They feared communist takeover and nuclear warfare.
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?"
In the 1950s, thousands of Americans who toiled in the government, served in the army, worked in the movie industry, or came from various walks of life had to answer that question before a congressional panel.
Senator Joseph McCarthy rose to national prominence by initiating a probe to ferret out communists holding prominent positions. During his investigations, safeguards promised by the Constitution were trampled.
Why were so many held in thrall to the Wisconsin lawmaker? Why was an environment that some likened to the Salem Witch Trials tolerated?
The Atomic Era
In 1947, President Truman had ordered background checks of every civilian in service to the government. When Alger Hiss, a high-ranking State Department official was convicted on espionage charges, fear of communists intensified.
McCarthy capitalized on national paranoia by proclaiming that Communist spies were omnipresent and that he was America's only salvation.
An atmosphere of fear of world domination by communists hung over America in the postwar years. There were fears of a nuclear holocaust based on the knowledge that the Soviet Union exploded its first A-bomb in 1949. That same year, China, the world's most populous nation, became communist. Half of Europe was under Joseph Stalin's influence, and every time Americans read their newspapers there seemed to be a new atomic threat.
Why were people so afraid in the 1940s and 1950s?
They feared communist takeover and nuclear warfare.
They feared the Nazi party would return and create World War III.
They feared communist spies would steal their identities.
They feared McCarthy would rise to power by playing on their paranoia.
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