Increasing cold war tension
The Rosenberg's
Both of the Rosenberg’s were convicted of passing American nuclear
secrets to the USSR in 1951
Both were convicted and executed
At their appeal their lawyer Arthur King claimed to the judge that there
was no democracy in their trial as if they were set free then the judge
would be convicted as a communist
McCarthyism in the USA
By 1950 there was already a committee that carried out investigations
on the patriotism and political affiliation of Hollywood filmmakers
called HUAC
HUAC was founded in 1938 and became a permanent special
committee of the US government from 1945 with a purpose to
investigate communist infiltration
Those brought before the committee were often innocent but were
convicted due to the paranoia about communism
In Jan 1950 Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury as he lied about
passing information to the USSR while working for the US state
department between 1937-38
This led to criticisms about Truman being too soft on communism
leading to the fall of China, this was particularly echoed by McCarthy
McCarthy promoted the idea, in the context of the Hiss affair that there
was an army of communist conspirators within the government
McCarthy’s targets during his anti-communist witch hunts were in the
state department, the film industry, the democratic party and in
universities
Another figure in these years was Edgar Hoover who often referred to
teachers as “Reducators”
Hoover said the communists were undermining America’s traditions
and customs
, McCarthy next attacked the UN and people such as the Norwegian
General Trygve Lie did little to repeal these smears
Finally in 1954 McCarthy claimed that communists had entered the US
army
A council led by Joseph Welch said “Senator ... you have done enough,
have you no sense of decency sir”
In December 1954 the US senate voted in favor of McCarthy brining
that body into disrepute
The influence of McCarthyism on Britain and
the rest of Europe
Crockatt commented that “the significance of McCarthy’s career lies in
the coincidence of his brief period of notoriety with the shift of
attention from Europe to the Far east”
McCarthyism urged the USA to move away from a Eurocentric focus
towards an Asia first policy
This is because McCarthy believed that containment had succeeded in
Europe and no intervention was needed but Asia required more
security
This prioritization was made relevant after the establishment of a
communist monolithic state in China in 1949
McCarthy feared that Truman’s indifference to communism in Asia may
lead to further indifferent policy in Asia
McCarthy also claimed that had Truman not stopped supporting the
KMT then the Korean war wouldn’t have happened which allowed
communism to spread in Asia
After the 2nd world war it was clear that Britain would no longer play
the role of the USA’s key ally in Europe
By the 1950’s Britain was becoming more concerned with the USA’s
aggressive cold war policy
They feared that the aggressive stance over Korea might lead to the
USSR attempting to destabilize Europe
The Asia policy was dangerous as far as the British were concerned as
it meant a decrease in funding into European security from the US
meaning the UK would have to increase their military spending
The Rosenberg's
Both of the Rosenberg’s were convicted of passing American nuclear
secrets to the USSR in 1951
Both were convicted and executed
At their appeal their lawyer Arthur King claimed to the judge that there
was no democracy in their trial as if they were set free then the judge
would be convicted as a communist
McCarthyism in the USA
By 1950 there was already a committee that carried out investigations
on the patriotism and political affiliation of Hollywood filmmakers
called HUAC
HUAC was founded in 1938 and became a permanent special
committee of the US government from 1945 with a purpose to
investigate communist infiltration
Those brought before the committee were often innocent but were
convicted due to the paranoia about communism
In Jan 1950 Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury as he lied about
passing information to the USSR while working for the US state
department between 1937-38
This led to criticisms about Truman being too soft on communism
leading to the fall of China, this was particularly echoed by McCarthy
McCarthy promoted the idea, in the context of the Hiss affair that there
was an army of communist conspirators within the government
McCarthy’s targets during his anti-communist witch hunts were in the
state department, the film industry, the democratic party and in
universities
Another figure in these years was Edgar Hoover who often referred to
teachers as “Reducators”
Hoover said the communists were undermining America’s traditions
and customs
, McCarthy next attacked the UN and people such as the Norwegian
General Trygve Lie did little to repeal these smears
Finally in 1954 McCarthy claimed that communists had entered the US
army
A council led by Joseph Welch said “Senator ... you have done enough,
have you no sense of decency sir”
In December 1954 the US senate voted in favor of McCarthy brining
that body into disrepute
The influence of McCarthyism on Britain and
the rest of Europe
Crockatt commented that “the significance of McCarthy’s career lies in
the coincidence of his brief period of notoriety with the shift of
attention from Europe to the Far east”
McCarthyism urged the USA to move away from a Eurocentric focus
towards an Asia first policy
This is because McCarthy believed that containment had succeeded in
Europe and no intervention was needed but Asia required more
security
This prioritization was made relevant after the establishment of a
communist monolithic state in China in 1949
McCarthy feared that Truman’s indifference to communism in Asia may
lead to further indifferent policy in Asia
McCarthy also claimed that had Truman not stopped supporting the
KMT then the Korean war wouldn’t have happened which allowed
communism to spread in Asia
After the 2nd world war it was clear that Britain would no longer play
the role of the USA’s key ally in Europe
By the 1950’s Britain was becoming more concerned with the USA’s
aggressive cold war policy
They feared that the aggressive stance over Korea might lead to the
USSR attempting to destabilize Europe
The Asia policy was dangerous as far as the British were concerned as
it meant a decrease in funding into European security from the US
meaning the UK would have to increase their military spending
