Red Scare

(noun)

The term Red Scare denotes the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism or radical leftism, used by anti-leftist proponents.

Related Terms

Examples of Red Scare in the following topics:

  • Red Scare

    • Postwar patriotism and fears of communism after the Russian Revolution produced the Red Scare in the U.S. in 1919-1920.
    • The Red Scare of 1919–1920 had its origins in the hyper-nationalism of World War I and was marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism.
    • The Red Scare effectively ended in the middle of 1920 after Palmer's predicted May Day uprising passed without incident.
    • A Red Scare depiction of a "European Anarchist" attempting to destroy the Statue of Liberty.
    • Describe how the Red Scare contributed to anti-labor sentiment, the Palmer Raids, and the Sedition Act of 1918.

  • McCarthyism

    • "McCarthyism" is a term arising from the paranoia of the Second Red Scare in the U.S. from 1950-54, which was fed by Joseph McCarthy, a U.S.
    • Many factors contributed to McCarthyism, some of them extending back to the years of the First Red Scare (1917–20), inspired by Communism's emergence as a recognized political force.
    • The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from 1950 to 1956 and characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents.
    • While Communism was expanding across Europe and Asia, the United States entered an era of paranoia known as the Red Scare.
    • McCarthy played on Communist fears in the U.S. during the Second Red Scare.

  • The Fifth Amendment

    • Under the Red Scare hysteria at the time of McCarthyism, witnesses who refused to answer the questions were accused as "fifth amendment communists".

  • Mass Hysteria

    • Hysteria is often associated with movements like the Salem Witch Trials, the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and Satanic ritual abuse, where it is better understood through the related sociological term of moral panic.

  • The Great Steel Strike

    • The post-war Red Scare had swept the country in the wake of the Russian revolution of October 1917, and the steel companies took advantage of the change in the political climate.
    • Identify the contributing factors to the Great Steel Strike of 1919, and how steel companies took advantage of the post-war Red Scare to end the strike.

  • War Propaganda

    • First Red Scare depiction of a "European Anarchist" attempting to destroy the Statue of Liberty.

  • The Decline of Labor

    • In addition, some employers, like the National Association of Manufacturers, used Red Scare tactics to discredit unionism by linking them to Communist activities.

  • Setbacks for Unions

    • The campaign also depicted unions as "alien" to America's individualistic spirit with NAM and other employer groups discrediting unions through Red Scare tactics that linked them to Communism.

  • The Diplomatic Revolution

    • Frederick's actions were meant to scare Russia out of supporting Austria (the two countries had previously entered into a defensive alliance in 1746).
    • The red line marks the borders of the Holy Roman Empire.

  • Hair

    • They help comprise the arrector pili muscle that causes the hairs on our body to stand on their ends when we’re cold or we’re scared.  
    • In non-human mammals this action may help add an insulating layer of air between the hair (called fur in non-human mammals) and skin, or it may be used as a way to make a scared animal look larger to its enemy.