V. Bibliography
The materials in this packet can stand alone, but they can also be used fruitfully in conjunction with many other resources—books, videos, or field trips. Teachers could use the suggestions in this bibliography either to expand upon the materials in this packet or to study a particular topic or theme in greater depth.
A. Other Collections of Primary Documents
Although this packet is currently the only collection of primary documents about the Red Scare and Cold War in Washington state, there are number of good compilations of primary sources about the Red Scare on the national level. Teachers of U.S. history could photocopy some documents from these compilations (although many of the documents in these books are subject to copyright restrictions). The books listed below generally cover the demise of McCarthyism in the late 1950s and 1960s more completely than this packet. In addition, documents from these works illustrate that the fear associated with the Cold War and the persecution of communists were not local, but national, phenomena.
Fariello, Griffin. Red Scare: Memories of the American Inquisition: An Oral History. New York: Norton, 1995. 575 pages.
A compilation of 75 interviews with victims of the Red Scare.
Fried, Albert, ed. McCarthyism: The Great American Red Scare: A Documentary History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 234 pages.
A first-rate collection of documents covering all aspects of the Red Scare.
King, Lisa, ed. The Origins of the Cold War: A Unit of Study for Grades 9-12. Los Angeles: National Center for History in the Schools, 1991. 55 pages.
An excellent collection of nine important primary documents about US foreign policy in the late 1940s with detailed suggestions for lesson plans.
Paterson, Thomas, ed. Major Problems in American Foreign Policy: Documents and Essays, vol. 2. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath & Co., 1978. 478 pages.
Contains primary sources about U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, as well as essays by historians with conflicting interpretations of U.S. foreign policy.
Schrecker, Ellen, ed. The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: St. Martin's, 1994. 274 pages.
Contains fewer documents than Albert Fried's book, but the lengthier introductions to each section provide more historical context.
Teachers wishing to pursue topics in greater depth can use the following books. All of these works, except possibly Gaddis's, are accessible to high school students writing research papers. However, all the books, except Ingalls's and Warren's, are probably too advanced for middle school students.
Ambrose, Stephen E. and Douglas G. Brinkley. Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938, 8th rev. ed. New York: Penguin, 1997. 464 pages.
A very readable overview of the evolution of U.S. foreign policy.
Brands, H. W. The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 243 pages.
An interpretative essay about the causes and effects of the Cold War. Brands is such as good writer that this is enjoyable reading.
Caute, David. The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978. 697 pages.
An encyclopedic description of virtually every aspect of the Red Scare. This book is admirable for its scope, but it treats very few topics in detail.
Countryman, Vern. Un-American Activities in the State of Washington: The Work of the Canwell Committee. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1951. 405 pages.
The most detailed secondary source about the Canwell hearings. Countryman, a Yale law professor, carefully hides his own opinion in the first six chapters, which meticulously describe the anti-communist crusade in Washington state. In the final chapter, Countryman offers an insightful and stinging analysis, concluding that the only "un-American activities in Washington" were "those of the Canwell Committee and some of its allies."
Fried, Richard. Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. 243 pages.
Probably the single best book about the history of American anti-communism. In addition to its first-rate analysis, this work contains a number of anecdotes about how the Red Scare affected American culture. For example, the Cincinnati Reds temporarily changed their name to the Redlegs to avoid confusion with other Reds.
Gaddis, John Lewis. Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American Security Policy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. 432 pages.
A well-researched, but rather dense, analysis of the evolution of America's containment policies. This would be a good book to give to students writing a research paper about an aspect of the Cold War.
Ingalls, Robert P. Point of Order: A Profile of Senator Joe McCarthy. New York: Putnam, 1981. 159 pages.
A biography of McCarthy written for high school students.
Klingaman, William K. Encyclopedia of the McCarthy Era. New York: Facts on File, 1996. 502 pages.
An excellent resource for both teachers of U.S. history and students writing research papers. Contains topical entries, as well as biographies of Red hunters and targets of McCarthyism. Each entry concludes with a short bibliography. An appendix contains several important primary documents about the Red Scare.
Oshinsky, David M. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy. New York: Macmillan, 1983. 597 pages.
An excellent biography of McCarthy.
Rader, Melvin. False Witness. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1969; reprint, 1998. 229 pages.
Rader's memoir of his fight to clear his reputation from the smears of a Canwell Committee witness. Portions of this book appear as document #24 in this packet, but these excerpts do not do full justice to Rader's compelling story.
Sanders, Jane. Cold War on the Campus: Academic Freedom at the University of Washington, 1949-1964. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1979. 243 pages.
A first-rate work about how the anti-communist crusade affected the UW. Covers the Canwell hearings, the UW tenure hearings, the fight against loyalty oaths, and the struggle to allow left-wing professors to speak at the university.
Schrecker, Ellen. No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. 436 pages.
Documents fights about the meaning of academic freedom on campuses across the nation.
Steinberg, Peter L. The Great "Red Menace": United States Prosecution of American Communists, 1947-1952. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. 311 pages.
A history of the Justice Department's campaign to break the American Communist Party by repeatedly prosecuting its leaders for conspiracy to overthrow the government.
Warren, James A. Cold War: The American Crusade Against World Communism. New York: Lothop, Lee & Shepard, 1996. 288 pages.
An overview of the Cold War written for high school students. This work primarily deals with American foreign policy, but devotes one chapter to the Red Scare.
Videos offer another way to engage students with the history of the Cold War and Red Scare. All of the following videos are suitable for middle and high school students, although The Atomic Cafe does contain graphic footage of the aftermath of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima.
Are We Winning, Mommy? America and the Cold War. Produced and directed by Barbara Margolis. New York: Cinema Guild, 1986. 86 minutes.
An informative and interesting overview of the origins of the Cold War that also does a very good job placing the Red Scare into historical context. Teachers may wish to skip the annoying videomontage in the first four minutes of the film. In addition, teachers could edit out the last 20-25 minutes of the film, which are devoted to a tirade against the Reagan era defense build-up.
The Atomic Cafe. Produced and directed by Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. Irvington, NY: Voyager Company, 1984; re-released 1995. 82 minutes.
An alternately funny and frightening documentary history of the atomic bomb, compiled from newsreels, television programs, US Army training films, and similar sources. The best documentary available on the history of nuclear weapons. This film does a good job conveying the fear of atomic attack felt by Americans during the Cold War. It also has a handful of brief references to "Reds in Washington state" and thus may be more suitable for Pacific Northwest history classes than the other videos.
Love in the Cold War, an episode of the television series The American Experience. Produced and directed by Eric Strange and David Dugan. Alexandria, VA: PBS Video, 1991. 58 minutes.
The story of Peggy and Eugene Dennis and their struggles as a family and as leaders of the American Communist Party. Eugene Dennis was the chairman of the American CP during much of the McCarthy era. In addition to telling a moving story about one family, this film also provides a good overview of the history of the CP during the Great Depression and the Red Scare.
McCarthy: Death of a Witch Hunter. Produced and directed by Emile de Antonio. Oak Forest, IL: MPI Home Video, 1986. 50 minutes.
Excerpts from the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings. These hearings revealed McCarthy's excesses to a national television audience and thus helped bring about his downfall. This film does an excellent job documenting McCarthy's brutal anti-communist tactics. It is unaccompanied by narration, aside from a brief introduction by Paul Newman. This film was originally released in 1964 as a longer motion picture under the title Point of Order.
Post-war Hopes, Cold War Fears, episode 12 of the television program A Walk Through the 20th Century With Bill Moyers. Produced by Imre Horvath. Directed by Imre Horvath and Bill Moyers. Alexandria, VA: PBS Video, 1983. 60 minutes.
A history of American foreign policy from the end of the Second World War to the Vietnam War. The film also briefly discusses the Red hunts of the McCarthy era. This film is generally less complex and analytical than Are We Winning, Mommy?, but it may be more suitable for middle school students.
Seeing Red. Produced and directed by James Klein and Julia Reichert. Chicago: Facets Video, 1984. 96 minutes.
A series of interviews with former members of the American CP. This film received an Academy Award nomination for best documentary in 1983. While this movie does an excellent job exploring why many Americans joined and left the Communist Party and how the Red Scare affected American communists, it does not discuss the history of the CP or the origins of the Red Scare in any detail. Nonetheless, it succeeds in treating communists as "real people" and debunking stereotypes about the CP. The length of the film may require teachers to do some editing before showing it in class.
D. Museums and Historical Sites
A well-planned field trip can undoubtedly be one of the best ways to engage students with history. Visits to historical sites or museums allow students to see with their own eyes how the past has shaped the present. The following institutions offer guided group tours of their facilities. It is recommended that teachers call well in advance in order to give the staff of these organizations adequate time to prepare for a visit.
Bremerton Naval Museum. Bremerton, Washington.
Contains models and photos of several Cold War-era vessels. Other exhibits document the role of the U.S. Navy in the history of the Puget Sound region.
Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science, and Technology. Richland, Washington. http://www.crehst.org/
This museum—formerly known as the Hanford Science Center—explores the history of Hanford, explains the basics of nuclear fission and fusion, and discusses the new technologies employed in mammoth effort to clean up Hanford.
Museum of Flight. Seattle, Washington. http://www.museumofflight.org/
The museum contains several exhibits about the history of Boeing and its aircraft
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