Why did Americans fear communism?
After World War II, Americans became fearful of the spread of Soviet communism. This fear was fed by the news media and politicians who portrayed the Soviets as bent on world domination. In communist nations, people were not allowed to own land, follow their religious beliefs, or speak and act freely. Americans were afraid that the Soviets would take over the U.S. and take away their freedoms. President Harry Truman established a policy of “containment” towards the Soviet Union. The idea was not to fight a war with the Soviets, but rather to keep them from extending their existing boundaries. American leaders believed that the Soviets were determined to impose its beliefs and control on the rest of the world. After the Soviets developed an atomic bomb with the help of information stolen from the U.S., some politicians, like Senator Joseph McCarthy, began to seek out suspected communists in the U.S. This culminated in the execution of convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, two form
