the red scare
People who were Communists were nicknamed the Reds, and the Red Scare is essentially people in the US feeling they were threatened by the Communists. It created a hysteria that caused peoples lives to be ruined even if it was rumored that they were Communist sympathizers. Government Employees were evaluated to see if they were actually loyal to the Government and there was a general feeling of
fear in the US.
fear in the US.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare