Why did the Red Scare shake the US between 1947-1954?

Answer 1

The Red Scare shook the US during that time because of the impending threat of communism. At the end of World War II, the Soviet communist regime was an enormous threat. It took an oppressive hold of East Germany and their military threat increased. At home, many right-wing conservatives pushed the anti-communism card b/c they were under the impression that communism perversed the mind and that it brainwashed US political leaders. Elizabeth Dilling was the first staunch anti-communist and as the threat became a joke later (with McCarthy's false list of communist spies in the US gov't), many leftists associated all anti-communists as nuts with affiliations with Dilling.

There's a whole wealth of knowledge on it, but this is just a general breakdown. The communist scare in the 1960s focuses more on the Cuban Missile Crisis and Castro's relations with Cuba. But for time's sake, the 1940s and 1950s were more about a "perceived" threat.

Answer 2

It was a panic induced by the US government to strengthen support for its anti Soviet policies.

Answer 3

People like McCarthy and Hoover were so anti-Communist, that they used lies and propaganda to make it seem like a communist spy was hiding behind every door, ready to kill. The fact that the USSR got nuclear weapons during this time didn't help.