OpenStax
Open Stax: Post War Prosperity and Cold War Fears 1945 1960: The Cold War
Examines the causes of the Cold War, America's efforts to oppose the spread of Communism, and the hunt for Communist sympathizers within the United States.
Wisconsin Historical Society
Wisconsin Historical Society: Mc Carthyism, Korea and the Cold War
This article looks at McCarthyism in the context of the Korean War and the Cold War. It is supplemented by original documents and articles from that era.
Thinkport Education
Thinkport: Write Now: Case Study: Mc Carthyism and the Cold War
Students are tasked with researching and writing an informative article about McCarthy and the Cold War. The overarching concept is focused around how one person was able to influence the political and social arena during the time of the...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: The Cold War
This is a collection of 16 Grade-Leveled texts (6-12) on the topic The Cold War. After America and the Soviet Union fought as allies in World War II, a new "cold" war emerged between the two superpowers characterized not by direct...
Digital History
Digital History: Origins of the Cold War
A look at the origins of the Cold War by examining primary sources. Questions to think about are included to check understanding.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Cold War Events (1948 1955)
This article contains a summary and definition of the main Cold War events from 1948 - 1955.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: The Modern Era
For a brief overview of the period after World War II until the present, visit this Library of Congress resource. Learn about the Cold War and the first man to walk on the moon.
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 8: An Age of Confidence and Anxiety
This extensive learning module examines the United States' response to the global uncertainty and instability that followed World War II and the ways that marginalized groups challenged discrimination, and the counter-responses to their...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Anti Communism in the 1950s
[Free Registration/Login Required] An essay tracing the anti-Communist hysteria beginning in earnest at the end of World War II that resulted in Truman's federal Loyalty Security program and ending with McCarthyism in the 1950s.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Mc Carthyism" by Us history.org
A learning module that begins with "McCarthyism" by USHistory.org, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Marshall and Mc Carthyism
Read the outlandish claims Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Jenner made about honored statesman and public servant, George Marshal during the time that came to be known as McCarthyism.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Mc Carthyism
Learn detailed facts about McCarthyism, the anti-communist 'witch hunts' of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950 - 1956) consisting of investigations and persecution of alleged communists in America in which accusations of treason or subversion...
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Background to the Red Scare
A brief description of the fears Americans had of the spread of Communism in Asia during the Cold War.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Communist Party Usa
Wikipedia offers a comprehensive encyclopedia entry on the Communist Party USA. Content includes a focus on this party's formation and history, its ideology, relations with other groups, leaders of the party, current activities, and much...
Read Works
Read Works: Internal Security Act of 1950
[Free Registration/Login Required] This ReadWorks passage provides a brief history of the International Security Act of 1950. A paired passage, a passage with related content, and a questions sheet are available to help students build...
Digital History
Digital History: The Strange Case of Alger Hiss [Pdf]
This site is from a unit that covers the period from the Second World War up to the Cold War. It looks at the case of Alger Hiss who was accused in 1948 of belonging to the Communist Party, imprisoned, and who denied the association his...
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: The Legacy of Mc Carthyism
An essay addressing the ramifications of false accusations made against academics, politicians, and cultural figures during the McCarthy Era. Read about the consequences not only for the individuals but for society in general.
New York Times
New York Times: On This Day: Harry S. Truman: Decisive President
A New York Times obituary of Harry S. Truman, which outlines his life as a Senator, Vice-President, and President. Read about his domestic and foreign policy decisions.
Other
Behind the Scenes: The Mc Carran Internal Security Act
Read about the origins and impact of the McCarran Internal Security Act which President Harry Truman called "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798." Find out how a fear of...
US Senate
Senate Stories: "Have You No Sense of Decency?"
Read about the abrupt downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy after the damage he did with his anti-Communist witch hunts.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Anticommunism in the 1950s
Learn about the Rosenberg trial, HUAC, and Joseph McCarthy.
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Was the Threat Real?
A brief description of the hunt for spies within the United States prior to McCarthyism.
Other
Nuclearfiles.org: Oppenheimer Affair
This site from Nuclearfiles.org allows you to read about Robert J. Oppenheimer's role in the Manhattan Project, as head of the Atomic Energy Commission and then his dismissal as a "security threat" to the U.S. government during the era...
US National Archives
Nara: Prologue Magazine: Prelude to Mc Carthyism: The Making of a Blacklist
This lengthy article in the Prologue Magazine, a publication from the National Archives, details the operations of the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations, or AGLOSO, which was used in compiling information based on...