What reasons did the Americans have to be afraid of communism, especially given the developments of 1949? Do you think their fears were justified?

Americans had many reasons to be afraid of communism. Communism was the antithesis of capitalism, as communism involved a worker’s revolution in order to seize the means of production which is very different from the private ownership of property in a capitalist system. Americans were afraid of communism because if communist ideals reached America with enough force, a socialist president could be voted into office and direct America towards a more socialist way of life. Because the USSR tested an atomic bomb in 1949, Americans realized that the USSR was more advanced than they thought and the USSR really had the potential to ideologically take over America. As a result, I believe that American fears of communism were justified.

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