What led the united states to believe that there were communists living within the U.S?
79975
Perhaps the fact that there were.  The gent that insists McCarthy was a moron might be living in a glass house.  \n\nAs it turns out, now the the Dept of the Army released some of the classified data from the Venona Project which enabled them to translate Soviet ciphers (they weren't real interested in letting the Soviets know they had that capability before the Cold War was over), McCarthy wasn't wrong about any of them, particulary most of Roosevelt's cabinet.
230494
Thanks for the link. Although I have so much to read already, I may have to get that book. I also don't need anyone to tell me that Communism is run by thugs, all power structures have the same problem, e.g. the GOP in this country albeit in a different way.
177277
There were two main places communists got involved in World War II.  The first, obviously, was Russia.  They were, ironically enough, our allies in the fight against the Nazis.  The second was the underground movements in occupied countries.  Since communists were banned by the Nazis, they already had a network of secret cells and communication systems.  They were the ones, after all, who invented the Molotov Cocktail and other guerrilla fighting techniques.  And there is no denying that some of them were very brave and took terrible risks in the underground fighting.  This also clearly gave them some key positions when the war was over, and they took maximum advantage of the fact.
231719
He was referring to the threat of the spread of COMMUNISM...whether it be in Russia, SE Asia, etc.\n\nAsk the French in their territory named INDO-CHINA... VIETNAM.\n\nAsk the people in the Balkans...
335022
Ronald Reagan helped Americans recall that being American was special. He was not cowed by polling data.\n\nHe chose strong informed people to surround him and he drove them to decisions in pursuit of the idea that Democracy would win over Communism.  While that seems odd today, at the time, there was no guarantee that Democracy was going to survive and flourish in the face of expansionist Communism.\nReagan used the economic engine of the US economy to spend the Russians into oblivion as they tried to match might-for-might. Eventually, they imploded as a result.
44469
Other than China, Communism is very prevalent in N. Korea with their totalitarian dictatorship. It is also the form of government in Cuba. This form of government in Cuba leads many people to leave the country via floating objects trying to end up in the Florida Keys. When these people land "feet dry" they can file for asylum in the United States to protect them from the Cuban government.
487189
One of the communist party's objectives in the middle 1960's was to infiltrate the American education system.  If you ask me they have succeeded.  Our education system is full of socialists and communist apologists.  They try to brainwash you by making you feel inferior if you challenge their ideas.  Unfortunately, many young Americans fall for their hogwash and carry those ideas on into maturity.  Thankfully, experience drives intelligent people towards the conservative perspective.  You know what they say, "if you are not a liberal when you are young then you have no heart and if you are not a conservative when you are old then you have no brain".
910242
My understanding (from my college days), is that communism is a political system, and socialism is an economic system.\n\nSo socialism contrasts with capitalism.\n\nOnly those of us on the very far left in the US are socialists; most democrats and liberals are not -- though some believe in SOME socialism (such as Social Security and welfare for the poor, medicare, and other things).\n\nCompared to civilized countries, we don't really have much of a left here.\n\nWell, I guess the progressives are fairly left, and that's a growing group.\n\nBut most Americans, including liberals and democrats, are capitalists, with liberals and dems having slight socialist leanings.\n\nNo democrats or liberals are communist, as far as I know.\n\nThere is a communist party in the US, but it's tiny.
124824
Communism and Marxist theory is no longer considered to be a threat, mostly due to the Soviet Union's fall from power. China is the last large Communist nation and has the fastest growing economy in the world.\n\nAlthough communism has given socialism in general a bad name, many Western European countries have been able to effectively utilize various socialist ideals in capitalist societies. Unfortunately, Americans still feel somewhat threatened when hearing the label 'socialist.' \n\nThe problem with communism wasn't its connection to socialism; the spread of communism became a problem due to fascist regimes and movements. Fascism is a current worldwide threat, in addition to existing societies based on religious fundamentalism.
419764
Communism would be the main cause of U.S.'s entrance into WWII, as a result of Hitler's growing power in Europe.
923003
Your question is the dream of American Communists who continue to insist - nearly two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union - that Communism didn't fail it was just never really tried. I think they all need to take another long hit on their bong and move on. Human beings are social creatures, but basically interested in self-preservation, we will never submit our individuality to the will of a collective and adopt a hive mentality. Which is the reason that our system, for all its flaws, is the most successful in the history of the world. It's the most natural state for human beings in which to prosper.
291996
Interesting question. It definitely was a time of much greater innocence on the part of the public. There was little of the "muckraking" of today, so we didn't see much of the seamier side of politics. There were backroom deals, of course, but we didn't know of them.\nPoliticians such as Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson were articulate and seemingly honest. \nThere were notable similarities to today, specifically the McCarthy era in the early 1950s. Politicians then were searching for the Commies and the Commie-sympathizers, and especially focused on the film industry and universities.\nThere were few and infrequent news sources compared to today. Newspapers, radio, film, and the fledgling tv interests gave us news headlines.\nThere also seemed to be much more willingness of democrats and republicans to be civil towards each other, both at the level of political parties and among individuals, as compared to the current atmosphere.\nOverall, the country was far more conservative in its values. Females tended to be homemakers; no one would admit to being gay or lesbian; minorities had little access to jobs and power; environmental concerns were of little interest. One of the few things that tended more toward a democratic position was the power of unions at that time--they were much more prominent.
115391
One way to structure an answer is to look at the resources the United States had and now has to deter Communism abroad. During the Cold War vitually our entire military capability was focused on deterring the Communist threat to the U.S.  Today in spite of 1.5 Communist nuclear equipped countries (China 1.0, N. Korea .5), virtually none of our defense budget is directed against this "threat".  Economic globilization has (since the wall came down in Germany) and will continue to "protect our six" from Communism
201504
There are some who believe that we are indeed a colonial empire.\n\nHowever we (the US) are not National Socialists, we are a Federal Republic, with all that implies about checks and balances between levels and branches of government. WE the people of the US are the US government.\n\nTake a look at the book Empire (see link) whose thesis is that YOUR "we" the Empire is in fact not the US alone, but all the industrialized nations, and multinational organizations and corporations. \n\nMaybe so. But don't you think trolling with the acronym for National Socialism is a bit extreme if you are actually looking for a thoughtful answer?
297048
Red Scare/McCarthyism :)
417036
Well, since the Central Powers were Germany, Austria, and Hungary, I would guess that the German and Hungarian communities tried to get the U.S. swinging that way.  Good thing we stuck with the Allies.
678530
The Truman Doctrine and the Domino theory saying that if one country falls to communism it will lead to anothe then another then another until the entire world is communist so we will fight communism country by country.  Oh also we were bailing France out, funny how we bail them out but they screw us over all the time.