Chapter 33: America’s Anti-Communist Lessons (Part 5)

III. U.S. Failures Due to Neglecting Ideological Struggle

Since communism entered the international political stage, some U.S. presidents have clearly perceived its danger and strongly condemned it. President Woodrow Wilson sent troops to intervene in Lenin’s rise to power in Russia, pointing out that the communist “toxin” had infiltrated the free world. He warned that Bolshevik violence posed a greater threat to the U.S. than Germany.

President Hoover directly described the Bolsheviks as murderers and communism as a “bottomless abyss.” Hoover personally experienced communist violence: the mining engineering company he co-operated with in Russia with British friends was confiscated by the Bolsheviks, leaving him financially ruined. He understood the destructive nature of communism firsthand.

Despite Hoover’s awareness, he lost reelection during the Great Depression. Roosevelt, victorious, changed U.S. policy, establishing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union after sixteen years of non-recognition. During World War II, Roosevelt allied with Stalin. Hoover sharply criticized this, warning that victory would merely strengthen Stalin’s iron grip over the Soviet Union and impose communist regimes across Europe and the world. The sacrifices made, claiming to fight for freedom alongside Stalin, were not merely farcical—they were tragic. Had Hoover been reelected, history might have been different: the Chinese Communist Party would not have risen during the war nor allied with the USSR; Eastern Europe would not have fallen under Soviet rule; and the USSR would not have possessed the strength to enter the Cold War against the United States.

In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a staunch anti-communist, stated: “We face a hostile communist ideology, with cruel goals and insidious methods. Even at great cost, we must assume the burden of the struggle. The ultimate goal of U.S. leadership is to eliminate the communist threat.”

Eisenhower openly criticized the secret Yalta Agreement between Roosevelt and Stalin. In 2005, President George W. Bush, visiting Latvia, reflected publicly on the Yalta Agreement as one of the gravest mistakes of history: a pact sacrificing small nations’ freedom to great powers’ interests. Bush recognized that in pursuit of stability, tyranny was tolerated, and freedom sacrificed—lessons rooted in Christian-inspired humility. Yet the core issue remained: although the U.S. defeated Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan, it lost to Soviet communism. Roosevelt effectively handed Eastern Europe to Stalin and, without informing Chiang Kai-shek, ceded Mongolia to the USSR, leaving a long-lasting communist problem.

When discussing America’s anti-communist lessons, McCarthyism cannot be ignored. After WWII, the USSR consolidated Eastern Europe and allied with China. Some Americans panicked over communist attempts to subvert the U.S. Republic. Senator Joseph McCarthy of the Republican Party asserted that communists and spies had infiltrated U.S. government agencies and other institutions.

In 1938, the U.S. House of Representatives established the temporary “House Committee on Un-American Activities” (HUAC). In 1945, it became permanent, nominally investigating fascist, communist, and other “un-American” activities, but primarily targeting communists. On March 21, 1947, President Truman issued Executive Order 9835, establishing the Federal Loyalty Program to review government employees’ loyalty.

The U.S. Communist Party originated in 1876 as the Socialist Labor Party, inspired by Marxism and largely composed of German immigrants. After the Soviet Union’s establishment, it split, forming the U.S. Communist Party in 1919. Initially following violent revolutionary methods, it was suppressed by the Department of Justice, renaming itself the Workers Party in 1921 and later reverting to the Communist Party in 1929. During the Great Depression, the U.S. Communist Party had brief activity but little impact.

American politics, dominated by the Democratic and Republican parties, shared classical liberal principles: constitutional governance, protection of individual freedoms, property rights, judicial independence, and electoral democracy. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century European communism posed little threat to U.S. political order. The Communist Party remained legally marginal, never winning elections, and essentially irrelevant in the U.S. political spectrum.

After WWII, the Cold War began. To counter the Soviet threat, McCarthyism emerged. To prevent subversion, McCarthy advocated firm measures against communist expansion in the U.S., breaking with prior ideological leniency. He expanded scrutiny, employing large-scale propaganda and indiscriminate accusations, conducting investigations and hearings to expose communist infiltration.

A representative case was the Rosenberg trial. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of espionage, passing information to the Soviet Union. Influenced by McCarthyism, the jury convicted them, sentencing them to death. McCarthy then escalated anti-communist measures, even questioning a U.S. Army major, provoking military ire and leading to the Army–McCarthy hearings.

Between the establishment of HUAC and its dissolution in 1975, millions of communists and progressive individuals were fired, fined, or prosecuted, producing an era of “American fascism” and pervasive suspicion under constitutional democracy.

Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz recounted the era: “At the peak of McCarthyism, we could not see films or performances by blacklisted artists. Teachers on the blacklist were dismissed, doctors, lawyers, politicians were barred. McCarthyism threatened free speech and due process—rights essential to protect freedom and resist tyranny.”

McCarthyism’s most powerful tool was not subpoenas or congressional contempt, but its pervasive social and cultural influence. Being labeled a communist, sympathizer, or leftist effectively ended public and professional participation. Although many accused were innocent, blacklisting destroyed careers. While McCarthyism was flawed and overreaching, it demonstrated the importance of ideological vigilance and anti-communist resolve.