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cold war the relationship between usa and ussr
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The documents presented here are designed to be used in classes about Pacific Northwest history or US history. Although the documents deal specifically with events in Washington state, they are still potentially useful for a course about US history as a whole. As historian Richard Fried has observed, "'McCarthyism' is so often characterized in abstract terms that its meaning remains fuzzy. To sense the emotional bite of the Communist issue and to understand both how it affected life for those who ran afoul of it and how it shaped the nation's political culture, it is useful to look at specific cases." These documents allow students to explore such specific cases.
Section II is a rather lengthy essay which tries to place the Cold War and Red Scare into historical perspective. It also analyzes the effect of the Cold War on Washington's economy and describes the major events of the Red Scare in Washington state. Much of this information is presented very briefly in a timeline in Section III. Teachers may wish to distribute photocopies of Section III to orient students to the main events of Cold War and Red Scare and to allow the students to place the documents in a chronological framework. Teachers may also with to distribute copies of the glossary in Section IV to familiarize students with Cold War terminology. The bibliography in Section V suggests books and videocassettes about the Cold War and Red Scare that teachers may find useful.
The documents in Section VII can be used in a vast number of ways. Section VI offers suggestions for in-class and homework assignments based on the documents. The concordance in Section VII not only lists the source of each document, but also offers some possible discussion questions about many of the documents.
II. The Cold War and Red Scare in Washington: Historical Context
The Cold War created many aspects of modern Washington. Military spending sustained Washington's rapid economic growth after WW II. Although federal hydropower projects and WW II had initially industrialized Washington state, the struggle against the Soviets ensured that federal money continued to pour into the state. The Cold War left a physical legacy across the state that can still be seen today. Military bases were created and expanded. The production of plutonium at Hanford created radioactive waste that will exist for thousands of years. Even Seattle's most famous icon—the Space Needle—is a concrete monument to one aspect of the Cold War, the space race.
When the Tydings Committee issued a majority report dismissing all of McCarthy’s allegations and condemning them as “a fraud and a hoax perpetrated on the Senate of the United States and the American people.” Republican members of the American sub-committee condemned the majority report and the Democrats who signed it and McCarthy turned his defeat into a victory through the great publicity he received. Soon after Tydings report was considered pro-Communist. Like the Salem Witch Trials lack of substantial proof, many people were willing to believe McCarthy’s charges without any evidence. Soon world events seemed to be playing into McCarthy’s hands and he could use it all against the Truman administration. McCarthy’s fame grew and he because more careless, and instead of hinting nameless lists, he started naming names.
By the time Joseph McCarthy gave his Lincoln day speech the Red Scare in America was on full blast. Just a year prior to the speech the Soviets had successfully tested a nuclear bomb and China fell to the communists. There were problems both internationally with the Soviet incursion into Eastern Europe and domestically with Soviet spies in the United States. On February 9th 1950 this Senator from Wisconsin took advantage of the opportunity at his speech to the Republicans Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia.
Evans, M. Stanton. “Mccarthyism: Waging The Cold War In America.” Human Events 53.21 (1997): S1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
By the time Republican Senator Joseph R. McCarthy gave his first speech in which he accused 205 members of President Harry Truman's democratic government of being communist on Feb. 9, 1950 there was already a lingering anti-Communist attitude in the United States. Which is why his speech, given in West Virginia, far from Washington DC, and from his home state of Wisconsin, made such an impact. Most of what he said has been forgotten, the speech was never recorded, but what he started with that speech would win him and his actions a place in American history.
In the 1950’s, the U.S government black listed artists, playwright and other intellectuals as Communists and unfairly destroyed many careers.
Benson, Sonia, Daniel E. Brannen Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. “Joseph McCarthy.” UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Eds. Lawrence W. Baker and Sarah Hermson.
Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America, New York: Little, 1995. Brown and Company, 1998.
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.
McCarthy was elected senate after becoming a lawyer in his sate of Wisconsin. During the first few years of his term nothing major really happened until 1950. In a speech to the Women’s club of wheeling in West Virginia he stated that he had a list in his hand of about 205 known members of the communist party working for the United States department. President Harry Truman had signed an executive order that said that all communists or fascists could not obtain a United States government job. The FBI played a big role in the investigation of this list McCarthy contained. McCarthy’s friend j. Edgar Hoover, which was a violent ant-communist in the federal government, could not wait to expose the people McCarthy accused of being communists. McCarthy’s list created a nationwide scar among the people of the United States. Everything McCarthy said was a lie and he had no evidence to show that the people he accused were really communist but, because of the start of the Korean War and the arrest of two American soldiers accused of spying on the Soviet Union American citizen...
Hammond, Thomas, Editor. Witnesses to the Origins of the Cold War. University of Washington Press. Seattle, 1982.
"The McCarthy Era of the 1950's and the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600's were major events in American history that destroyed the lives and careers of many innocent victims. These tragic events were similar in that they demonstrated how hard times lead to society's need to find a scapegoat. They also show the shame and regret that take place after the bloodbaths occur. The parallels between these two events, which took place almost 300 years apart, are remarkable."
“There was four. There was four,” were the words that Tituba said before accusing numerous women of witchcraft and dealing with the devil; numerous innocent women.
The Cold War was an important event in United States history which occurred during the years of 1947-1991. During this time frame the world was at the greatest risk for the development of a third world war. The Cold war was not an actual war with contact fighting of both sides, but a conflict between western democratic nations and eastern communist nations which was more fear tactics and rivalry. The Cold War is a sensitive topic which should be refrained and be avoided from being discussed with children. The Cold War and The Butter Battle Book have similar and events which center around war, threats, and deaths. These topics should not be in a children's book.
Tomkinson, John L. (2008) The Cold War: Themes in Twentieth Century World History for the International Baccalaureate. 3rd edition. Athens: Anagnosis.