McCarthyism Fear of the Red Menace and the Cold War Response Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 336 words ( 1 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Cold War’s Impact on American Life

As John David Skrentny points out, the Cold War helped to remove some of the obstacles that prevented African Americans from obtaining their civil rights in the 20th century. The Communists of the Soviet Union used American racism as a cudgel with which to browbeat America for its hypocritical values and so-called freedom. America was essentially forced to respond by adopting a more liberal stance towards equal rights and to pursue a policy and culture of desegregation.

Middle class white Americans were shaped by the Cold War in other ways: rather than open up for them an avenue of social advancement as it did for African Americans, many middle class white Americans became fearful and paranoid about the Red Menace, and they turned to leaders like Senator Joe McCarthy for help in uncovering Communists in the government and in Hollywood. This led to the era of McCarthyism and the persecution of people just for having sympathies with the Communist party or for not giving up names to the government of people suspected of being a Communist.

Stuck Writing Your "McCarthyism Fear of the Red Menace and the Cold War" Response Paper?

View All Our Example McCarthyism Fear of the Red Menace and the Cold War Response Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

The threat of nuclear war also frightened many middle class white Americans, especially in the 1960s as a standoff between the US and Soviet-backed Cuba threatened to take the world to the brink of all-out nuclear war. Kennedy stated in his 1962 speech that the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba represented “an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas” (Kennedy). The difference for white Americans and African Americans was that white Americans lived in fear during the Cold War, while African Americans saw it for what it was: an opportunity for them to leverage American insecurities and concern for its own image to their advantage and push in a public way for equal rights.
.....

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"McCarthyism Fear Of The Red Menace And The Cold War" (2020, May 21) Retrieved May 29, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/mccarthyism-fear-red-menace-cold-war-2175246

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"McCarthyism Fear Of The Red Menace And The Cold War" 21 May 2020. Web.29 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/mccarthyism-fear-red-menace-cold-war-2175246>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"McCarthyism Fear Of The Red Menace And The Cold War", 21 May 2020, Accessed.29 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/mccarthyism-fear-red-menace-cold-war-2175246
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example