Carolina K-12
Joe McCarthy and the Red Scare
In the 1950s, how did the Red Scare and the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy affect the American people? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents on the Red Scare, participate in a "find the Communist" simulation,...
Curated OER
The Red Scare in the 1950's
Students can learn about the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and other related topics with lesson plans that focus on the 1950's and communism.
Center for History Education
Cold War Case Files: The Rosenberg Trial - Was Justice Fairly Served?
The Rosenbergs—executed for their role in a Soviet-era spy ring—continue the captivate the American imagination. Using a history lab format, young historians examine the trove of documents associated with the case, including photographs...
National First Ladies' Library
Red Hunts, Black Lists, and Communists
Students research and examine the unsavory history of the hunt for communists in the United States during the 1950s. They divide up into groups to review the Red Scare of the 1920s as a backdrop to the McCarthy era and write a short...
Center for History Education
Guatemalan Coup of 1954: How Did the Cold War Influence American Foreign Policy Decisions?
Was it all about the bananas—or the fear of a communist threat? Young historians use a history lab to examine documents from the American-led 1954 Guatemalan coup. Using graphics, government documents, and speeches, they examine the...
Curated OER
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Understanding the historical context of Arthur Miller's The Crucible is an important part in understanding the play itself. Over 25 slides, the audience learns details of Miller's early childhood and some major events that were happening...
Curated OER
Ronald Reagan
In this online interactive history learning exercise, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about the achievements of Ronald Reagan. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive learning exercise.
National First Ladies' Library
Safety or Civil Liberty? The Trial of Sacco and Vanzet
Students investigate the Sacco-Vanzetti trial and develop a basic understanding of the issues involved. Then they write an essay taking a stance on the Sacco-Vanzetti trial: was the trial fair? were the two men falsely accused? Finally,...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: The Red Scare
A quick comprehension check over the Red Scare.
University of Washington
University of Washington: The Red Scare: A Filmography
This site from the University of Washington discusses films produced in Hollywood before, during, and after the Red Scare.
Digital History
Digital History: The Second Red Scare
Senator Joseph McCarthy did not create the national obsession with communist subversion. It had arisen in the late 1930s, years before McCarthy had come to public notice. Angry that they had been barred from the corridors of power for 20...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Anti Communism in the 1950s
[Free Registration/Login Required] An essay tracing the anti-Communist hysteria beginning in earnest at the end of World War II that resulted in Truman's federal Loyalty Security program and ending with McCarthyism in the 1950s.
Ducksters
Ducksters: The Cold War for Kids: Red Scare
Kids learn the history of the Red Scare during the Cold War. A fear of communism caused black lists and accusations led by Senator Joseph McCarthy.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Red Scare America
Describes the events that took place during the McCarthy Era and actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Ordinary Americans feared being identified as a Communist sympathizer and libraries removed books from their shelves...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Huac and Hollywood
This video and support materials detail the Hollywood blacklist and House Un-American Activities Committee, chronicling the fear of Communism and resulting blacklist based on political ideology. The video is from the American Masters...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Anticommunism in the 1950s
Looks at the paranoia of the 1950s when Americans lived in fear of communism. The House Committee on Un-American Activities created blacklists of people working in Hollywood, McCarthyism flourished, and the Rosenberg couple were tried...
Digital History
Digital History: Anti Communism During the Early 1950's
In February 1950, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy had charged that the Department of State knowingly harbored Communists. Hearings on McCarthy's accusations were held under the chairmanship of Senator Millard Tydings of Maryland. The...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Anticommunism in the 1950s
Learn about the Rosenberg trial, HUAC, and Joseph McCarthy.
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania: The Hollywood Blacklist
This site describes what went on in Hollywood during the Red Scare of the 1950s when many actors and directors were asked to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee about possible communist activity in Hollywood.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
In +J1105:J1113this allegorical drama, inspired by the witch hunt trials of 1692-93 and the 1950s Red Scare, the town of Salem is plagued by hysteria and accusations of witchcraft. Selected (9) reading passages (grades 8-12) to pair with...
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Background to the Red Scare
A brief description of the fears Americans had of the spread of Communism in Asia during the Cold War.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The 1950s: Happy Days
A brief look at American life and politics in the 1950s with an increase in consumerism and fear of the Soviet Union.
Curated OER
History Matters: Leon Sverdlove on the Taft Hartley Act
It's interesting to read about the anti-union sentiment that led to the Taft-Hartley Act after World War II, but even more amazing to see how that sentiment was tied to the anti-communist witch hunts of the time. Read the comments of the...