- "I barely recognize this country anymore. The government's got us seeing Communists in our soup."
- ―Charles Stanforth[src]
The Red Scare was a period of anti-Communist activism in the United States of America during the late 1950s. One activity common during this period was rallies warning and protesting about communist threats to capitalism in the US.
History[]
After World War II, the United States of America and the Western Europe became paranoid of the Soviet Union and its leader Joseph Stalin's Communism ideology, prompting the FBI to check on every government worker in light of Joseph McCarthy's suspictions of the USA being full of spies, putting suspects into prison no matter how flimsy the evidence and checking on everybody, be they soldiers, teachers or writers, making life difficult for thousands unaware of why they were in trouble and most losing their jobs no matter their innocence.[1] The so-called witch hunts run by the Wisconsin senator across all government's levels started after the executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for passing nuclear secrets to the Russians, causing trials and hearings to spread beyond Washington and crossing the country, even Hollywood.[2]
Fearing that the Soviets could overtake them despite formerly being their allies, the USA had the FBI investigate anyone associated with Stalin's Communist Party, such as Paul Robeson, even though he was merely guilty by association instead of an official member of the party. Robeson's admiration to the Communist ideology caught the attention of the FBI and led them to track down all of Robeson's moves, wire-tap his phone and create a vast file of all his public statements.[3]
In 1957, Dean Charles Stanforth blamed the Red Scare hysteria for the reason why the Board of Regents of Marshall College had to dismiss American archaeologist Indiana Jones, after the FBI marked the professor as a person of interest and searched his office and files,[4] with Agents Paul Smith and Taylor counting on Congressman Freleng and Abe Portman not being inclined to vouch for Jones unlike General Robert Ross due to the anti-Communist movement.[2]
One anti-Communist rally occurred on the campus of the university, with students and other protesters carrying signs against Communism, Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet Union. It was disrupted when two cars containing Soviet spies chasing a motorcycle carrying Indiana Jones and Mutt Williams drove through the crowds of protesters. As the activists dodged the cars, one banner proclaiming "Better Dead Than Red", fell across the wind shield of one of the cars, causing it to crash into a statue honoring Marcus Brody.[4]
Behind the scenes[]
One of the historical entertainers affected by the Red Scare in real life was none other than the late George Hall, who played Old Indy in the bookends of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, who was called to testify in 1955 before the House Un-American Activities Committee.[5]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novel
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull junior novel
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comic
Sources[]
- Interactive Timeline
- Paul Robeson - Scandalize My Name (Non-fiction source)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull audio pack
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novel
- ↑ Paul Robeson - Scandalize My Name
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- ↑ United States Congress. House Committee on Un-American Activities. Investigation of Communist Activities, New York Area - Part VII (Entertainment) (August 17-18, 1955). Hearings Before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-Fourth Congress, First Session (Washington: United States Government Printing Office), pp. 2373-2387.
