Cold War Rising Tension Essay

Rising Fears and Rising Tensions After the end of WWII, times were changing, for the worst. This was caused by a new, worldly, problem affecting our country, the threat of the Reds. It all started when America and Great Britain were forced to ally with Stalin. America and Great Britain never really trusted him; Stalin feared Capitalism and expected the whole world to be like Russia, Communist. These trust issues are what led to many incidents and disagreements. These issues are what led to the Cold War. During the early stages of the Cold War, fear and tensions were increased because of the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and the Rosenberg Trial. The Red Scare was the cause / creation of fear, of a potential rise of Communism. This was the main cause of the Cold War. The Red Scare was based on the fact that Communism was spreading rapidly. People were scared that it was to reach America. That was only the First Red Scare; the Second Red Scare also increased fear. The Second Red Scare was caused by Communist spies who infiltrated the American Government. Now people were becoming scared because there was the possibility they could take over the American Government. Joseph McCarthy was a U.S. Republican Senator from Wisconsin. On February 9th 1950, he gave a speech
concerning Communism; it created the idea of McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the idea of anti-Communism. McCarthyists demanded a hunt for all Communists and everyone remotely related to Communism. It evoked fear in Americans that the Red Scare was much worse than it seemed. It led the charge to add laws restricting Communist, and Communism affiliates, the charge even gave the public names of know Communists. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the average American citizens, but to some they had a dark and scary secret.
In 1950, they were accused of being Russian spies. That was the start of the Rosenberg Trials. After President Truman announced to the public that three wee spies in this country who gave Russia the secrets to building an atomic bomb. That was during the height of McCarthy’s Communist hunts. Once people found out the culprits were the Rosenbergs, two ordinary citizens, they started thinking. Since they were disguised as citizens, then anyone else who is a citizen could also be a Russian spy. People started freaking out about this, it made people terrified that there could be more Russian
spies. The Red Scare, McCarthyism, and the Rosenberg Trials were the three major causes of fear tensions in America. They changed everyone, people had to change the ways in which they ran their lives. No matter what part of America a person was from, that person was affected. Now people based their lives on fear, and fear alone. This idea of fear and tensions is the main effect of the Cold War in America.