You might be a communist if...
Big Figures
Consequences for the Accused
Increasing Tensions
Other!
100
A new policy during the Korean War stated that you needed to be reviewed. Over 3,000 maritime workers lost their jobs due to this.
Were you working aboard an American ship?
100
This Republican Senator is largely known for setting off the Second Red Scare after claiming he had a list of 205 known Communists within the US state department.
Who was Joseph McCarthy?
100
Employers were concerned that association with communism could damage their companies' reputations, leading to this consequence for employees suspected of such ties.
What is being fired due to suspected communist sympathies?
100
The 1949 creation of this communist state caused the US government to be more suspicious of citizens of foreign descent.
What is the People’s Republic of China?
100
This 1953 play was an allegory for the Red Scare, depicting the Salem witch trials.
What is The Crucible?
200
You were subject to multiple rounds of testifying against communism and received death threats over the phone, but were eventually exonerated. However, you were later forced from your role in the State Department, as was case for Esther Brunauer.
Did you display “internationalist” views?
200
This genius physicist was denounced as a Communist spy and closely watched by the FBI.
Who was Albert Einstein?
200
This term refers to the practice of denying employment to individuals suspected of communist sympathies. This was especially prevalent in the entertainment industry.
What was blacklisting?
200
This 1949 military alliance was created by Western countries to counter the spread of the Soviet Union and communism.
What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
200
This term describes the tendency to accuse others to protect oneself from suspicion, which eroded trust in communities and workplaces.
What is scapegoating?
300
A security hearing could have been held against you, with your security clearance revoked. This happened to J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Did you want to avoid an arms race with the USSR?
300
This American President published an executive order requiring all federal civil-service employees to be screened for loyalty to the state.
Who was Harry Truman?
300
Accusations of communism could lead to loss of this for American immigrants, even if they were longtime U.S. residents.
What is citizenship?
300
Several people confessed to committing this crime during the Manhattan Project, and were subsequently executed.
What was Soviet espionage?
300
Fear of communism led to censorship and a decline in this literary genre, once used to explore progressive and leftist ideas.
What is social realism?
400
Due to ties to left-wing or “communist” organizations, you could have been blacklisted, as in the case of Leonard Bernstein, famous composer.
Were you involved with a left-wing political organization?
400
This Supreme Court Justice made a series of rulings overturning several laws to protect civil and political rights to end the Second Red Scare.
Who was Chief Justice Earl Warren?
400
Parents accused of communist sympathies could lose this important legal aspect.
What is custody?
400
The US and the USSR largely fought the Cold War through this type of conflict.
What is a proxy war?
400
This phrase, coined during the Red Scare, referred to liberal intellectuals who were unfairly targeted or lost their jobs.
What is "fellow traveler"?
500
By refusing to sign a loyalty oath, you could have been fired, as happened to Edward C. Tolman, who sued the University of California in response.
Were you in support of academic freedom?
500
This FBI director was charged with the task of investigating foreign espionage within the US, including the investigation of left-wing activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. He frequently collected damaging information on politicians for blackmail.
Who was J. Edgar Hoover?
500
These oaths, still required by the state of California, ensure that all government officials and employees swear allegiance to the United States and its laws.
What are loyalty oaths?
500
The explosive event in August 1949 showed the US that the Russians were not fooling around.
What was the Soviet detonation of the atomic bomb?
500
This person was largely responsible for the Soviet Fear of American power.
Who was Chuck Norris?