At the end of World War II, two obvious military giants had emerged- the United States and the Soviet Union. While the two countries had banded together to defeat Nazi Germany, they were always strange bedfellows. The United States had embraced capitalism and was poised to enjoy its biggest boom years, while the Soviet Union had just recovered from its own revolution prior to the war and had embraced socialism. While these two forms of government were wildly different, there wasn't really anything that made them naturally opposed to each other.
The end of World War II exposed the devastating damage caused by the war. Gruesome murders and other crimes by Nazi Germany were discovered and the entire continent began rebuilding what was lost. Separated by vast oceans, the United States had no such infrastructure problems and set about turning its war machine into industries that could help rebuild and profit from Europe and the Soviet Union's resurrections. A few industrialists, however, pondered their futures. What would a peaceful world look like for them? Additionally, they were never fans of the social net created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. How could they turn the tide in their favor? Create a new menace- communism.
The mainstream began to vilify communism, making it the natural enemy of the total democracy they imagined the United States to be. Persons believed to be sympathizers of communism were marked as traitors or seditionists. Ironically, the only serious act of sedition known about nowadays was perpetrated by the same people who were now railing against communism. This group, which included Prescott Bush, wanted to overthrow FDR because of his various social programs. By the late 1940's, they were promoting the idea of communists as traitors and had set their sights on Hollywood.
Hollywood was shocked by this unwanted attention. Long known for sweeping its more sordid behaviors under the rug, it had been by all accounts, a very patriotic place during the last world war, producing propaganda films and materials to aid the war effort. Many stars had either fought in the war or entertained the troops. Who could question their patriotism? Congress, however, saw an opportunity to place a target on the business, questioning its content and character. At first, Hollywood struck back, making a radio series featuring Judy Garland and other big names remarking on how patriotic the business was and how freedom of speech was an important pillar of our democracy. The bombastic tone backfired. Congress saw blood in the water and began an unprecedented, unfair and unconstitutional war against "communism", ushering in a world of danger for those who spoke out and a never ending lineup of foreign "enemies" that the United States was now supposed to defend itself against.
We will look at the notorious Hollywood Ten who stood up for their freedoms, often at great personal cost to themselves over the next few weeks.
