"Red Scare or Red Menace?"

Paper Summary:

A review of Haynes political work, which seeks to rectify deficiencies in the historiography of American anti-Communism. The paper points out that prior examinations have failed to accurately explain critical components of the opposition to Communism in the years after World War II. It shows how Haynes indicates that these works have misunderstood and incorrectly characterized the nature of anti-Communist activity. The paper specifies Haynes's four principal shortcomings in earlier depictions and explains them.

From the Paper:

"First, he asserts, many histories do not adequately establish the connection between the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and the espionage activities of the Soviet Union. Second, previous analysis have not described the significant links between pre-World War II antifascism and postwar anticommunism. Next, he charges, the accounts routinely fail to demonstrate the scope and diversity of sentiment against communism. Finally, prior works typically portray anticommunism as senseless and inscrutable. "To make American anticommunism in the 1940s and 1950s historically explicable", he writes, "is the purpose of this book" (vii)."

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