Starter quiz
- Write the missing word. Many people investigated as suspected communists during the Red Scare were ______, meaning they were blocked from getting jobs.
- 'blacklisted' ✓
- Who became a prominent leader in the hunt for communists during the Red Scare?
- Dwight D Eisenhower
- Harry Truman
- Joseph McCarthy ✓
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- How many American communist spies were found by the Loyalty programme?
- 0 ✓
- 57
- 378
- 2136
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- Why was the 'loss' of China important for the second Red Scare in the USA?
- increased worries about communism ✓
- reduced fears of communism and led to an end of the Red Scare
- revealed that many leading American officials had betrayed the USA
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- Which statement is most accurate?
- US presidents led the Red Scare
- US presidents did their best to end the Red Scare
- US presidents did little to publicly challenge the Red Scare ✓
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- Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronologoical order.
- 1⇔End of WW2
- 2⇔Eastern Europe falls under Soviet control
- 3⇔The USSR develops its own nuclear weapons
- 4⇔Joseph McCarthy announces he has a list of communists in the US governemnt
- 5⇔McCarthy acuses US army officers of being communists
- 6⇔McCarthyism comes to an end
Exit quiz
- What was the campaign against alleged communists in the USA led by Joseph McCarthy referred to as?
- 'McCarthyism' ✓
- What new genre of music was particularly popular with American teenagers in the 1940s and 1950s?
- Jazz
- Rock and Roll ✓
- Swing
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- Which of the following groups was often targeted by McCarthyism?
- African Americans
- LGBTQ+ people ✓
- veterans
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- Which statement is most accurate?
- The income of US men rose but women's did not after 1945
- The income of US women rose but men's did not after 1945
- The income of US men and women rose after 1945 ✓
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- Which statement is most accurate?
- There can only be one accurate interpretation of a historical event or period
- There can be multiple accurate interpretations of a historical event or period ✓
- Only a professional historian's interpretation can be considered accurate
-
- Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
- 1⇔GI Bill passed
- 2⇔Most of Truman's Fair Deal blocked by political opponents
- 3⇔Joseph McCarthy claims he has a list of 205 communists working in the government
- 4⇔McCarthy loses power
- 5⇔Over 60 million watch a TV performance by Elvis Presley
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Most Americans enjoyed rising incomes after WW2.
- Poverty remained widespread and other economic inequalities remained.
- Widespread TV and radio ownership allowed many Americans to access popular culture.
- Teenage identity and interests were considered dangerous by some older Americans.
- The Red Scare threatened many Americans civil liberties.
Common misconception
There is always a singular accurate interpretation of events and periods in history.
There can be many accurate interpretations of historical periods and these may differ from one another depending on what they focus on.
Keywords
Mccarthyism - McCarthyism was the campaign against alleged communists in the USA led by Joseph McCarthy
Communism - communism is the belief that wealth should be shared equally between people
Civil liberties - the freedom people have to do, think, and say what they want is known as civil liberties
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