Sem2.HW5

"How real was the threat of Communist spies within the USA?"

The threat of Communist spies was not very real; most of the fear was generated by McCarthyism. Claiming that he had a list of communists working in the government was just one of his unproved accusations. His actions lead the public to perceive the threat as real, but it was not.

However, despite the fact that many of the accusations were false, some instances like the Alger Hiss case and the Rosenberg Trials confirmed that there were spies operating in the US at that time, so therefore the threat of communist espionage was present.

"Is it fair to say that the anxiety caused in the US due to Nuclear threat, was useful and 'healthy?' (security of the nation . . . = its health)"

It is fair to say that the anxiety caused by the nuclear threat was useful during the Atomic age, because money could be made off that fear. Items that became popular included the 'atomic cocktail' and bikinis, and places like Nevada profited off tourism due to the atomic testing there.

The drills created by the the FCDA, who were responsible for planning civil defense, were not useful or healthy because they were ineffective. An example was Operation Alert, a large scale drill that showed that millions of people would have died had the attack been real.