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Igor Gouzenko
Igor Gouzenko was a cipher clerk working for Soviet Embassy in Ottawa Canada before he defected September 5th 1945. Gouzenko provided documents revealing a massive effort by the Soviet Union to infiltrate organizations and government agencies of Canada and the U.S. U.S. became stunned of this news. The fear of soviet spies escalated into a general fear of the communist subversion. -
Loyalty Review Program
Loyalty Review Program March 21, 1947 screened all federal employees. The purpose was to root out communist influence in the U.S. federal government. Between 1947-1951 over 6 million federal employees were screened for their loyalty. 14 thousand were subjected to intensive scrutiny from the FBI. Out of the 14,000 about 2,000 quit and 212 were fired, even though there was not one case with evidence to be used against them. -
Alger Hiss
On Aug 3, 1948 Whittaker Chambers testifies against Alger Hiss. Hiss was a lawyer and a diplomat who had served in Roosevelt’s administration and even attended the Yalta Conference. Hiss would sue Chambers for libel. Chambers defended himself by producing copies of secret documents along with microfilm. The whole incident helped fuel the Red Scare. -
Trumn's veto is Overruled by McCarran Act
Internal Security Act, would have required all communist party and organizations to register with the united states attorney general and publish their records (including names of their members). The members would be denied of certain rights, such as the use of passports and were excluded from employment by the federal government, labor unions, and defense facilities. Truman's veto was over ruled by the Senate. The overrule was representative of the fear of the Red Scare. -
Rosenberg Execution
. In 1950 Klaus Fuchs, a British scientist admitted sending information to the Soviet Union. His testimony led to the arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s who were charged with heading a soviet spy ring. They denied the charges but they were condemned to death. Despite all their supports the two were executed in June 19, 1953. Rosenberg trial and execution fuled the Red Scare in America. -
McCarthyism 1953
From 1953- 1954 Senator Joseph McCarthy was the chairman of the senate subcommittee on investigations. McCarthy used his position to start a witch hunt. He damaged reputations of vague and unfounded charges, this was to be remembered as McCarthyism. Thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies.
