The Cold War stemmed from a mutual mistrust between the United States and the Soviet Union. The lack of trust between the two nations was caused by political and economic differences, Stalin’s hostility, and Stalin’s alliance with Hitler and expansion into Eastern Europe (Fagnilli 22). While the United …show more content…
The Federal Employee Loyalty Program was established to investigate government employees and dismiss the disloyal (Danzer 823). Though only 212 employees were dismissed by the program, another 2,900 quit in protest of the investigation. Another instance involved the investigation of forty-three witnesses from Hollywood under the suspicion of allowing Communists to infiltrate the film industry (Danzer 823). The Hollywood Ten were a group of witnesses who believed that the hearings violated their constitutional rights, and their refusal to cooperate resulted in their imprisonment, in addition to being blacklisted (Danzer 823). Senator Joe McCarthy conducted a “witch hunt” by claiming to have names of Communists in State Departments (Danzer 826), though he did not produce names, and his bullying of witnesses alienated his supporters (Danzer 827). The extreme fear of Communism resulted in 40% of people considering building a bomb shelter during the late 1950s, which could cost anywhere from $100 to $5,000