UNIV 3539 Blog

The Nuclear Age has defiley been a curse to the entire world. The introduction of nuclear weapons into this hotbed of fear, hostility, and paranoia heated things up even more, magnifying both fears and suspicions as it became clear that a nuclear war would mean annihilation for at least one of the powers involved. Powerless to change things abroad, the United States redirected its fear of the Soviet Union inward, toward its own people, during the dark period of McCarthyism. The leaders of this movement believed communism to be an insidious and powerful force that had already infiltrated the country. The communist hunters targeted figures from all areas of American life?Hollywood, the arts, academia, the scientific community, and the government itself. Oppenheimer was only one of many to be targeted as a potential communist and drummed out of public life.