Cold War containment and the red scare free essay sample

As the strength of the Soviet Union grew and the fear of its potential capabilities mounted in the 1950’s, coupled with the fear of communism as a whole in the US reaching an unprecedented point, the effects on the social development of the US as a result of the red scare and growth of communism showed in several ways. As a result of the Red Scare that developed in the 1950’s, American politicians often held strong concern for soviet espionage and as a result were strongly advocating for the removal of heavily liberal politicians with intentions on the verge of outrightedly strong democracy. America had put itself in a chokehold socially and politically as a result of the paranoia from the red scare. In addition, the fear of communism would have effects on the way that politicians approached unregulated capitalism which in and of itself is an antidemocratic practice. The effects of various financial plans on capitalism and capitalism itself would be some of things quelled by these politicians’ actions. We will write a custom essay sample on Cold War containment and the red scare or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After the effects on economy and political structure of America came a swift set of decisions under the moniker of â€Å"McCarthyism†, named after its namesake, Senator Joseph McCarthy. These decisions were made as the second red scare initiated, with events the likes of the Berlin blockade and the Chinese Civil war(leading to the rise of Mao Zedong) having large effects on the psyche of Americans and the overall attitude towards communism. There were a few main threats outside of the US that would mold the events of 1950’s United States of America. As tension grew between the Soviet Union and the United States, talks of nuclear warfare and absolute mutually assured destruction suddenly became possibilities and a wave of fear and anxiety about the first nation to pull the trigger swept through America. This would lead to the US remaining hard pressed in its efforts to maintain communication and watch over other nations so as to avoid nuclear warfare. This fear would only grow when Russia successfully tested its own atomic bomb. Along with the effect of outside threats on US actions, communism within the US would have numerous grand scale effects on the country as a whole. With paranoia mounting for communism in general, many politicians and people of the US would begin stereotyping people based on the twisted ideas of communism and paranoia mounting in general. Many people would be persecuted for their actions regardless of their stance on communism and overall, the actions of Americans during the red scare embodied the same mentality towards the Japanese during World War II. With both groups having profound effects on the US, the Americans would respond with a fierce level of hatred and animosity driven by a mixture of paranoia and confusion over the true beliefs of the Japanese and the Communists as well as the fear of more future actions from these groups. Overall, the fear of Soviet threats outside of the US and the fear of communists within the US had significant effects on many aspects of life for Americans. Paranoia increased, strict regulations and actions were taken and a slew of rash and fear-driven actions would put the nation on a hell-bent race to get away from communism. In addition, the fear of communism within the states would cause the mentality of Americans towards it be one of complete hatred and misunderstanding, a similar resulting attitude as the one propagated towards the Japanese due to a misunderstanding of their people and actions during World War II. The red scare would have an effect on economic plans for the nation, social structure due to how it would affect the mentality and psyche of Americans and how international affairs would be handled in the future, all indicative of how monumental the effects of the red scare and outside soviet threats were on the development of the US in the 1950’s.