The Hysteria Of The Cold War - 3830 Words

In What Ways and to What Extent Did the Hysteria of the Cold War lead to the Trial and Execution of the Rosenbergs? Fearing the unknown is a common aspect of human nature. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were an average married couple living in New York City during the Cold War. They were members of the Communist Party when anti-Communist feelings in the United States were at their peak. Little did they know that as they continued with their daily lives, a series of investigations were being conducted that would soon land them in the electric chair. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused and convicted of passing along confidential atomic bomb information to Soviet Union spies. After a long battle, they were executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in 1953. The couple never admitted guilt to the charges, and their conviction and execution caused their two young boys to grow up without parents. The Rosenberg trial is still considered one of the most controversial events in United States history. Few other trials have instigated as much debate, aroused such passion or generated as many books and articles. Thus the question arises: in what ways and to what extent did the hysteria of the Cold War lead to the trial and execution of the Rosenbergs? The 1951 trial of Julius Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg, and Morton Sobell, Communists accused of conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union, drew worldwide attention at a time of heightened American concerns aboutShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Time Out Of Joint By Philip K. Dick1323 Words   |  6 PagesAuthors have therefore been pressured into finding a method to avoid the strict restrictions forced by material power. Philip K. Dick writes his novel â€Å"Time Out of Joint† at the end of the 1950s, years characterized by the peak of Cold War and, in America, by a collective hysteria that led to the â€Å"Communist witch hunt.† Notwithstanding these difficulties, Dick found a loophole in the censorship imposed by material power and he developed his criticism about the reality of the 1960s in the science fictionRead Moredoc 11148 Words   |  5 Pages The Cold War Era was a time in history where there was hostility between many different countries. The one most notable was the hostility between the Soviet Union and United States, the fight between Communism and Capitalism. As the most dominant country the U.S. offered assistance to countries threatened by Communism. They felt that Communism was wrong and was not the right way to run a government. Between the years 1945 and 1980 the United States and Soviet Union’s relationship was ruined, whichRead Moreâ€Å"Red Alert Is The Colour Of Panic. Elevated To The Point1704 Words   |  7 Pagesnew age and it s creating a feeding ground for the bottom feeders of hysteria† American Eulogy by Green Day was written and released in 2009 giving their audience the feeling of what it is like to be in the middle of mass hysteria and trying to escape that life. Just as people felt During the Cold War and the Salem Witch Trials. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts when he wrote the play in 1953 during the Cold War between the United States and Russia. The Crucible presents an allegoryRead MoreThe Graphic Novel Watchmen By Allen Moore967 Words   |  4 Pagesand the United States winning the Vietnam War all contribute to Watchmen’s alternate history. In our history by 1985 the communist paranoia, and threat of nuclear war in America was winding down. The United States president and the leader of the Soviet Union were in talks to reduce nuclear weapons. In Watchmen, however, society’s attitude, the presence of Dr. Manhattan, and Adrian Veidt’s actions indicate that communist paranoia and the threat of nuclear war are at an all-time high due to the presenceRead MoreAurthur Millers The Crucible and McCarthyism Essay664 Words   |  3 Pagesthree of these eras have intolerance, hysteria, reputation, and empowerment woven throughout them. This is one of the reasons they are conn ected to each other. Teenagers learn many different things from The Crucible’s message, including the Puritans’ intolerance to anybody who did not follow their religion to a tee, or anybody who they considered â€Å"different† from themselves. It is because of this intolerance that the Puritans eventually ended up in mass hysteria; the whole town was afraid of the witchesRead MoreOn April 4Th 1967, Herbert Norman Canadian Ambassador To1586 Words   |  7 PagesRelations. However, an unearthing of Norman s past, from his years at Cambridge and Harvard, would reveal close relationships with intellectual Marxists and Communists. These allegations would immediately spark American attention amidst the Cold War hysteria of McCarthyism. Herbert Norman was labeled and investigated as a Soviet double agent, and threat to the western democratic world. Following Norman’s suicide much remains unanswered, and controversy continues. Ultimately, the lack of evidenceRead MoreThe Cold War84 9 Words   |  3 PagesAn incredible wave of fear swept over the American nation for two decades after World War II characterized by extreme anti-communist measures and a disgraceful obsession with attaining nuclear superiority. The Truman administration allowed this mania to increase without actually resulting in nuclear warfare or mass destruction, but it was Eisenhower who successfully managed to begin alleviating the insanity. The concept of containment, introduced by George Kennan, was the first tactic usedRead MoreThe Crucible: How Is It Relevant to Todays Society? Essay823 Words   |  4 Pageshumans to fear change and what is unknown, in the play The Crucible this is witchcraft and the devil, in more recent times it can be seen in post World War Two and Cold War United States, through McCarthyism. The themes in the crucible are as important to people in the 21st century as in Salem in 1692. These include justice, reputation, hysteria, intolerance and empowerment. All of these are common themes throughout human history. The characters in The Crucible are also important to people of theRead MoreTheme Of Mass Hysteria In The Crucible1032 Words   |  5 Pagesfarmer incites the outset of mass hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts by convincing the villagers that witchcraft is being practiced by those in their midst. Mass hysteria is defined in Witchcraft and Mass Hysteria in Terms of Current Psychological Theories as â€Å"a phenomenon that transmits collective illusions of threats, whether real or imaginary, through a population in soci ety as a result of rumors and fear† (Wolf 23-28). As written by Gary Small M.D. in â€Å"Mass Hysteria Can Strike Anywhere, Anytime†,Read MoreMcCarthyism and Documents of History1422 Words   |  6 PagesEarth. Initially, during World War Two the United States and the Soviet Union put their philosophies aside and formed a crucial alliance to asphyxiate Nazi inhumane hostility and expansion (Hewitt Lawson, 745). In contrast, Post World War Two, September 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union had emerged as the worlds superpowers but the previous alliance hastily deteriorated resulting in a â€Å"peace time† war that came to be know as the Cold War; the Cold War predominately didnt take position