Post on 14-Apr-2018
8/2/2019 1950s Magazine Project Article
1/2
Who wants to be a True American?
The second red scare occurred after World War Two because of disagreements between the
United States and the Soviet Union over the atomic bomb and reconstruction of Europe after the
war. The Red Scare led to the concept of a true American. A true American was someone who
pledged their allegiance to the nation through the flag salute and valued democracy, republicanism
and Protestantism highly. As a result, Senator Joseph McCarthy laid off many citizens from their
government positions. Even though Senator McCarthys rhetoric made the American people
perceive people who were communist un-american, the House and and the senate committees
contributed to the overall concept of True American.
Before Congress elected Senator Joseph McCarthy, a House of Representatives committee,
House Un-American Activities Committee, served as a basis for McCarthys argument against the
Communists. This committee prosecuted citizens who were engaged in, believed in Communism,
or interacted with communists. Other un-American activities include the practice of atheism and
the belief in Karl Marx. To the house committee, people living in America and engaged in
communism were Un American. This concept of un-American gained notoriety with the House
committee and contributed to an increase in jingoism, extreme nationalism. Like the Overman,
Fish, and Special Committee on Un American activities, the House Un-American Activities
wanted to identify people who plotted fascist schemes to take over the White House. These people
were identified by their hesitation to answer the committees questions.
Additionally, a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy. Senator
McCarthy used the work of the Un-American Activities committee to ruin the lives of many
people. He led the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. These investigations
rallied the American people and painted a picture in their minds that all forms of socialism and
8/2/2019 1950s Magazine Project Article
2/2
communism are bad. This image of communism as evil made people panic and fear the anything
related to communists or the color red. The red scare part two resulted in changes to the pledge of
allegiance and inhumane interrogation techniques.
By changing the pledge of allegiance, the United States government took a step to ensure
that the Communist Party of America does not get the right to govern. The government wanted to
reaffirm Americas religious heritage and counter the atheist beliefs of the communist party and
communist states.The mandated pledge of allegiance forced all government buildings to recite the
pledge of allegiance before the start of the day. This forced Americans to swear loyalty to the
nation. It made the government feel secure about its position in the free world.
Even though Senator Joseph McCarthy laid off and questioned many citizens from their
government positions, Senator McCarthy only contributed a small part to the concept of True
American. Some of the other contributing members include the House Committee for Un
American Activities and the entire United States government. These committees cooperated with
each other to fight communism and atheism.