As the new era of the Cold War was ushered in, with it came to a new political climate of distrust. As the wave of anti-communism took over the country, so did the frenzy to support the country by weeding out "traitors." Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin would try to expose hundreds of supposed communists during his time. The McCarthy hearings, a 36-day series of televised hearings, were the peak of his witch hunting. He would attack many people for possible espionage, and pull at whatever strings he could to make his argument seem legitimate. He was called out by the lawyer at the trial, and later he would be politically destroyed by a televised news piece about him. Even though the Senator himself was no more, his policy of witch-hunting would continue.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were two Russian Jewish US citizens. The couple had been members of the Communist Party in the US until it fell apart. In their infamous case, they were accused of selling nuclear secrets to the USSR. Julius worked for the U.S. Signal Corps during World War II. However, the USSR had recruited him to spy and give them state secrets. His brother-in-law, David Greenglass, was stationed at the Los Alamos base and was part of the Manhattan project. Rosenberg convinced Greenglass to gather the information the Soviets desired. His wife, Ethel, was present to help Julius type up notes of the scientific developments to send to the USSR. This went on until the war was over, Greenglass was caught, and he told of Rosenthal's activities. His account originally excluded his sister's involvement, but later they were included. The Rosenbergs were brought to trial, where they would claim innocence. Despite their claims, they were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, and sentenced to death.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/McCarthyism
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rosenberg-trial-begins
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/julius-and-ethel-rosenberg-executed
https://www.biography.com/people/julius-rosenberg-21168439
http://www.rfc.org/caseoverview
Aaron-- Your post was shocking and reminded me of the importance of learning about history and why we shouldn't make the mistakes we have made in the past. Racism in America was still extremely prevalent but not a lot of people seem to recount the abuse that individuals faced and the distrust due to their ethnicity. This sounds very similar to the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, to Italian anarchists who were executed because they were accused of murder. While their anarchist background could be considered "shady" and definitely lost the trust of individuals, they were easy targets because of their ethnicity, just like Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and their Russian Jewish heritage. I thought it was very insightful that you related the trials to the witch hunting because (once again) it shows the repetition of history. When people have grown up hearing the evils of a certain racial or ethnic group and have grown averse to them, that is where trouble begins and results int his type of violence and false accusations. The McCarthy trials serve to show us the doubt that individuals may have in one another, especially in times of war, and the importance of learning from their mistakes to prevent another one.
ReplyDeleteJust like Madison's comment, I think it's important to look at things like past court cases to determine our flaws and see if we still have them. In my opinion, we still do. Another example of "witch hunting" was the case of Walter McMillian. A murder happened in his hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, and he (a black man) was framed not because of any evidence, but because he had had an affair with a white woman, so the town hated him. Of 41 judicial circuits in Alabama, just six have a public defender, and not all represent capital defendants. He couldn't afford a private lawyer, was found guilty, and was put on death row. He was exonerated years later by a nonprofit who worked with him for free, but the theme is the same: if you can't figure out the criminal, pick a scapegoat. America has not outgrown this racist mindset, and millions of innocents have been imprisoned or put to death because of this.
ReplyDeleteSource:
Deletehttps://eji.org/alabama-inadequate-counsel-death-penalty-cases
"Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
You can really see the growing fear and paranoia of communism during this time through these trials, and how it manifested itself in some pretty terrible ways. Another example of this growing paranoia was during the Red Scare in the 1920s, when the United States Department of Justice's attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer launched the Palmer raids. During these raids, the Justice Department arrested foreign anarchists, communist, and radical leftists. Read more about the Palmer Raids on: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palmer-Raids
ReplyDeleteOne detail about this event I found very interesting was the presence of the television. During this time period, the television became a huge source of information for people, and it is easy to see how the television and its ability to send messages to huge numbers of people influenced, and still influences, our society. The "climate of distrust" discussed in this post was key in the events surrounding the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and their death sentence. The television brought events like this one right into the homes of Americans, and it is clear how its major influence could have definitely helped spread more paranoia. While the television expanded many Americans' abilities to develop informed opinions about what was going on, it also had, and continues to have, the capacity to change people's opinions very drastically, and that can be both beneficial and harmful for different people in various situations.
ReplyDeletehttps://cup.columbia.edu/book/cold-war-cool-medium/9780231129534