted of espionage in 1951 and executed two years later. The Public’s concerns about communism really began to start in 1949 after the first Soviet nuclear bomb was tested and China became communist under the rule of Mao Zedong. Events such as these put a fear in American citizens that there was a chance that the “Reds' ' or communists would overthrow the government. Figures such as McCarthy and Hoover wildly exaggerated that possibility further fueling the fire. 

Joseph McCarthy was born November 14, 1908, and died May 2, 1957. He was a politician who represented Wisconsin in the US Senate from 1947 to 1957.McCarthy began his rise to fame in 1950 when he made a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, saying that 205 communists had infiltrated the State government. Despite being unable to find a single card-carrying communist within the government. Despite this McCarthy was able to gain popularity through the public’s fear as United States citizens were appalled at the spread of communism throughout Eastern Europe and China. The United States public was also frustrated and weary of the Korean War and McCarthy capitalized off this through anti-communist crusades. To supporters, McCarthy was a genuine American who had the country’s best interests at heart but to those against him, he was an irresponsible witch-hunter looking for fame and glory. In 1953 McCarthy began his second term as senator and he also became chairman of the Committee on Government Operations in the Senate. This new role allowed McCarthy to run even more vigorous investigations on the alleged communist infiltration of the United States government.  Following this appointment, throughout the next two years, McCarthy investigated various different Government departments. Hearing after hearing occurred with McCarthy using aggressive interrogation tactics on witnesses, tactics which later were seen as a direct violation of witnesses’ civil rights. This two-year crusade led to 2,000 government employees losing their jobs despite a lack of proof. McCarthy’s support began to wane in 1954 as he set his sights on the military. What proceeded was a nationally televised 36-day hearing of subversion on civilian officials and United States Army officers. This televised hearing exposed McCarthy’s brutal tactics and prompted Joseph Nye Welch, a special counsel for the army, to ask McCarthy “Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you no sense of decency?”. This exposure prompted a wave of dislike from the public as he was discredited. McCarthy had lost most of his allies by the time the trials were over and the Senate condemned him on December 2, 1954. He was replaced as chairman of the committee, essentially losing his power but keeping his job. After the era of McCarthyism largely came to an end, McCarthy was ignored by most of his colleagues and the media after his behavior was deemed “unbecoming of a Senator” (Joeseph McCarthy). McCarthy died in 1957 before he was able to complete his second term.

It is important to learn abot times of mass hysteria as it affected many. Many American citizens who lived during this time felt the effects of it personally. Those that were accused of being sympathizers were hounded by law enforcement, fired from their jobs, and their family and friends left them. While very few on the accused were actually sympathizers, many were just victims of false accusations. Even after the end of the Red Scare it contiues to influence political debates  as it exemplifies how unfounded fears can ignore civil rights.