How did Communism affect the United States after World War II??

Answer 1

One of the biggest ways was creating abject paranoia and ultimately a massive arms race and build up on both sides which we are still cursed with.

Answer 2

It started the Cold War and the build up of nuclear weapons between the USSR and the United States. Senator Joe McCarthy also started a modern-day "witch hunt" to root out all suspected communists in the United States. The McCarthy trials continued into the early part of the 1950's, at which time they became televised and people saw the bullying tactics that were being used and popular support for the trials ended. Public paranoia that communists were going to take over the United States continued until the end of the Cold War in the early 1990's. During the 1950's and 1960's, people were building "Fallout Shelters" to protect themselves and their families in the event of a nucluear war between the US and the USSR. You may want to research the Bay of Pigs, and watch some movies, such as "Red Dawn", that deal with this topic.

Answer 3

Substantially, in that it was perceived as a threat. This led to many things; the following list is by no means complete:
- McCarthyism. The hunt for Communist agents in government and elsewhere.
- The cold war.
- NATO.
- Increasing defense budgets.
- The hydrogen bomb.
- US involvement in the Korean war.
- US involvement in Viet Nam.

Answer 4

it started the cold war, 40 years of the arms race.