5 Ways Communism Affected American Families

Is communism something that could take hold in today’s America?

When World War II ended, the Cold War began almost immediately after and ended with the 1991 destruction of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The first decade of the Cold War sparked massive fear that communists were trying to infiltrate and sabotage the American way of life.

Seeing the way the Soviet Union controlled Eastern Europe and continued to support the pursuit of an international communist revolution made many American people fearful and want to push back against Moscow.

Rapid political and technological victories for Soviet communism in the late 40s and early 50s practically sparked a Red Scare.

This fear of communist infiltration into the US government, the entertainment industry, and any other organizations influenced American culture, politics, and even daily life, especially in the early years of the Cold War.

Why? And how so? Let’s talk about it. Here are 5 ways communism changed American families!

Daily family life

It was in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb. That’s also when China became a communist nation. The American public feared that a communist takeover of the US and nuclear war were genuinely on the horizon.

In school, children were made to practice “duck and cover” exercises and even air raid drills. Civil Defense signs were posted on facilities designated as fallout shelters.

Even in the suburbs, families dug bomb shelters in their backyards and made sure to have them fully stocked with non-perishable foods. TV shows were constantly interrupted by tests of the Emergency Broadcast System.

The purpose of this was to remind citizens that they would be advised where to go in the event of an emergency.

The roots of fear

The US policy regarding communism at the end of World War II was concentrated on containment. This policy led people to view communism as a severe issue that had to be kept in check on very distant shores.

But by the end of 1945, a Russian clerk fleeing the Soviet Embassy in Canada supplied documents that revealed a forceful campaign by the Soviets to penetrate the US and Canadian governments. The American public was stunned.

Even more shocking was that many suspected communist agents were already working within the government.

The 1948 perjury conviction of retired diplomat Alger Hiss, who was charged with selling government secrets to the Soviets, and the 1953 murder of New York couple Ethel and Julius Rosenberg on the grounds of espionage heightened Americans’ fears even further.

Entertainment

Many Hollywood performers that were suspected of being affiliated with communism were called to testify before the House on Un-American Activities Committee at the end of the 1940s.

A few of them, including screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr., declined to cooperate and were “blacklisted,” after which they received prison sentences. Famous comedic star Lucille Ball gave outlandish testimony and was cleared of any charges.

Actor Zero Mostel consented to tell the committee anything they wanted to know about him but said his religious beliefs prevented him from talking about other suspects.

Some people in the industry never recovered from the negative accusations, even if they were baseless. Ring Lardner, Jr., though, went on to write one of the most successful television series ”MAS*H” in the 70s.

Government distrust

President Harry Truman tried to suppress the American public’s fears by forming the Loyalty Review Board and authorizing it to verify the fidelity of all government workers.

The people, however, saw the president’s action as proof that Communists were already working and living among them. So by 1951, over 200 federal employees had been let go, and thousands had been bullied into quitting their jobs on suspicion of loyalty violations.

Local governments also began running loyalty screenings. Businesses, universities, and even churches worked hard to identify communists among members and employees.

As a result of all this, thousands of people lost friends, jobs, and families during this period due to suspicion of un-American activities.

The rise of McCarthyism

A Wisconsin Senator named Joseph McCarthy took advantage of the American public’s fear of communism by claiming there were over 200 documented communists living and working in the US Department of State.

Even though he was never able to prove his claim, in 1954, he made accusations against officials in the US Army during two months of televised hearings.

While these hearings proved to be McCarthy’s undoing after Americans witnessed his unscrupulous tactics and vicious behavior, the hearings also showed the public first-hand what aggressive interrogation looked like.

The fear of being tagged subversive drove Americans to take on a standard of conformity. Movies and TV focused on wholesome entertainment, unions combined and closed ranks, and social reforms were renounced.

What are YOUR thoughts on comunism and what it did to our country? Do you think it could happen again in today’s world? Please feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

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