The Fear of Communism in the Years of 1945 to 1954

The Fear of Communism in the Years of 1945 to 1954

After world war two there was a steady build up of tension between the

United States of America and the Soviet Union, which grew to such a

level that the hostility grew to just short of military action. This

period, known as the cold war was a large factor in causing the

paranoia over communism in the USA. The Soviet Union was a communist

country and historically America had always opposed communism. It was

also clear that the USA- USSR alliance of World War Two was just to

serve a specific purpose. This bond was broken after the war, due to

the countries’ perceived differences and the apparent rivalry between

them.

The main American fear was the actual spread of communism and the fear

that a domino affect would occur; after one country having turned

communist, there would be a knock on effect and more would follow

suit. In March 1947 the Truman doctrine declared that America was

going to be extensively involved in world affairs, primarily to stop

the spread of communism. A few months later the Marshall plan was set

up aiming to aid war torn countries, however it’s other significant

aim was to stop the spread of communism. The United States followed

the policy of containment whereby it remained ‘friendly’ in order to

track the movements of other countries and halt the spread of

communism. In 1949 the communist Chinese took over power in China and

as a classic example of the domino effect North Korea became a

communist country and threatened pro-American South Korea, and

eventually invaded causing the Korean war and confirmed American

fears.

In August 1949, the S...

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...communist organisations had to be registered with

the United States government and no communist could carry a United

States passport or work in the defence industry. Throughout his

career McCarthy ruined the careers of many others yet he never

actually uncovered any real communists or Russian spy rings, even

though there were several. McCarthyism was unjust and changed the

course of communism long after his career had ended.

In conclusion, there were many factors that influenced the fear of

communism from 1945 to 1954. The most important factor was the

competition between the two super powers, America and the Soviet

Union, which drove both sides to portray the other as the enemy.

Influencing the public was important, because with public opinion

behind politicians, for example McCarthy, it made them very powerful.