house of cards rules of the game: your task is to build a house of cards. every person in the group...

House of Cards Rules of the Game:

•Your task is to build a house of cards. •Every person in the group must participate actively.•There is an internal traitor in your

group who will sabotage your

efforts. (I selected this person

before class.) •You have 7 minutes to build the

tallest house. •Work well together and you could win!

Discussion Questions• Can you identify the “internal traitors or Reds”

among us?

• Why did you think there were traitors?

• How did that thinking affect what you saw and what you did? How did the knowledge of possible traitors affect the simulation and group as a whole?

• What “proof” did you have?

• Define paranoia.

• How might this paranoia affect the United States at home during the Cold War?

Cold War at Home Definitions

Paranoia:

extreme, irrational distrust of others

Mass Hysteria:

a socially contagious frenzy of irrational behavior in a group of people as a reaction to an event

Second Red Scare (40s-50s)

• Concern that communism would spread to the U.S.•Paranoia reflected in popular culture

Discussion Questions

• Predict how the government will respond to paranoia and fear surrounding the Second Red Scare.

• In what postions or jobs might Americans not want communists? Why?

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

• investigated suspected Communists in movie industry

• no proof, but many blacklisted (shunned and not given jobs)

“ Are you now or have you ever been a Communist?” -- HUAC investigator

Discussion Questions

• Examine and analyze the action of HUAC.– Why might some criticize them?– Why might some support them?

VOTE:

Continue HUAC

investigations or not!

Loyalty Review Board

• Purpose to investigate government workers• Constitutional rights violated

1947-1951: 3.1 million investigated212 dismissed as security risks2,900 resigned in protest

McCarthyism• Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin

• Unfairly accused people of being communists

McCarthyism

• Had no proof, contributed to mass hysteria

• Ended in 1954 after the Army-McCarthy hearings

McCarthy’s Claims

Wheeling, West Virginia: 205

Denver: 207

Salt Lake City: 57

McCarthy’s Downfall –Political Cartoon

Concluding Discussion Question

• Consider the actions of the U.S. government during the Second Red Scare.– Were the actions of the U.S.

government fair? Justified? Explain.

Concluding NB Reflection

LETTER

GRADE COMMENTS

TREATMENT OF

AMERICANS BY GOV’T DURING THE COLD WAR

How will you grade the actions of the U.S. government at Homeduring the Cold War?

Concluding Final Discussion

Should the United States be allowed to:• create a lists of American citizens who are communist? • lists of suspected terrorists without proof? • hold possible terrorists without proof?