Historians of anti-Communism and McCarthyism have debated the roots and legacy of the anxiety about a pro-Soviet communist “invasion” that swept across the country at the start of the Cold War. Was McCarthyism about uncovering Communist influences in the U.S. government? After examining the perspectives of Senator Joseph McCarthy, President Harry Truman, and Senator Margaret Chase Smith, do you conclude that the Red Scare was strictly a response to national security threats from the Soviet Union? Was it the byproduct of anti-Communist politics run out of control? Or was it a combination of both?

Historians of anti-Communism and McCarthyism have debated the roots and legacy of the anxiety about a pro-Soviet communist “invasion” that swept across the country at the start of the Cold War. Was McCarthyism about uncovering Communist influences in the U.S. government? After examining the perspectives of Senator Joseph McCarthy, President Harry Truman, and Senator Margaret Chase Smith, do you conclude that the Red Scare was strictly a response to national security threats from the Soviet Union? Was it the byproduct of anti-Communist politics run out of control? Or was it a combination of both?