Chapter 4.2 To what extent did the Cold War affect life within the USA?

Question 1

What was a significant outcome of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia?

Answer 1

Creation of the world’s first communist state

This event led to a Red Scare in the USA in 1919.

Question 2

What event triggered the second Red Scare in the USA after 1945?

Answer 2

The post-war division of Europe and the rise of communism in Eastern Europe

This was exacerbated by the Cold War tensions between the USA and USSR.

Question 3

What did Winston Churchill refer to when he mentioned an ‘Iron Curtain’?

Answer 3

The division of Europe into communist and non-communist regions

This metaphor illustrated the geopolitical divide after World War II.

Question 4

What discovery in 1945 heightened fears of communist subversion in the USA?

Answer 4

Hundreds of secret State Department documents found in Amerasia magazine offices

This incident raised concerns about national security.

Question 5

What significant event occurred in 1949 that escalated Cold War tensions?

Answer 5

The USSR successfully tested its own atomic weapon

This confirmed fears regarding espionage and the spread of nuclear capabilities.

Question 6

What program did President Truman introduce in 1947 to address fears of communism?

Answer 6

Federal Employee Loyalty Program under Executive Order 9835

This program implemented loyalty and security checks on federal employees.

Question 7

How many federal employees resigned or were dismissed due to the Federal Employee Loyalty Program between 1947 and 1951?

Answer 7

Nearly 3,000 resigned and 300 were dismissed

This indicates the program’s significant impact on federal employment.

Question 8

What was the original purpose of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)?

Answer 8

To protect the USA against Nazi German spying and subversion

HUAC was created in 1938 and later focused on communist activities.

Question 9

True or False: The USA was the only country with nuclear weapons until 1949.

Answer 9

True

This status changed when the USSR tested its atomic weapon.

Question 10

Fill in the blank: The fear of __________ was a significant aspect of the Cold War context in the USA.

Answer 10

communist spying and subversion

This fear was fueled by various espionage incidents.

Question 11

what was HUAC used for after ww2

Answer 11

communist subversion

Question 12

what was the smith act of 1940

Answer 12

-allowed the prosecution of anyone who supported and promoted communism

Question 13

how did president truman help foster the growing anti communist feeling

Answer 13

-march 1947, Marshall aid, massive US aid to europe to help reconstruction
-stated that the soviet union was a major threat to democracy in Europe and the free world

Question 14

how did HUAC investigate commuist infiltration within america

Answer 14

-attempted to expose communist supporters in the federal governme nt, trade union movement and Hollywood
-its innvesitagtions were filmed and broadcast om television so average americans could watch the witch hunt

Question 15

what was one of HUACs most celebrated cases

Answer 15

-1948, Alger Hiss ,state department official. was accused of being a communist sympathiser
-accused of giving secret government documents to Whitaker Chambers, a self confessed former communist
-his case was publicised nationwide

Question 16

what did the republicans claim about the tryman administration

Answer 16

-they had been soft on communism
-the communist victory in china was blamed on truman, in particularly the state department responsible for conducting foreign policy

Question 17

how did the HUAC increase national hysteria against communists

Answer 17

-the fears of reds under the bed, undermining the way of american life, became a recurent theme

Question 18

what did Joseph Mcarthy declare in 1950

Answer 18

-that the state department had been infiltrated by communists who were undermining the USAs conflict with world communism
-claimed that the state department was full of communists and sympathisers
-projected him into national limelight

Question 19

why was mccarthy seen as an opportunist

Answer 19

-saw the populatiry if anti communism and wished to exploit this for his own political benefit
-when pressed to produce names, he claimed he could name 205, then 57, and then just said ‘a lot’
-a senate committee hired to look into mccarthys claims found he had no evidence

Question 20

what other government departments did mccarty go on to attack

Answer 20

– american bar association
- american medical association
- teaching profession

Question 21

what did a poll in 1950 declare

Answer 21

-that 61% of americans said that if a person was oroved to be a communist sympathiser , they should be dismissed from the teaching profession

Question 22

in the 1950 midterm elections, why did mccarthyism seem to be successful

Answer 22

-two anit mccarty senators lost seats
-republicans made big gains

Question 23

even though mccartyys claims were never materialised, why was he so popular

Answer 23

-offered simple answers to questions many americans were asking, such as why was the usa, with a monopoly in nuclear weapons, with a military force that supposedly won them ww2, being outdone by the USSR?
-mccarthys answer was that people within the USA were giving secrets to the USSR

Question 24

in 1949 what did richard nixon make communists do

Answer 24

-the 60,000 communists in america had to register with the government

Question 25

what was the 1950 internal security act

Answer 25

-required communist and communist front organisations to register with the subversive activities control board, which would investigate any group reported to be ideologically suspect -empowered the government to order the arrest of anyone suspected of subversive activity in a time of national emergency

Question 26

what was the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act

Answer 26

-established new, sticter quotas on immigration and set up procedures to screen out any potential subversives entering the country

Question 27

why was HUAC and Mccarthyism heavily critisiced by truman, the deomcrats and the american civil liberties union

Answer 27

-believed that this legislation undermined individual freedom of the USA and the constitution

Question 28

what happened in the 1951 Dennis vs the USA case

Answer 28

- the supreme court upheld the 1940 smith act, which led to the imprisonment of 11 top communists

Question 29

how did MCcarthys attack on government weaken morale

Answer 29

-created a clcimate of fear and accusation that undermined the american life -fears of reds under the bed in every US town and institution became a feature of US life in the early 1950s

Question 30

how did the strength of MCCarthyism help the the Republicans

Answer 30

-for the first time in 20 years, they won the presidential election -

Question 31

by 1953, why had much of mccarthys usefeulness disappeared

Answer 31

-what was most embarrassing for the Eisenhower administration was his claim that the armed forces were under suspicion -from 1954 he faced questioning in the senate caucus room for 35 days with 20 million watching on TV

Question 32

at the end of ww2, why did the USA see itself as the worlds biggest power

Answer 32

-posessed nuclear weapons -its main rival, the USSR has lost 20 million people in the war

Question 33

why was the usa power undermined 1949-1991

Answer 33

-the usa and ussr faced each other with nuclear weapons and for the very first time, the usa home territory was under serious attack by the most dangerous weapon in history -people became suspicious of soviet spues anf communist sympathisers in the usa

Question 34

how did reality of nuclear age affect everyday american life

Answer 34

-school children were taught how to act in case of a nuclear attack -practised hiding unfer their desks -families that could afford it built anti nuclear war shelters under their homes or in their yards -large cities had public shelters

Question 35

what was the 1956 federal highways and defense act do

Answer 35

-enabled the rapid evacuation of cities in case of nuclear attack

Question 36

in feburary 1950, why waas Klaus Fuchs arrested

Answer 36

- he was a scientist involved in the work of the US atomic bomb during ww2, but admitted to passing on secrets to soviets -he implicated two americans, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Question 37

why were ethel and julius rosenberg arrested

Answer 37

-based partly on evidence provided by ethel's brother in law David Greengrass and a chemist, Harry Gold -much of the evidence against them was cirmumstantial -claimed they had been singled out because they were jewish

Question 38

despite apoealing 7 times, why were they found guilty under the espionage act of 1917

Answer 38

-due to the communist atmosphere of the 1950s -given the death sentence, which was hugely supported by the public

Question 39

were the rosenburgs actually guilty

Answer 39

yes- after the collapse of the soviet union, it became clear tjhat Julius was a communist who passed on information to soviet agents -confirmed the belief of many americans that the threat of communism came from within