Communism In 50s Essay Example For Students

Communism In 50s Essay Thesis: The Red Scare of the 1950s caused a massive movement forthe people of that time period. I. Introduction II. The Basis of Communisim A. Communisim: Defined B. Political Aspects 1. Communist associations 2.Communistfears C. Physical Aspects 1. Incidents 2. Blacklisting III. Propaganda A. Recruitment B. The Red Scare 1. Communist propaganda 2. Anti-communist defenses IV. Leaders in the movement-McCarthy A. Obsessions 1. The conspiracy 2. Focus on his campaign B. Accusations 1. Alger Hiss 2. OwenLattimore V. The Cold War A. Conflict with Russia 1. Destruction of atomicweapons 2. War in Greece 3. Failure to adopt Marshall Plan B. European Recovery1. European Recovery Program 2. Increase in trade VI. Protection A. U.S. Defenses 1. New Weapons 2. New Technology B. Punishments VII. What was LearnedA. More tolerance B. Less hate C. Comparisons between the Fifties and now 1. Understanding 2. Lessons VIII. Conclusions America: Land of the free, and thehome of the brave. This famous expression has been used numerous timesthroughout history, even scoring a line in our countrys national anthem. But inour high-tech socety, many Americans can not even understand what ourforefathers went through to achieve this American dream. People do not evengrasp the concept of what it has taken to keep the freedom of this countryringing. Place youself in the footsteps of the average American of the 1950s,dealing with the Russian threat of communist rule and the fear of being takenover an opposite world power. Post World War II struggles make it hard foranyone to get by, and each coming day leads to another unpredictable twist forthe country in which you reside. The powerful threat of communisim, which cameto be known as the Red Scare, is the basis of all of the nationsproblems. This Red Scare of the 1950s was a powerful, radical, andcontroversial issue for nearly everyone in that time period, and whats more isthe propaganda that was used to sell communist leadership to the Americanpeople, who were deathly afraid of what the future might hold. This Red Scarelasted throughout the Fifties and beyond. The Fabulous Fifties well, werethey really so fabulous, after all? First of all, for total understanding of theRed Scare of the fifties, one must become acquainted with the term communisim. Communisim can be defined as: a type of government in which a small group ofleaders dictates a country or nation by distributing goods and money equallyamong the countrys citizens (Websters, 1994). As of today, nations such asRussia and China are run by communist authority. Although this system ofgovernment works in theory, it requires the sacrifice of freedom of the peoplewho are being ruled. Other aspects of communist rule include communistassociations, which during the 1950s had 10,000 members across the UnitedStates of America, dedicated to making communist rule in the United States areality (Miller, 1954). Incidents in which communisim was a serious matter inthe 1950s include the jailing of an American couple for reportedlytalking communisim. A later report indicated that the couple wasmerely discussing American relations with Japan, but it was around the time thatthis event occured that people began to really began to fear communists andtheir beliefs (Miller, 1954). Communists, or people suspected of beingcommunists, were also blacklisted, making them unable to get jobs, insurance,and loans, among other things (Salem Press, 1992). Recruitment for memebers ofthe communist political party was, during the 1950s, based solely onpropaganda. This false advertising glorified the things that communist rule wassupposed to offer, such as jobs, money, and food for everyone. This especiallyappealed to Americas lower-class society, with dreams of brighter futures andlifestyles for themselves and generations to come. Of course, communistactivists never mentioned anything about the freedoms that our nation, undercommunist rule, would stand to lose. On the contrary, though, anti-communistsstartled Americans by leveling their defense by making it seem like all membersof communist parties were murderers and terrorists, which is where the termRed Scare was generated from (Associated Press, 1995). Thesedefenses were used primarily to keep communist beliefs away from our Amer icandemocracy, but frightened Americans into believing that all communists andpeople from countries such as Russia, which had communist leadership, were evil. It is always a mystery about how the universe bega Analysis EssayBibliographyAssociated Press. (1995). Twentieth Century America: The Cold War at Home andAbroad 1945-1953. Los Angeles: Combined Books Borstien and Kelly. (1992). AHistory of the United States. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. Layman, Richard. (1994). American Decades: 1950-1959. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc. Miller,Douglass T. and Newak, Marion. (1954). The Fifties: The Way We Really Were. NewYork: Doubleday and Company, Inc. Rich, Candace. (2000). Fifties Web. Online. Availiable: http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fifties.htm 2000, Feb. 7 Salem Press. (1982). Great Events: The Twentieth Century. California: Salem Press, Inc. Sherlock, Joe. (1997). Welcome to the Fifties. Online. Availiable: http://www.joesherlock.com/fifties.htmlVintron-Shellburg. (1999). Traveling Through the Fifties. Online. Availiable:http://www.vintron-shellsburg.k12.id.us/tws/seventh/group/fifties/50toc.html1999, Feb. 7 (1998). The Fifties. Online. Availiable: www.ornl.gov/swords/fifties.html(2000). Rewind the Fifties. Online. Availiable: www.loti.com/clip.html 2000,Feb. 4