During The Cold War Dbq

It is safe to say that the Cold War brought political and cultural conflicts between what it meant to be a “true American.”A common word that would be associated with communism at the time was containment, which was followed through in the presidency of Harry Truman as he attempted to keep it out of America with his own foreign policy. The issue with establishing what it truly meant to be an American was that it was never settled before the Cold War, everything from art, music, religion, literature, life as a married couple, child-rearing, relations between men and women, and living arrangements determined what would soon be known as American identity. Now more than ever was the time to be an active participating American citizen. The Red Scare,

typically known as a promotion of a widespread fear of communism led Americans to fear every immigrant at the time who even partially embraced socialist, communist, or anarchist ideologist. Americans came up with methods and signs to be able to identify a communist in America who looks like any other common American. In Leo Cherne’s article he explains how “everything – his country, his job, his family – take second place to his party duty” in order for them to focus on what they were sent to do in America (Document 4). For example he says that only a communist would take practice in “criticising only American, British and Chinese policies, and never criticising Soviet policies” as that shows that they side with the Russians (Document 4).
Eventually, Americans try to figure out how to get through this nationwide obstacle by overall listing every factor/action/response that could possibly be considered a suspicious thing on a Communist would do/say.

Overall, being a true American during the Cold War could best be described as a person who devotes themselves towards participating in typical activities that help them blend in the crowd with everyone else. Herbert Block, a political cartoonist, created the cartoon “You read books, eh?” (Document 5) in response to the rise in anti-Communism in the 1940s and 1950s. Some people even considered this hysteria as the Second Red Scare since Americans became paranoid over every little possible action that could make someone a Communist in disguise. This cartoon in in particular emphasizes how overreaction towards the activities suspicious Americans took part in. You see the classroom of a woman being speculated for anything that can make her a Communist, as one man in particular sees the U.S.S.R. on the world map and looks as if he jumps to the conclusion that she might be working with them (Document 5). A suitcase on the floor states that these men are a part of the state and local Anti-Subversive Committees in the United States (Document 5). This photo just goes to show how Americans efforts to find communist in the 1940s and 1950s were not done in the proper manner since anything could accuse an innocent person of being a

communist.
In the speech, “Enemies from Within,” Senator Joseph R. McCarthy described the rise in communism as “a war between two diametrically opposed ideologies” who live by different morals and religions that go against what it means to be an American (Document 6). Communist were seen as horrible people who did not believe in love, humanity, morality, and justice, which made Americans claim that they aren’t worthy of being true Americans and needed to be put to a stop as they were overpowering. Now, in today's world the sense of belonging and living up to the American identity has led to the rise in discrimination and racism towards hyphenated Americans who were seen as incapable of fitting in society. In the end a wall was formed between those who truly seen as Americans of the United States and those who are categorized as ‘alien’ in a new country. What many fail to realise is that what it means to be American is different for each individual who is asked the same question, and how acceptance of people's differences must be encouraged.