In the long years between 1947 and around 1957, fear of communism froze the very voices of America into unison. A supposedly enlightened country, the United States of America succumbed to the mass hysteria of the Red Scare with shockingly little resistance. Communist “Reds” and Communist sympathizing “Pinks” were seen everywhere and were often persecuted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (also known by the inaccurate acronym HUAC). Many of these individuals’ only crime was that of sensibility; they saw the truth behind the terrifying chaos. One of the best records of this dark chapter in America’s history is its literature, which expressed opinion when it could be dangerous to do so. The American public’s paranoid fear of communism and other extremist organizations is evident in the literature of the period, which reflects the conformist mind frame.
World War II had barely ended when the Cold War began in 1945 and with it, a time in which American culture stressed patriotism and fervent hatred of anything remotely Communist. The fear and paranoia of the cold war eliminated social and political nonconformity and created a strict, conformist society where traditional values of family, domesticity, and religion were forcefully embraced by most Americans (Maltz 61). For works by authors such as Ayn Rand, who detested the very principal of communism, this meant a wildly enthusiastic acceptance. In her 1946 novella Anthem, Rand wrote about a dystopian society in which the motto is “We are one in all and all in one./There are no men but only the great WE./ One, indivisible and forever” (Rand 19). The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, later known as Prometheus, is ‘cursed’ with an individualistic streak that will not allow h...
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... sponsor” (Ross 263). In fact, by the late 1950’s, sixty-eight-percent of American’s wanted to make communism illegal, in a blatant disregard for the First Amendment of the Constitution (Zeinert 67). Books such as George Orwell’s 1984 portrayed a world in which the Party ruled supreme, and Big Brother was always watching in a totalitarian-communist government reminiscent of the Soviet Union. Similar to Anthem in its dystopian abuse of basic human rights, 1984 differs in that the Party is not an unintelligent force, ruling through numbers alone. The Party is a cunning, powerful and ruthless enemy, skilled in the art of psychological warfare and the breaking of souls. This version of communism, efficient, intelligent, and manipulative, reflects the changing perception of communism within the public; as the fear of the threat grew, that which was feared gained power.
Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.
One of the biggest fears of the American people is that the concept of communism contrasts drastically from the concept of capitalism, which the United States was essentially founded upon. The United States, as the public believed, was not a land of perfect communal equality, but rather a land of equal opportunity. However, what made communism so dangerous can be succinctly described by Eisenhower who compared the spread of communism as the domino effect. As his secretary of state, Dulles, put it, the propagation of communism “would constitute a threat to the sovereignty and independence” of America (Doc B). In addition, the Cold War also planted the seeds of rational fear of a global nuclear war. As Russia caught up to the United States in terms of technological advancements, they successfully developed the atomic bomb as well as the hydrogen bomb, which caused Americans to believe that the USSR would use these weapons of mass destruction to forcefully extend their ideologies to the USA. In fact, Americans were so frantic about a potential nuclear disaster that it...
The novel, 1984, written by George Orwell, gives readers an insight to a possible frightening future where one government has complete and definite control of the people. But “control” might not be the term to describe such a rule. The Party dominates every aspect of life. There is not a single thing that is not under the Party’s rule. Feelings, history, language, statistics, and even human nature are submissive to the Party. They corrupt the mind so much that there is no longer a line that separates truth from a lie. Slogans are repeated through telescreens on a daily basis so the people are gradually forced to believe in illogical statements. Upon first glance, it may seem that a 1984 society is not even imaginable in the world we live in currently. But is it really logical to make such an assumption so quickly? Do we know that what we see on the news and read in our history textbooks is completely accurate? The Internet is one of the most powerful technologies our world has, consisting of an insurmountable amount of information, which is not always what it seems. Ultimately, there are so many things that we do not know, some of which is being held a secret from us. Modern day society shockingly has evidence of a transformation into a menacing 1984 society because of similar government actions and abuse of advanced technology.
Orwell didn't just intend 1984 as an attack on communism or socialism; instead it is both an attack and a rather prophetic warning against any authoritarian structure, including the authoritarian structure of capitalist democracies. Often we do not equate "democracy" with totalitarianism, but thanks to the manipulation of language, we can have both "democracy" and a corrupt and oppressive regime simultaneously. How? Through the wonders of Orwell's newspeak and doublethink.
The war was over. The last cry of help had been heard and peace was supposedly coming to the United States. But everyone was wrong. An ideological war which prompted mass paranoia known as the Red Scare had spread through the US. It began in 1919 and ended in 1921. Red Scare was the label given to the actions of legislation, the race riots, and the hatred and persecution of "subversives" and conscientious objectors during that period of time.
Red Scare America 1920 World War I was finally over, however, there was a new threat to Americans. The. This threat was Communism, which was greatly feared by most. U.S. citizens. Communism is "a system of social and economic organization" in which property is owned by the state or group, to be shared in common.
The textbook years for the Red Scare were from 1917 to 1920, but there were important events before 1917 that preceded the Bolshevik Revolution. “The first “reds” were those Americans who supported the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century.” (Hoyt, 11) The first Marxian socialists to come to the United States were German immigrants who began arriving in 1848. They slowly began to change the labor organization, and over a few years the Socialist and Communist parties were born. In 1901, all Americans were made aware of left-wing radicalism after an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz assassinated President William McKinley. “No more was needed to make Americans fear and hate the very words “anarchist,” “radical,” “red” and “socialist,” all of which they lumped together”. (Hoyt, 13) All of these events culminated in creating a certain fear in Americans from these groups.
George Orwell once said, “Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship” (217). This quote talks about how dictatorships are created by a means of revolutions. The Party rises to power by surpassing a former governmental system with their own revolution of Ingsoc and ultimately establishing a “dictatorship.” In George Orwell’s 1984 the reign of the Party by means of intense surveillance, restricting human rights, and ingenious psychological manipulatory actions suggests that freedom cannot be attainable in such a dystopia.
The Second Red Scare The McCarthy era, which generally spanned from 1947 to 1957, brought to the forefront of American politics the question of civil rights. At issue were controversies about both First Amendment rights to assembly and free speech and Fifth Amendment rights to due process and freedom from self-incrimination. Anti-Communist actions often involved restrictions on these rights, and heading the anti-Communist movement was the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). This committee, which consisted of government officials from Congress, was formed to investigate the threat of Communism in America. In doing so, the committee brought in witnesses, usually individuals thought to have, or to have had, Communist affiliations.
The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of communism and proved to be one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period however is shown to be completely different compared to now.
To what extent did anti-communism ideologies affect the daily in the US during the Cold War? The Cold War lasted from 1945 to 1953. This investigation assesses the daily life in the United States during this time frame. In order to evaluate the affect it had and its significance, the investigation evaluates the background of anti-Communism, the Red Scare and daily American life at home as well as in school. Influences of anti-communism ideologies through various types of propaganda will be discussed as well. Bishop Fulton J.Sheen’s articles of such events and television documentaries about the perspective on communism ideologies are the primary sources used to evaluate the affects. In addition, history sources dealing with propaganda in media and school life in the US will be used as well. This investigation will focus on the US daily life was affected nationwide.
After WWII, many Americans were apprehensive towards what the future of the United States would be like and what that would mean for their new coming families. Not only were Americans worried about other countries but, “…we were extremely suspicious of what was happening right here at home.”(From Lecture) During the Cold War, we were so frightened by the potential of the Soviets attacking us with our own weapon of mass destruction, we began teaching each other to “Duck and Cover”, a technique used to ‘protect’ us against falling glass from the dropping of an atomic bomb. Consequently, a man by the name of Joseph McCarthy exploited American’s fears’ by persuading citizens that communists were overpowering the government in order to gain votes
The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.
During the 1950s, Soviet Russia tried to establish communism in many other countries in the world. The communist ideology instilled in Russia during the 1950s had a large influence on Ayn Rand’s depiction of Anthem’s society with the doctrine of collectivism. The novella shows a society in which everyone is under the control of a group of people who live only to serve others, and no one can do anything that would defy the collectivist beliefs. This community teaches its children to only use pronouns such as“we” and “our”, and separates its people from others who may be different than them. The main character, Equality, falls victim to these collectivist beliefs. Only until he was rejected by the World Council after announcing his discovery
The idea behind Communism is simple, to share all of the resources gained by the working class amongst the working class. The concept is exemplar in terms of fairness, but is notably difficult to establish without some backwater form of corruption, as with Stalin and the Soviet Union. It has become the most difficult task presented to possible Communist states. In George Orwell’s 1984 it is painfully obvious to both Winston and the reader that the classes and social aspects of Big Brother have been completely twisted and corrupted to the core.