Essays Truman

• Second Red Scare


  Making direct accusations about widespread (communist) conspiracies with little or no evidence and causing irrational fears
• McCarthyism


  • Exaggerated accusations, leading Americans into the Second Red Scare and its damage
• Truman's foreign policy


  Stirred up conflict and communication ongoings to American citizens
• Truman confidently stated the use of atomic weapons in the Korean War: "This will include every weapon that we have"
• Truman's statements sent shocks around the world
• Truman had a tendency to view things in a black and white manner
• Truman had a motive to stir up conflict, in order to establish a strong Western European Market
• Truman introduced the Truman Doctrine, Marshall aid and the Berlin airlift 1948-1949
• Truman issued executive order No. 9835, which established the Federal employees Loyalty and Security Program
• The Order led to organisations starting their own investigations to root out communists, causing anti-communist hysteria
• The National Security Act established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency
• Truman depended heavily on the FBI to check the backgrounds of federal employees and prosecute Communist leaders
• Truman did little to prevent Hoover's investigations and public statements
• Truman was not worried too much about McCarthyism and Communism
• Truman was against too much control from the FBI
• Truman was limited by Congress, e.g. the McCarren International Security Act of 1950
• Truman was only president until 1952, before McCarthyism spiked in 1954
• Joseph McCarthy


  • Made accusations without evidence, yet being feared, showing the immense impact he had in causing the second red scare
• McCarthy delivered a speech on 9 February 1950 announcing he had a list of 205 communists working in the state department
• McCarthy's hearings were televised and exhibited his recklessness, cynicism and brutality
• McCarthy ultimately became a parody to himself and crossed a line, which may have limited the damage
• The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was established in 1938, suggesting the Red Scare was underway earlier
• The HUAC investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities, e.g. the Hollywood Ten
• The Alger Hiss case, where he was convicted of perjury, was a significant HUAC hearing
• McCarthy ultimately becomes a parody to himself and crossed a line, which would also suggest that there may have been less damage as the source indicates
• After questioning D-Day hero Brigadier General Ralph Zwicker stating, "You are a disgrace to the uniform you wear", and requesting his colleges to directly report to him, which according to J. E: Smith was "beyond the pale"
• McCarthy's hearings took place in April 1954, where he is humiliated as a "fairy", and gets voted out of the senate 67 to 22
• HUAC


  House Un-American Activities Committee, established in 1938, which investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities of private citizens, and especially government employees or especially those working in Hollywood
• HUAC hearings


  • The Hollywood Ten, a group of left-wing writers and producers that were brought before HUAC in 1947, jailed and banned from working in Hollywood
• The HUAC hearings on Alger Hiss "stands out as among the most dramatic in the history of the Red Scare"
• The HUAC may indicate that it was neither McCarthy nor Truman who should be significantly held accountable as the Leftist and communist fear had been underway much earlier than the 1950s
• Truman


  Least likely to take Roosevelt's place, inexperienced especially in foreign policy, hasty inauguration into presidency
• International events heightening public concerns about communism

  • 1948 Czech coup
  • Berlin blockade
  • Communist revolution in China 1949
  • Korean War 1950-1953
  • Soviet Union exploding its first atomic bomb in 1949
• Truman's biased advisors


  Trigger for harsher foreign policy
• Stalin and Soviet Union's actions

  Trigger for harsher foreign policy
• Truman's actions and behaviours were the most significant in triggering the start of the Cold War
• Truman


  • Straightforward, decisive, simple and entirely honest leadership style
  • Inexperienced in foreign policy, acted in a piecemeal way, lacking coherent policy
• Truman dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki


  Set the tone for the rest of the Cold War, got a head start in the Arms race
• Truman concealed the existence of the atomic bomb from Stalin, disregarding Oppenheimer's concerns
• Truman's meeting with Molotov in April 1945


  Left Molotov feeling like he had never been talked to like that before, differed in style compared to Roosevelt