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Who wants to be a True American?

The second red scare occurred after World War Two because of disagreements between the

United States and the Soviet Union over the atomic bomb and reconstruction of Europe after the

war. The Red Scare led to the concept of a true American. A true American was someone who

pledged their allegiance to the nation through the flag salute and valued democracy, republicanism

and Protestantism highly. As a result, Senator Joseph McCarthy laid off many citizens from their

government positions. Even though Senator McCarthys rhetoric made the American people

perceive people who were communist un-american, the House and and the senate committees

contributed to the overall concept of True American.

Before Congress elected Senator Joseph McCarthy, a House of Representatives committee,

House Un-American Activities Committee, served as a basis for McCarthys argument against the

Communists. This committee prosecuted citizens who were engaged in, believed in Communism,

or interacted with communists. Other un-American activities include the practice of atheism and

the belief in Karl Marx. To the house committee, people living in America and engaged in

communism were Un American. This concept of un-American gained notoriety with the House

committee and contributed to an increase in jingoism, extreme nationalism. Like the Overman,

Fish, and Special Committee on Un American activities, the House Un-American Activities

wanted to identify people who plotted fascist schemes to take over the White House. These people

were identified by their hesitation to answer the committees questions.

Additionally, a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy. Senator

McCarthy used the work of the Un-American Activities committee to ruin the lives of many

people. He led the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. These investigations

rallied the American people and painted a picture in their minds that all forms of socialism and

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communism are bad. This image of communism as evil made people panic and fear the anything

related to communists or the color red. The red scare part two resulted in changes to the pledge of

allegiance and inhumane interrogation techniques.

By changing the pledge of allegiance, the United States government took a step to ensure

that the Communist Party of America does not get the right to govern. The government wanted to

reaffirm Americas religious heritage and counter the atheist beliefs of the communist party and

communist states.The mandated pledge of allegiance forced all government buildings to recite the

pledge of allegiance before the start of the day. This forced Americans to swear loyalty to the

nation. It made the government feel secure about its position in the free world.

Even though Senator Joseph McCarthy laid off and questioned many citizens from their

government positions, Senator McCarthy only contributed a small part to the concept of True

American. Some of the other contributing members include the House Committee for Un

American Activities and the entire United States government. These committees cooperated with

each other to fight communism and atheism.