Oklahoma Social Studies USH.C.6.2

USH.C.6.2 is a cluster heading. These are the individual standards under it.

• USH.C.6.2.A

  Summarize the reasons for the public fear of communist influence within the United States of America and how politicians capitalized on this fear.

• USH.C.6.2.B

  Explain the origins and consequences of McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare, including the Hollywood Blacklist and President Eisenhower’s reaction.

• USH.C.6.2.C

  Describe the Army-McCarthy hearings and examine controversies related to Alger Hiss and the Rosenberg spy trials, explaining the role of the Federal Bureau of I...

01

What Students Need to Do

Students link Cold War tensions and spy cases to fear of communism at home. They explain how politicians used that fear and distinguish FBI investigations from congressional hearings. They trace McCarthy's accusations, the Hollywood Blacklist, and the Army-McCarthy hearings.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student distinguishes Alger Hiss's perjury conviction from the Rosenbergs' espionage conspiracy convictions. They explain how blacklisting cost people jobs and how televised hearings damaged McCarthy. They describe Eisenhower's largely private resistance to McCarthy.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may say Hiss was convicted of spying, though his conviction was for perjury. They may assume everyone on the Hollywood Blacklist was proved to be a spy. They may also confuse the FBI with the House Committee on Un-American Activities or think Eisenhower publicly led the opposition to McCarthy.

04

How to Assess It

Exit ticket: Why did Americans fear communist influence, and how did McCarthy use that fear? Name one consequence for a Hollywood worker and one event that weakened McCarthy.

1. 01

   Give pairs printed case cards for Hiss, the Rosenbergs, and Hollywood workers; have them sort accusations, court outcomes, and job consequences.

2. 02

   Ask students to use an Army-McCarthy hearing excerpt to explain in three sentences why the televised hearings hurt McCarthy.

3. 03

   Play a matching game: pair the FBI, the House committee, McCarthy, and Eisenhower with investigations, hearings, public accusations, and private resistance.

4. 04

   Show a mock viral post accusing a city worker of spying; have students list two facts to check before sharing it.

• MWH.C.7.1

  Evaluate the effects of World War II including the origins and escalation of the Cold War.

• USH.C.6.3

  Analyze the escalation of international tensions by examining the series of events and their long- term foreign and domestic consequences during the height of t...

• TOT.C.9.2

  Explain the West’s response to communism in the early Cold War, including the policy of containment, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift,...

• USH.C.6

  Analyze foreign events and policies during the early Cold War Era.