Red Scare vs Salem Witch Trials

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When comparing the "Red Scare" in America in the 1950s to the Salem Witch trials in America at the end of the 1600s, some similarities are obvious. Both events created hysteria by stirring up people's irrational fears. The "Red Scare" refers to the fear of communism in the 1950s. This was actually the second "Red Scare." The first took place earlier and referred to the fear that a Bolshevik revolution would take place in America. The second "Red Scare" was also known as "McCarthyism" due to its most famous supporter, a man named Senator Joseph McCarthy. After World War II, many people feared communism. Then, things like Soviet Union spying, the Berlin blockade, the Iron Curtain, and the Chinese cultural revolution increased this fear. In the 1930's, communism seemed good to some people in the United States. After World War II began, the United States Congress passed something called the Alien Registration Acts. These acts made it a crime to organize a group that would overthrow the U.S. government. The Alien Registration Acts also required that all foreigners in the United States register with the government. This act was mainly directed at communists. In the 1940's there was an organization called the Communist Party of the U.S.A. or the "CPUSA." It had a slogan that: "Communism was Americanism." The CPUSA tried to make communism acceptable in the United States. In March 1947, President Harry S. Truman created the "Federal Employees Loyalty Program." This program established review boards that assessed the Americanism of various people, especially government employees. This board recommended that people who spied for the Soviet Union be fired. These people would be considered "un-American." The United States House of Representatives created a committee called the "Un-American Activities Committee" or HUAC. Together with Senator Joseph McCarthy, the HUAC

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