In 1936, the Chinese nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, was forced to make an alliance with the Communist Party to fight against the Japanese. This alliance lasted until 1945 and brought China into World War two on the Allies’ side. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the alliance collapsed and civil war broke out in 1946.The nationalists were weak and divided. In 1949 the Chinese communists were in power in China. From there they moved southwards, pushing the nationalists into the island of Taiwan, which became known as the Republic of China.
The Korean War began when communist North Korea attacked South Korea in June 1950. The United Nations quickly authorized its members to aid South Korea. The United State, together wish 16 other countries, began sending in troops. Within two months, North Korea had captured most of South Korea.
In 1945, the USA, France and Britain took control of West Germany and the USSR controlled East Germany. The capital, Berlin, inside East Germany, was also divided, and in 1948, the Soviets closed all access to West Berlin and tried to drive the western powers out of Berlin to take over completely. The Western powers brought in essential supplies by air until the Russians lifted the blockage in May 1949.
In September 1947, 43 witnesses were subpoenaed to appear for hearings in Washington before the House Committee on un-American Activities (HUAC), which was investigating "communist" rebellion in Hollywood. Nineteen of the witnesses, mostly scriptwriters, were expected to be "unfriendly." The hearings opened in October. A group of eight screenwriters and two directors refused to answer questions regarding their possible Communist association. Those ten, known as the "Hollywood Ten," went to jail for their refusal to answer the committee's questions about their personal political beliefs. After their jail terms they were mostly blacklisted by Hollywood studios. Alger Hiss was a US diplomat, and civil servant; he was a former state department official. In 1948, a former soviet agent, Whittaker Chambers faced HUAC, and was found guilty; he then accused Hiss of being a member of his group, and passing information onto the USSR between 1936 and 1937. Hiss swore against the allegation, and accused Chambers of lying. Truman believed Hiss and dismissed the case. However, Richard Nixon, a member of the HUAC, was suspicious of him, and decided to pursue the case. He eventually found evidence against Hiss, but Hiss denied the charge. Eventually Hiss was convicted for perjury and sentenced to jail for five years. In 1950 the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Julius Rosenberg, an electrical engineer who worked for the army, and his wife Ethel for selling classified military information to the Soviet Union. Both Julius and Ethel were found guilty, and received the death sentence. There was controversy because of this case. Some people said that the trial was not fair and the only incriminating evidence was given from a confessed spy. Other people wondered the value of information given to the Soviet Union was and it was argued that the death penalty was too severe.
In 1950 the Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy began to whip-up anti-communist fears in the USA. He began a witch-hunt against Communists. McCarthy claimed to have the names of 205 known Communists who were working for the American government. It seemed that McCarthy was lying, but no-one challenged him. McCarthy was the Chairman of the Special Senate Committee investigating Communism in the USA. He verbally abused witnesses, so he could find out the name of their fellow communists. However, McCarthy took it a step too far and accused president Eisenhower and the US army of having Communist sympathies. This upset many loyal republicans. However, McCarthy’s influence did not disappear, McCarran’s Internal Security Act was set up in 1950 and in 1954 the Communist Control Act came into place which banned the Communist party all together.
The legacy of McCarthy shows is how easy it was to whip up to cause hysteria in the public opinion. McCarthy’s allegations had no evidence but still, his accusations were what the people of America were afraid of. They did not question his word, showing how incredibly fearful the US was of communism. The fears that Russian communism was taking over the entire world were pervasive during the Truman years. A common saying was ‘Better Dead than Red’ but could American’s oppose Communism so much that they would prefer to be dead?
