This document is a research paper analyzing whether communism posed a threat to America's internal security after World War II. It begins with an introduction outlining the plan of investigation and sources to be used. It then summarizes evidence from primary sources about Soviet espionage in the US and the Red Scare phenomenon. Different historians' perspectives are evaluated on whether communism was an actual threat or was exaggerated for political reasons. The document concludes that while Soviet spies did infiltrate the government, the anti-communist hysteria also damaged American society.

1. Nicolas Parent
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Did Communism threaten America’s internal
security after World War II?
Nicolas Parent
000307156
Mr. Soule
IB History SL
May 2012
Word Count: 2,040
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Table of Contents
A. Plan of Investigation…………………………………………………………………………...1
B. Summary of Evidence………………………………………………………………………..1-2
C. Evaluation of Sources………………………………………………………………………..2-3
D. Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………...3-4
E. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...5
F. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………….6-7
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A. Plan of Investigation
The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not Communism was a threat
to the internal security of the United States of America. The investigation will concentrate on
the role the American government held in sensationalizing Communism and the general opinion
the public held of it in order to determine the effects Communism had on the fabric of society.
During the Cold War, a large amount of politicians exploited the irrational fear the average
American citizen had of the Reds. Many a politician’s career was launched thanks to the
apprehension and misgivings of the malleable population, only feeding the already raging fire of
distrust in everything Communist.
To carry out the investigation, both primary and secondary sources will be used. Venona:
Decoding Soviet Espionage in America by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, and Nightmare
in Red: the McCarthy Era in Perspective by Richard M. Fried are the two main sources of
information. These books will then be evaluated in origin, purpose, values, and limitations.
B. Summary of Evidence
At the conclusion of World War II in 1945, Europe was affected by a power vacuum.
Two superpowers sought dominance in the region. On one side was the United States of
America, or the West, and on the other was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After its
defeat, Germany was partitioned into four occupational zones, as per the guidelines set forth by
the Yalta Conference. However, deterioration in diplomatic ties between the USA and USSR led
to an environment of political tension known as the Cold War.
In 1943, deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Carter Clarke called for the creation of the
Venona Project. Clarke initiated the program due to his lack of trust in Stalin’s intentions (“The
Venona Story”). His initial fear was that Stalin would attempt to secure an independent peace
with Hitler, a course of action which would then allow Nazi Germany to utilize most of its
resources against its enemies to the West (Harvey and Klehr 8). Among the communication
lines being monitored by the Venona Project were nearly three thousand telegraph cables that ran
from Soviet spies in the United States to their superiors in Moscow (Harvey and Klehr 1).
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However, the code used by the Soviets was much harder to break than Clarke anticipated. The
first messages were only rendered in 1946, making the program useless for its intended task.
What the encrypted messages were shown to contain were quite shocking: Soviet espionage was
in effect in the United States. The deciphered cables showed that professional Soviet spies were
being placed in the United States since 1942. As well, a confirmed 349 American citizens,
immigrants, and permanent residents were recruited into the espionage effort (Harvey and Klehr
9). Since the vast majority of the messages were not analyzed, it is safe to assume that the actual
number of Soviet spies is much greater. This development alarmed government officials and
helped contribute to the Red Scare that would grip the nation in the decades to come.
The sudden proliferation of Communism brought concern to the capitalist-centered West.
This phenomenon would come to be known as the Second Red Scare. The fear of Soviet
espionage supported by important events like the arrests and executions of communist spies
seemed to take root in the collective psyche of the American peoples. This phobia of
communism led to the advent of a phenomenon known as McCarthyism (Fried 9). Named after
Senator Joseph McCarthy, this mindset was one of absolute opposition towards anything
remotely related to the left wing of politics. Combined with the apparent threats of Soviet-
owned nuclear weapons and the control of mainland China by Mao Zedong in 1949,
McCarthyism as it came to be known became an extremely widespread concept among
American citizens (Fried 131).
After almost fifty years of “war”, the USSR was attempting to revive its economy.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the USSR, called for a series of reforms that would
hopefully restart the Soviet economy. However, these further weakened the Soviets, leading to a
rapid decline. Many nations seceded from the union. However, since there was no military
power to enforce itself, the USSR was no more. The Cold War came to an official end on
December 25th 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR.
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C. Evaluation of Sources
Haynes, John Earl and Harvey Klehr. Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. Yale
University. Yale University Press. 1991. Print
Both authors are from the United States of America. The text was published at the Yale
University Press. It was published in 1991, only two years after the end of the Cold War. This
means that the authors cannot truly benefit from hindsight. The book was written to expose the
extent to which Soviet espionage infiltrated the inner workings of the agencies, unions, and
government, of the United States of America. While the influence of Soviet spies had not gone
unknown during the Cold War, newly opened archives in Moscow finally allowed American
historians to bear witness to the raw size of the community of Soviet espionage. This granted the
authors of the text new evidence as to the dangers posed by the CPUSA, an organization
previously thought to have had a low impact on American politics. The fact that the majority of
the archives were available to the investigators, the information gleaned from the records
contributed to a new viewpoint that had previously been limited to speculation. Since the extent
of Soviet espionage in America is the reason for the writing of the text, the amount of research
that was put into its publication must have been staggering. Since the book was published in the
early 1990’s and mostly treats on the early to mid-Cold War era, the authors are able to exercise
a form of hindsight in which they go over the decisions made by American Senators and
Presidents during the Cold War. John Earl Haynes is an American historian who also specializes
in 20th century political history. Harvey Klehr is a professor of both politics and history at
Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. These credentials combined with his large amount of
experience on Soviet espionage makes the book a valuable resource due to its highly recognized
and reliable authors.
Fried, Richard M. Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective. Oxford University.
Oxford University Press. 1990. Print.
Richard Fried is an American professor of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The book was published by the Oxford University Press in 1990. The purpose of the text was
also to educate the general public about the history of the Cold War and specifically about the
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McCarthy Era (1940’s-50). This era was the genesis of the “Red Scare”, where the effects of
Communism were allegedly played above what they could truly accomplish. The text shows the
effects of the Red Scare not only on the political landscape of the United States of America, but
the effects on the ordinary population. The portrayal of the general public during this era
includes anecdotes of people ranging from college students to factory workers. The width of the
research that came about in order to get accurate records from such people is also testament to
the dedication of the author. The text presents an alternate viewpoint when compared to sources
from the same time period. Whilst texts like the first source (Venona: Decoding Soviet
Espionage in America) state that damage to internal security was directly the fault of Soviet
spies, Fried comes to the conclusion that most of the problems outlined by politicians at the time
were blown out of proportion in order to gain political power. This view is, as can be expected,
quite controversial. The evidence needed to make such claims is not quantifiable, and so it is
difficult to support. As well, the allegation that the effects of Communism on the populace were
more or less psychological is also difficult to support and so is nearly impossible to refute.
D. Analysis
Among the different perspectives regarding the extent to which Communism was a threat
to the internal security of the Unites States of America, some historians believe that Communism
was a true danger. According to historians John Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Communist spies
had infiltrated all levels of the American government (Haynes and Klehr 9). One of the greatest
threats to American security was the trading of atomic secrets to the USSR. Atomic-powered
“hot war” could have occurred due to the actions of many American and foreign scientists
employed by the US government (Lawrence). One of these scientists was Klaus Fuchs, an
atomic physicist, and was one of the Soviets’ most important sources of information. Along with
Theodore Hall and David Greenglass, Fuchs supplied the USSR with the complex formula for
the extraction of weapons-grade uranium from normal uranium ore along with principles for
implosion techniques and technical plans for the construction of atomic-bomb production
facilities (Haynes and Klehr 170). Both Haynes and Klehr stress the importance that the
infiltration of the American atomic program held for the Soviets. At the time Fuchs was active,
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the Soviet atomic program was severely behind the Americans’ (Haynes and Klehr 310). As
such, a large amount of resources were dedicated to the proper execution of all atomic espionage
operations. Another credible threat to the internal security of the United States was the
infiltration of the American government by Soviet spies (Haynes and Klehr 10). Some of these
agents held senior positions. Harry White, the second-most powerful official in the US
Department of the Treasury, advised Soviet diplomats on how the American diplomatic strategy
could be countered and halted (Haynes and Klehr 9). Lauchlin Currie, the economical advisor to
Roosevelt himself was a Soviet agent. He helped the KGB it its operations by warning them
when one of their spies was under investigation (Haynes and Klehr 9). Intelligence agencies
were not impervious to the machinations of the KGB either. Maurice Halperin, the head of
research at the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency,
turned over hundreds of secret American diplomatic messages to the KGB (Haynes and Klehr
10). All in all, many Cold War historians believe that Communism presented a plausible threat
to the internal security of the United States of America.
An additional viewpoint to the issue is that Communism was not as important of a threat
to American internal security as people thought. American historian and professor Richard M.
Fried believes that “Americans developed an obsession with domestic communism that outran
the actual threat and gnawed at the tissue of civil liberties” (Fried 3). According to him, the
public opinion of Communism was shaped by politicians in order to influence the rate of
approval they received and thus affect their political careers (Fried 16). Rather, the largest threat
to internal security was the people itself. More specifically, the massive display of anti-
Communism in the USA was a self-destructive force which damaged the American way of life.
Invasive acts were passed that allowed the government to ignore certain civil liberties set by the
American Constitution in an effort to monitor suspected Communist sympathizers (“Internal
Security Act of 1950”). As well, the mass-hysteria that was the Red Scare influenced many
people to keep their political opinions to themselves under fear of being branded as Communists.
University and college professors withheld their personal opinions, afraid that they would affect
their job security (Fried 162). Sadly enough, even charities and non-profit organizations were
found to be suspicious by anti-Communists in Congress. The recycling of wealth back into
society was seen as extremely radical and would not be tolerated (Fried 158). As such, certain
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historians believe that the zealous movement of anti-Communism was a greater threat to
American internal security than Communism itself.
E. Conclusion
Ultimately, the effects of communism on the internal security of the United States of America are
debatable. Both Haynes and Klehr believe that the operations carried out by Soviet spies actively
damaged the infrastructure of the American government. Fried’s belief was that the xenophobic and anti-
Communist sentiments encouraged by some American politicians only served to sensationalize and blow
out of proportion the actions of Soviet spies, damaging the life of American citizens. It is possible that
the answer to the question is a combination of both fields. The threat of Soviet espionage to the internal
security of the United States of America is undeniable. The level of infiltration achieved by these spies, as
outlined by the chronicles of the Venona Project, is quite surprising. As well, the activities of Communist
spies in government departments and labor groups served in greatly damaging the trust which the regular
American citizen had in their fellow man. Along those lines, the effects of McCarthyism on American
society were indisputably negative. Therefore, communism was, to a large extent, a threat to the internal
security of the United States of America.
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F. Bibliography
“Communist Control Act.” Documents of American History. tucnak.fsv.cuni.cz, Web. n.d. 31
January 2012.
“Communist Manifesto.” Marxists.org/archive. marxists.org, n.d. Web. 31 January 2012.
Fried, Richard M. Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective. Oxford University.
Oxford University Press. 1990. Print.
Haynes, John Earl and Harvey Klehr. Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. Yale
University. Yale University Press. 1991. Print.
“Internal Security Act.” Documents of American History. tucnak.fsv.cuni.cz, Web. n.d. 31
January 2012.
Lawrence, David. “Barn Door Still Unlocked; How Do We Treat Traitors?” St. Petersburg
Independent (17 May 1958): 4-A. Google News. Web. 30 November 2011.
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Nixon, Richard. "Statement on Signing Bill Repealing the Emergency Detention Act of 1950."
September 25, 1971. The American Presidency Project. Online by Gerhard Peters and
John T. Woolley.
Sensing, Thurman. “U.S. Needs Internal Security Act, The Time to Pass Act Is Now.” The
Southeast Missourian (11 March 1968): 6. Google News. Web. 30 November 2011.
“The Venona Story.” NSA Government Publications. web.archive.org, n.d. Web. 30 January
2012.
Zubok, Vladislav and Constantine Pleshakov. Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War: From Stalin to
Khrushchev. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard University Press. 1996. Print.
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