What were the causes of intense fear of communist subversion in the late 1940s and early 1950s?

Answer 1

The First Red Scare: 1918-1920
After the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), for some derision turned to abiding hostility and fear. The government's wave of arrests, deportations and trials during the period 1918-1920 is often referred to by historians as the "First Red Scare."

During World War II, however, both the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union promoted Russo-American friendship out of the need for a solid front against the Axis Powers. With Hitler's defeat, then, came the mutual fear and rivalry that produced the new hostility of the Cold War era. American mainstream political culture saw Communist affiliation as fundamentally treasonous.

The Truman Loyalty Campaign
Under the demands of the Cold War's Truman Doctrine, the Truman Administration set up a Loyalty Campaign at home as well as funded anti-Communist efforts abroad.

The "Second" Red Scare: 1947-1954
Public anxiety increased dramatically in 1949 when Americans learned that the Soviet Union had successfully tested its first atomic bomb. For the first time in recent American history, the United States faced a realistic threat from abroad. Reaction was sharp and swift. The government began investigating possible links between American Communists and the passing of U.S. atomic secrets to the Russians. This led to a number of high-profile prosecutions, culminating in the conviction and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

During the sensational Rosenberg trial, a flamboyant young prosecutor named Roy Cohn caught the eye of an ambitious U.S. Senator named Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy recruited Cohn and the up-and-coming communist hunter became the Senator's chief of staff. Before they were done, their partnership would cut quite a swath across the American political and social landscape.

Casting about for a sure-fire reelection theme, McCarthy settled on the hunt for Communist subversives.

The climate of fear and anxiety accompanying the growing Cold War rivalry with the now atomically-armed Soviet Union caused many Americans to give credence to any "danger" pointed out to them by an authority figure.

Answer 2

Communist Subversion

Answer 3

Any change is threatening to the "normal" people. Being a capitalistic society, the Americans feared the communists as it was the exact opposite of the capitalistic one that was the norm in America.
Capitalists believe in individual growth and development that brings about better social standards. The communists were against the individual growth. What was focussed on was forced equality.
The Americans were scared of this "mutant" social behavior of the communists. Not "normal" at all.

Answer 4

Since the wall fell in the '90's the US no longer feared communism, it had to find a new enemy, and it is named "fundamental Muslims." Compare/contrast McCarthyism in the '50's to the Patriot Act and what the US is doing today.

Answer 5

I'm not sure WHAT caused it--probably politicians trying to get us to look away from what THEY were doing here at home--but I'll tell you one thing: it made my childhood a living hell. I expected "Communists" to charge into my church while we were at Mass one morning, line everyone up against the wall, and shoot us if we said that we believed in God.

And, who'd' thunk it: nuns were actually living the most "communistic" existence of them all.......