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Anti-communism is opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Learn about the origins, development, and expressions of anti-communism across the political spectrum, from anarchism to fascism, from the Russian Revolution to the Cold War, and beyond.
Learn about the history of anticommunism, its various forms, and notable examples of anticommunist movements and individuals who have shaped political discourse and policy around the world.
- First Red Scare: 1917-1920
- Cold War Concerns About Communism
- Joseph Mccarthy and The House Un-American Activities Committee
- J. Edgar Hoover and The FBI
- Hysteria and Growing Conservatism
- Red Scare Impact
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The first Red Scare occurred in the wake of World War I. The Russian Revolution of 1917 saw the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, topple the Romanov dynasty, kicking off the rise of the communist party and inspiring international fear of Bolsheviks and anarchists. In the United States, labor strikes were on the rise, and the press sensationalized ...
Following World War II (1939-45), the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union became engaged in a series of largely political and economic clashes known as the Cold War. The intense rivalry between the two superpowers raised concerns in the United States that Communists and leftist sympathizers inside America might actively work as ...
One of the pioneering efforts to investigate communist activities took place in the U.S. House of Representatives, where the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938. HUAC’s investigations frequently focused on exposing Communists working inside the federal government or subversive elements working in the Hollywood film indu...
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, and its longtime director, J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), aided many of the legislative investigations of communist activities. An ardent anticommunist, Hoover had been a key player in an earlier, though less pervasive, Red Scare in the years following World War I(1914-18). With the dawning of the new anti...
Public concerns about communism were heightened by international events. In 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested a nuclear bomb and communist forces led by Mao Zedong (1893-1976) took control of China. The following year saw the start of the Korean War (1950-53), which engaged U.S. troops in combat against the communist-supported forces of No...
Americans also felt the effects of the Red Scare on a personal level, and thousands of alleged communist sympathizers saw their lives disrupted. They were hounded by law enforcement, alienated from friends and family and fired from their jobs. While a small number of the accused may have been aspiring revolutionaries, most others were the victims o...
Learn about the Red Scare, the hysteria over the perceived threat of Communism in the U.S. during the Cold War, and its effects on government and society. Explore the causes, events and consequences of the first and second Red Scare, as well as the roles of McCarthy, Hoover and the FBI.
Learn how the Cold War and global communism sparked a widespread anticommunist hysteria in the U.S. that targeted government officials, academics, and left-liberals. Explore the cases of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Alger Hiss, and Joseph McCarthy and their impact on American politics and society.
A book that explores the global history of anti-communism as a phenomenon of twentieth-century resistance against communism. It features case studies of states and non-state actors in anti-communist persecutions, covering topics such as social crises, capitalism, warfare, and ideology.
Explore the responses to the Bolshevik Revolution and the effects of Stalinism on anticommunist movements across the political spectrum. Learn about the different groups, ideologies, and events that shaped the history and ideology of anticommunism.
Dec 15, 2021 · The cover of “Is This Tomorrow,” an anti-communist comic book published in 1947, suggests the chaos and ruin that would follow a communist takeover of the United States. The publications reflected a fevered politics that prevailed after World War II and through the 1950s. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)
