The McCarthy Era was one that was fraught with conflict. The world had changed in the years after the Second World War, and those changes led to one of the most divisive geopolitical paradigms in modern history. In this time period, the world seemed divided into two groups: those who opposed communism, and those who supported it as an idea. In the United States, the debate raged on, fueled by men like J. Edgar Hoover and Sidney Hook. Documents from both these individuals will be discussed and analyzed in this text, focusing on the different ideological stances held by each individual, and examining the authors’ different opinions insofar as conspiracy, heresy, and public policy are concerned.
The Cold War was a difficult time for the United States as a whole, of course. New technologies were emerging that had the ability to cause massive destruction around the world; the countries who were developing these weapons were becoming more powerful, and the leaders within all nations were vying to determine the best way to retain geopolitical power and avoid war. The United States was, at this time, building many weapons and engaging fully with the military-industrial machine (Schrecker). Of course, in the 1950s and into the 1960s, there was also increased political unrest as unpopular wars were televised and American politics were questioned and re-addressed. This is the political scene into which J. Edgar Hoover and Sidney Hook were entering into when they addressed their respective audiences. It was a difficult time, and these two men analyzed and understood the current geopolitical climate very differently (Schrecker).
Hoover suggests, in his document, that the ultimate goal for the United States must and should be the defense of her freedom. When Congress was establishing the House Committee on Un-American Activities, the end goal was not to curtail Americans’ freedom, per se—although that certainly happened--- the goal was to create a safe nation in which Americans could pursue their own path to happiness (Schrecker). Hoover suggests that it is the role of Congress to obtain the information necessary to keep the country safe. He also suggests that anything that can be done to keep the country safe should be done for the sake of the nation. In addition, Hoover states that the Communist is dangerous even in the United States; there is no safe way, he suggests, to support Communism—and that Communism is a conspiracy that must be eradicated for the safety of the United States as a whole (Schrecker).
Hook takes a different view of the issues surrounding ideological differences in the United States, however (Schrecker). Indeed, Hook suggests that the fear regarding Communism is linked quite closely with racial prejudice, writing that Communists have long allied themselves with labor unions and racial equality groups—and suggesting that these groups are, by their nature, unpopular with the rich and powerful in places like the deep south (Schrecker). Hook suggests that Hoover had a tendency to overreact and overstate the potential problems associated with Communist spies; in fact, Communist spies, while they did exist, posed a significantly smaller problem to the United States than it was claimed by Hoover (Schrecker). Liberalism is a free market of ideas, and that market must be maintained free of heresy, according to Hook. For Hook, the lack of danger from Communist spies suggests that there was not, in fact, a significant threat to the United States nor was there a conspiracy. Instead, the threat was vastly overstated by Hoover, and was therefore more a question of heresy.
The problem with both these authors is that they are extreme and opposite-ended on their analysis of the situation. Geopolitics are incredibly delicate, and to take a ham-handed, blindly ideological approach in either direction is something that should not be done. Hoover makes a mistake by decrying all communist individuals, and by going on the hunt for communists; Hook, alternatively, makes a mistake by suggesting there was no communist threat to the United States, and by assuming that there is no way that those communist spies that were discovered could pose no threat to the United States.
Of the two thinkers, Hook more closely seems to understand the reality of the situation, however. He recognizes that there are struggles associated with keeping the country safe, and while he does understand the potential threat, today it can be seen that Hoover and his ilk greatly overstated the threat that is associated with communism on a geopolitical scale. Hook’s understanding of the situation also takes into account the fact that limiting people’s freedom of thought is directly opposed to many of the philosophical, moral, and legal principles upon which the United States was founded. In times of conflict, it is sometimes too easy to abandon these ethical principles in search of something safer.
Works Cited
Schrecker, Ellen. The age of McCarthyism: A brief history with documents. Macmillan, 2002.
