Chien tranh lanh (tiep theo)

The Use of
American
Propaganda During
the Cold War
Kristin M AHAP- DEF
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua
NY

Essential Question
How did propaganda
reflect on American
fears and support during
the Cold War?

The Red Scare : Hysteria

In the 1950’s, communism was not an imagined enemy, it had
concrete shape in the form of the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin.

Many hindrances were encountered in America’s fight against
communism:

The Korean deadlock

The defeat of China

The development of the Atomic bomb by the Soviets

People were searching for somebody to blame, and many were drawn
to the suggestion of a communist conspiracy among the American

nation.

State and local governments, the judiciary, schools and universities,
labor unions – all sought to rid themselves of real or imagined
subversives.

Not only was the fear of communism in the air, but also the fear of
being suspected of ties with communists.

This panic gave way to an extraordinary public figure whose behavior
was merely accepted because of the crucial times that called for such
actions.

Joseph McCarthy

National spotlight shone
first on McCarthy in
1950, when he made a
speech in Wheeling,
W.Va. He declared he
had a list of 205
Communists working in
the State Department.

In the 1950’s, he became
the most visible public
face during a period of
extreme anti-
communism tensions.
Republican US Senator

from Wisconsin

McCarthy’s Manner

Along with his immoral assistants, Roy Cohn and
David Schine, McCarthy moseyed his way through
federal offices and American embassies seeking
evidence of communist influence.

One after another were harassed by McCarthy’s
subcommittee and their public careers were soon
destroyed due to feeble proof produced by McCarthy.

His accusations were without confirmation yet a rising
community in the US grew to adore his policies and
the assaults he was making on those subversives, real
or phony.

McCarthyism

Is characterized by uncontrollable, and
unproven accusations, as well as public
attacks on the character or patriotism of
political opponents

No one was able to bash
McCarthy without the
risk of being called a
communist spy or
sympathizer, even

President Eisenhower
remained silent.
Have a care,
sir.

In the summer of 1954, a
branch of the American
Legion denounced the Girl
Scouts, calling the "one
world" ideas advocated in
their publications "un-
American."

House of Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC)

In search of an issue to attack the Democratic
party with, the Republican-controlled
Congress established the House of Un-
American Activities Committee with the goal
to prove that the government under
Democratic rule, had tolerated communist
sedition.

A committee that was made up of the U.S.
House of Representatives, was created to
investigate treachery and subversive
associations. (1938–75)

“Hollywood Ten”


The movie industry was the first to be
attacked by HUAC, claiming that
communists had broke into
Hollywood and polluted America
with propaganda.

Writers and producers were called to
testify and when some refused to
answer questions about their own
political views, they were jailed for
their disdain.

Not only were these ten fined and
sentenced to years in jail for
contempt of Congress, they were also
blacklisted from working in the film
industry in Hollywood until the
1960's when the ban was lifted.
Herbert Biberman, Martin
Popper, Robert W. Kenny,
Albert Maltz, Lester Cole,
Dalton Trumbo, John Howard
Lawson, Alvah Bessie, Samuel
Ornitz, Ring Lardner Jr.,
Edward Dmytryk, Adrian Scott.

...Continued

There were many grounds by which

HUAC investigators arrested those
in the entertainment business

sympathy toward the American
Communist Party

involvement in liberal or
humanitarian political causes that
enforcers associated with
communism

refusal to assist federal
investigations into Communist
Party activities

Some were blacklisted merely
because their names came up at the
wrong place and time

“We have exposed
their lies when we
came across them,
we have opposed
their
propaganda...”
“I have turned
down quite a few
scripts because I
thought they
were tinged with

communistic
ideas.”
“They looked at
a lot of our
pictures, and I
think they ran a
lot of them in
Russia, but then
turned them back
to us ... They
didn't suit their
purposes.”
“Nobody has
stated just what
they mean by
propaganda. I
use the term to
mean anything
which gives a
good
impression of
communism as
a way of life.”
Ronald Reagan
Walt Disney
Gary Cooper
Ayn Rand
HUAC Hearings (Click on individual pictures to read on!)