By Ellen Schrecker (NHC Fellow, 1994–95) From an award-winning McCarthy scholar comes the first post-Cold War exploration of the anticommunist witch-hunt and its devastating impact. Tracing the way that a network of dedicated anticommunists created blacklists and destroyed organizations, this broadbased inquiry reveals the connections between McCarthyism’s disparate elements in the belief that understanding its … Continued
The word “socialism” has made its way into American politics a lot recently. But "socialist" largely remains a dirty, and often misunderstood, term in the realm of U.S. politics. During the Cold War, anti-Soviet sentiments and McCarthyism, a campaign against alleged communists in the U.S., are largely to thank for that. So what is socialism? … Continued
We have long understood The Crucible, ostensibly about the Salem Witch Trials, to “actually” be about McCarthyism, but what more can this play tell us about politics and American identity in the early years of the Cold War? To what extent is the fear of communism the occasion for Miller’s portrayal of American paranoia, and … Continued
In the early years of the Cold War, fear of the Soviet Union led some Americans to conclude that Soviet subversion was destroying American society from within. If not actual spies, then certainly enemies — some deliberate apostles of Communism, others unwitting dupes — were everywhere: in the universities, in the entertainment industry, in journalism, … Continued