Many Americans feared that Communism would lead to a significant erosion of civil liberties and could ultimately result in a totalitarian government. This concern is highlighted by the American Civil Liberties Union's warning that the threat to civil liberties was "the most serious in the history of our country," indicating the severity of the fear surrounding the impact of Communism. Additionally, historian Richard Hofstadter observed a "widespread foreboding among liberals" that the growth of dissent associated with Communism might "overwhelm our liberties altogether and plunge us into a totalitarian nightmare." This suggests a deep-seated anxiety that the influence of Communism could dismantle the fundamental freedoms that define American democracy.
Read these sentences from the text.
"McCarthy was an important part of the great crusade against domestic
subversion that shaped American public life in the 1950s, but he was only one
of many figures who helped create the great fear. The American Civil Liberties
Union warned that 'the threat to civil liberties today is the most serious in the
history of our country.' The historian Richard Hofstadter wrote in 1954 of 'the
widespread foreboding among liberals that this form of dissent will grow until
it overwhelms our liberties altogether and plunges us into a totalitarian
nightmare.
Based on this paragraph, what did many Americans fear Communism would
do to the country?
Support your answer with evidence from the text.
1 answer