Americans in the 1950s were afraid of communism for two primary reasons. First, communism appeared to be on the rise worldwide, becoming more popular and powerful. Second, because communism was an ideology, many Americans feared it would invade their country and turn citizens toward capitalism and democracy.
Explanation:
By the 1950s communism seemed to be gathering momentum all over the world. The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb in 1949, showing that it could cope militarily with the US. The Chinese Communists defeated non-communist forces in their civil war the same year. In 1950 Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, leading to the Korean War, which lasted until 1953 and came to include both China and North Korea. In areas as distant as Greece and French Indochina, there were communist insurgencies. All these things encouraged the Americans to think communism was growing and becoming more powerful.
Simultaneously, communism was terrifying because it was an ideology that could theoretically appeal to people from any country. The US has never clashed for an ideology before. Nazism was more of an ideology, but it was very unique to Germany and ultimately did not last long. In comparison, communism clearly claimed to be a fundamental philosophy which could appeal to all. Because of that, Americans could worry about communism infecting their country. It would come in through sympathizers of the communists who would subvert American ideals and mislead the American people. Ultimately, if those people were not stopped, they would turn America into a communist country. Since communism could sneak up on us, and because it seemed to gain influence all over the world, in the 1950s Americans hated communism.
