Posted: October 20th, 2022

Cold War

Cold War
Evaluate the validity of the following statement in the context of the Cold War. Confine your response to the historical period from 1945 to 1991.
“IN TIMES OF PANIC, WE FEAR FREEDOM.”

The context of the Cold War that occurred from 1941 to 1991 involved events such as the Red Scare and McCarthyism. The cold war intensified between the late 1940s to early 1950s over the threats used by communists. McCarthyism was a perceived threat that spread the fear of communist influence in the U.S, thus causing political repression and espionage by Soviet agents. During the McCarthyism era, people were accused of being communists; therefore, they became subjected to harassments and investigation and questioning by the government (.MacKenzie,2011). Hundreds of Americans from different fields such as entertainment, government employees, labor union activists, and academicians were believed to be involved in communism or being communist sympathizers. The investigation and arrests led to the destruction of careers and imprisonment. According to (Schrecker and Deery,2004), some of the beliefs used were exaggerated, thus leading to overturned trials and laws that were declared as unconstitutional, “In times of panic, we fear freedom” applies to the Cold War because of the effects of McCarthyism. That threatened the state of freedom. The anti-communists las targeted the communists who were referred to as the Reds, thus leading to the Red scare. The range of action had profound effects that caused fear in everyday life of regular citizens.
The cold war emanated after the clashes between the U.S and the communist Soviet Union. The conflicts between the two superpowers caused hysteria of a perceived threat that communists and their sympathizers were acting as Soviet spies to threaten the U.S government. However, their perception was not unfounded because the Soviet socialists had long carried espionage activities with the help of American citizens during World War II. The government feared the same events would occur with the help of communists (.MacKenzie, 2011). In 1884 to 972, President Truman established a loyalty program that analyzed the loyalty of federal employees, thus creating anticommunism hysteria.
The established loyalty program threatened personal freedom and startled the development of the concepts of political organization. The Red Scare caused panic, thus causing American citizens to fear freedom. The communists that worked inside the federal government were under scrutiny from the negative publicity. McCarthy was closely associated with the anticommunism crusade, where he used intimidation to gain power and spread fear. He was a congressional investigator from 108 to 1957. He charged the people he perceived disloyal, thus costing them their reputation and jobs. He leveled charges on anyone who disagreed with his political views. His reign of terror continued through the Cold War until it was denounced in 1954. Also, FBI director Edgar Hoover was involved in the investigations and arrests of the communist activities (.MacKenzie,2011). His agency used large files, wiretaps, and subversives to infiltrate the communists’ groups. The high profile legal cases utilized the information obtained. For example, his agents were responsible for building a case against Julius Rosenberg and his wife from 1915 to 1983, which let to espionage convictions and execution.
The concerns about communism heightened when the Soviet Union tested a nuclear bomb led by communist that too control in China. Therefore, the U.S troops took over to combat the communist supported forces in North Korea. The act further convinced the U.S citizens that the Reds were a real danger taking over their country. McCarthyism flamed the situation that exaggerated the possibilities, thus causing panic and jeopardizing freedom.

References
Schrecker, E., & Deery, P. (2004). The age of McCarthyism: A brief history with documents (p. 196). New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press. History essay paper writers
MacKenzie, D. C. (2011). Canada’s Red Scare: 1945-1957 (p. 61). Canadian Historical Association.