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Reds: McCarthyism in Twentieth-Century America

Ted Morgan

3.71 · Rating details · 85 ratings · 20 reviews

In this landmark work, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Ted Morgan examines the McCarthyite strain in American politics, from its origins in the period that followed the Bolshevik Revolution to the present. Morgan argues that Senator Joseph McCarthy did not emerge in a vacuum—he was, rather, the most prominent in a long line of men who exploited the issue of Communism for pol In this landmark work, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Ted Morgan examines the McCarthyite strain in American politics, from its origins in the period that followed the Bolshevik Revolution to the present. Morgan argues that Senator Joseph McCarthy did not emerge in a vacuum—he was, rather, the most prominent in a long line of men who exploited the issue of Communism for political advantage.

In 1918, America invaded Russia in an attempt at regime change. Meanwhile, on the home front, the first of many congressional investigations of Communism was conducted. Anarchist bombs exploded from coast to coast, leading to the political repression of the Red Scare.

Soviet subversion and espionage in the United States began in 1920, under the cover of a trade mission. Franklin Delano Roosevelt granted the Soviets diplomatic recognition in 1933, which gave them an opportunity to expand their spy networks by using their embassy and consulates as espionage hubs. Simultaneously, the American Communist Party provided a recruitment pool for homegrown spies. Martin Dies, Jr., the first congressman to make his name as a Red hunter, developed solid information on Communist subversion through his Un-American Activities Committee. However, its hearings were marred by partisan attacks on the New Deal, presaging McCarthy.

The most pervasive period of Soviet espionage came during World War II, when Russia, as an ally of the United States, received military equipment financed under the policy of lend-lease. It was then that highly placed spies operated inside the U.S. government and in America’s nuclear facilities. Thanks to the Venona transcripts of KGB cable traffic, we now have a detailed account of wartime Soviet espionage, down to the marital problems of Soviet spies and the KGB’s abject efforts to capture deserting Soviet seamen on American soil.

During the Truman years, Soviet espionage was in disarray following the defections of Elizabeth Bentley and Igor Gouzenko. The American Communist Party was much diminished by a number of measures, including its expulsion from the labor unions, the prosecution of its leaders under the Smith Act, and the weeding out, under Truman’s loyalty program, of subversives in government. As Morgan persuasively establishes, by the time McCarthy exploited the Red issue in 1950, the battle against Communists had been all but won by the Truman administration.

In this bold narrative history, Ted Morgan analyzes the paradoxical culture of fear that seized a nation at the height of its power. Using Joseph McCarthy’s previously unavailable private papers and recently released transcripts of closed hearings of McCarthy’s investigations subcommittee, Morgan provides many new insights into the notorious Red hunter’s methods and motives.

Full of drama and intrigue, finely etched portraits, and political revelations, Reds brings to life a critical period in American history that has profound relevance to our own time.

From the Hardcover edition. ...more

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Paperback, 704 pages

Published November 9th 2004 by Random House Trade Paperbacks (first published 2003)

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Apr 18, 2018 Christopher Saunders rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-reads, red-scare-peekskill, 2019-reads, friday-night-reads

Sweeping but uneven, often suspect recounting of America's Red Scare. Ted Morgan, a veteran journalist and historian, is perhaps a more accessible writer than other general historians of the McCarthy era, and the book is full of interesting anecdotage and vivid recounting of key events. Still, the book's analysis of America's long history of anticommunism is decidedly mixed. Sometimes, the book is quite effective: Morgan provides excellent insight into how Communists worked with more conventiona ...more

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May 11, 2007 Kiah rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: history buffs

Shelves: related-to-history, truthiness

An extremely in-depth chronicle of the history of McCarthyism in 20th century America. Sometimes difficult to read because of the enormous amount of information it includes, but worth it because of how timely the problem of McCarthyism is to today's state of (fear) and affairs in 21st century America.

McCarthyism absolutely fascinates me, and this work does an excellent job of capturing both the details and the fear from that era splendidly. Morgan also creates vivid, often deservedly villainous ...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Horza added it

An ambitious effort that starts with the February Revolution and ends with Colin Powell's October 2002 presentations to the UN Security Council. Strongest when dealing with the seldom-explored origins of US-Soviet antagonism and the early days of the Red Scare, Morgan's narrative approach isn't best suited to fill out the broader cultural portrait he aims to paint.

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Sep 27, 2009 Rorie rated it really liked it

A fascinating history of Red Scares and McCarthyism in 20th century America ... very pertinent today! It's extremely readable but quite long. Overall an enjoyable read! ...more

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Aug 22, 2016 David Blankenship rated it liked it · review of another edition

Fear and hysteria over the 'other' is not a new American phenomenon, but rather can be traced back to the 'Red Scare' that began in the early 20th century. Perhaps the most famous example of this was the Joseph McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, but the author concludes that the communist threats were already spent by the time he seized on them. The real trouble had come in 1920s and 30s with Communist takeover in the USSR and the depression here in the United States. Legitimate threats to infiltra ...more

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Jun 21, 2014 Glen Pekin rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

This was my first book by Ted Morgan. I found him completely readable. His research seems trustworthy. As a person of left wing leanings I found it interesting that he had a lot of negative things to say about the rise of Socialism and Communism. Most books I have looked at sort of brush of the pro-soviet sympathies of the 30s as a minor error in judgement on some peoples parts. Morgan gives evidence that a lot of people dropped out of the party not because they stopped believing in communism bu ...more

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Feb 18, 2017 Steve Smits rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Reds must certainly be the most detailed history ever written of communist espionage in the United States and the country's legal and political responses to it. This six-hundred page book covers the topic from the military intervention of the US and allies against the Bolsheviks following WWI to the actions (largely illegal) of the FBI against civil rights and anti-war protests of the 1960's culminating in the false narratives about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that led to the Iraq war. The aut Reds must certainly be the most detailed history ever written of communist espionage in the United States and the country's legal and political responses to it. This six-hundred page book covers the topic from the military intervention of the US and allies against the Bolsheviks following WWI to the actions (largely illegal) of the FBI against civil rights and anti-war protests of the 1960's culminating in the false narratives about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that led to the Iraq war. The author relies quite a bit on the recently declassified "Venona" files -- decoded messages from Soviet agents to and from Moscow during the era. The title's sub-heading is "McCarthyism in Twentieth Century America". While the book certainly gives a complete and fascinating look and the rise and fall of McCarthy, the story covers all the history of Soviet espionage including infiltration of the labor movement, the use of "front" organizations, spy rings passing along atomic secrets and much more.

There are several takeaways from Morgan's work. The Soviets did achieve considerable penetration of American institutions, particularly in the 1930's and 40's. Many labor unions were communist controlled and there was much interest in communism in universities and the arts. There were, in fact, spies in high positions of government who actively collaborated with Russian intelligence. Alger Hiss was unquestionably in the service of the Soviets as were other officials, some quite close to the seats of power, i.e. Roosevelt, Acheson, et. al. The Rosenberg's were fully engaged in seeking and passing along atomic secrets, though the death sentences for them (especially Ethel) were out-of-proportion to the penalties given to others. It also seems that the impact of espionage was fairly limited, except in the case of atomic secrets. Nonetheless, one is struck by the extent of sympathy for communism especially in light of the rigidity of Moscow toward its American adherents and the depredations inflicted by Stalin that were known from the late 30's on. The intellectual currents that gave rise to the attraction of communism are not given much attention in this work.

The reactions to communist activity in America followed two lines, both of which were excessive in their application but nonetheless quite effective. Both lines of response betrayed core American ideals of justice (due process) and fairness. The Smith Act made it a crime to advocate violent overthrow of the government and, perhaps more significantly, was accompanied by a requirement of loyalty oaths for all manner of public employment. While relatively few persons, given the vast numbers of people reviewed, were actually disqualified the chilling impact of this draconian measure was devastating, especially to persons who in years past had naively dabbled with leftist organizations. Beyond its "witch hunt" aspect, the Smith Act very effectively brought about the demise of the Communist Party USA. From its zenith in the 30's the party through the persecution of criminal authorities had become a shadow of itself by the 1950's.

The second line of attack against Reds was political. Very early on, the House Un-American Affairs Committee (HUAC) pursued leftists by publicly exposing them in hearings. While to a great degree effective this method was grossly unfair, often exposing people to their ruin for activities that occurred many years past and that had resulted in no danger to the country. Occasionally the work of the committee did produce actual spies, such as Hiss, who were prosecuted and jailed for contempt or perjury. The book gives attention to the committee's campaign against Hollywood in the 1940's and 50's. I found the author's treatment of this odious public shaming somewhat odd. He correctly asserts that the writers and actors dragged before the committee made things worse for themselves by their overly histrionic resistance, but he misses the point that the committee's aim was not to punish them legally (except where perjury could be suborned) but to ruin them for their associations. The committee made a spectacle of browbeating well-known personages to openly "name names" when, in fact, the connections to communist organizations of those to be publicly revealed was already known. The author concludes sensibly that the influence that writers, film makers and actors could have had on spreading the communist's gospel was, in any real sense, very minimal.

The story of McCarthy's rise and fall is quite riveting, a Shakespearian tragedy to be sure. McCarthy was hugely ambitious and motivated overwhelmingly by an insatiable need for self-advancement. (The author covers his early career as a district judge where McCarthy showed considerable compassion for those appearing before his court. He also details McCarthy's strange attack on the prosecution of war criminals for the infamous Malmadey massacre.) McCarthy latched on to the growing pubic paranoia about communist infiltration emerging in the late 40's and 50's, heightened by the Soviet's acquisition of the atomic bomb and the invasion of South Korea in 1950. His approach was to make wild claims of communists under every bed and to savagely attack anyone, including his Senate colleagues, who opposed his methods. His viciousness has few parallels in modern times. Morgan goes into extensive and fascinating detail about McCarthy's moment in the sun. What is equally interesting is how in view of his outrageous behavior he was able to intimidate into silence those who were repulsed by his tactics and behavior. It really was his own self-destructiveness culminating in the Army-McCarthy hearings that led to his collapse. Certainly the national near hysteria about the perceived threat of the Soviet Union that supplied the electricity that he exploited. And, a most interesting element of McCarthy's war on communists in government is that by the time of his hearing the actual communist spy apparatus was almost entirely defunct, done in by the Smith Act and judicial prosecution of communists. The national attention drawn by his pursuit of a communist Army dentist and low-level clerical workers affirms the national extreme fear of the Soviet Union.

Morgan devotes considerable space to the history of the FBI's involvement in rooting out and countering espionage rings and leftist "fellow travelers" of the communist movement. J. Edgar Hoover became obsessed with the danger he felt Reds presented to the country. Beyond pursuing actual spies, this led to his determination that the civil rights movement and, later, the student protest movement, were communist driven. Hoover, like McCarthy, was riding on the wave of fear and revulsion of the Soviet Union and this enabled him to stay influential with presidents and leading legislators for decades. It also led to overtly illegal counterintelligence tactics against purported opponents that are a blot on our history.

The author concludes with an analysis of how this anti-Red mania led to Nixon's sanction for illegal actions against those who opposed his policies. In fact, it was Nixon's disdain for the FBI's reluctance to go along that produced the notorious "plumbers" outfit that ultimately brought about Nixon's fall. Ending his story in mid-2003, Morgan delves into the manipulation of truth by the Bush administration that turned the horror of the 9/11 attacks into the non sequitur of the Iraq war.

This is a very long read, but well worth the time. Although one might not agree on every conclusion drawn, the history is exhaustively well-researched and his treatment of the events and players admirably well-balanced. ...more

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Mar 06, 2020 Jim rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, history

This is an epic, really a stupendous epic account of the relationship between the US and the covert actions of the Communist revolutionaries that eventually became the govt of the Soviet Union, culminating in Senator McCarthy's hearings designed to root out Communist sympathizers from the US federal government. It's astonishing in its depth and breadth, as the main story (McCarthyism) needs quite a bit of context before it's told, which Morgan begins at the beginning, the US attempts to thwart t ...more

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Nov 11, 2017 Michael rated it really liked it

A very well written and researched book that details the pervasive subversion in the US by the Soviets from the early years of the USSR until the end of the McCarthy era (the tale goes longer, see my thoughts on the Epilogue). However, my interpretation of Mr. Morgan's work only reinforces my thoughts that, while McCarthy was reckless, he was essentially right. The American left has made McCarthy a bugaboo, all while ignoring or excusing the traitorous acts of fellow travelers. I think the episo A very well written and researched book that details the pervasive subversion in the US by the Soviets from the early years of the USSR until the end of the McCarthy era (the tale goes longer, see my thoughts on the Epilogue). However, my interpretation of Mr. Morgan's work only reinforces my thoughts that, while McCarthy was reckless, he was essentially right. The American left has made McCarthy a bugaboo, all while ignoring or excusing the traitorous acts of fellow travelers. I think the episodes described in the book, especially excerpts from the Venona project and KBG archives, prove how right McCarthy (and all anti-Communists) were.

I take one of Morgan's points to be that McCarthy was too late to effect the subversives in the US. However, it is undoubted there were still moles within many government departments, perhaps more important however would be bringing to justice those who participated in espionage and subversion. Mr. Morgan may be saying that many of the fellow travelers had left the party and were no longer a danger. His mistake is not in recognizing that while many had left their treason behind, few had been brought to justice or shown contrition. While there may have been truly innocent people brought into disrepute, nobody who had been a party member or assisted in espionage was innocent, so for all the academics, bureaucrats, journalists, and Hollywood types that lost their jobs or were harassed deserved what they got. It is only unfortunate that many of them didn't find their way to the Soviet Union, where they would have likely ended up in the Gulag. That would have been a more just end to their rather than resigning or retiring.

Injustice is never acceptable, but it is and always will be a pervasive reality when society seeks out justice. For those that may think that rooting out communists was an unjust enterprise, they should consider the tangible realities of the harm caused by those who betrayed the country. The USSR was able to develop a nuclear bomb years (I think five is the estimate) before their own capabilities. The end of the American nuclear monopoly emboldened Soviet aggression. This is specifically relevant regarding the Korean War. First, it seems clear that communist agents and fellow travelers within the State Dept. and foreign policy establishment actively undermined the Chinese Nationalist government because they thought it was corrupt and the communists were simply reformers. Their actions led to the loss of the Chinese Civil War and eventual death of millions of Chinese under Mao. Then, without a Red China, North Korea would have lost the Korean War. The fellow travelers in the Truman Administration undermined one of America's greatest military minds in MacArthur. Had he been allowed to pursue an aggressive military strategy (including bombing the bridges over the Yalu River and threatening to use nukes against any Chinese mass invasion) tens of thousands of lives would have been spared in years of conflict after Truman fired MacArthur and we wouldn't be facing a nuclear conflict in Korea at present. Other harm caused by espionage were other stolen technologies like proximity fuses that shot down Gary Powers and the radar systems used against Americans in Vietnam. The harm caused by these traitors was real and few were ever held to account.

Mr. Morgan painted a very fair portrait of McCarthy. Frankly, I knew very little about him before reading this book. My favorite quote from the book (I don't recall if it was someone else's quote) is "Once a Republican Galahad, MCCARTHY was now an albatross." One of the things I learned from this book, was that the Western intervention in the Russian Civil War was key in framing the relationship the Soviets had with the US, including the subversion mentioned above. As a student of Russian history, I should have realized how relevant the intervention was, I'm glad he went into such detail on the early tensions between the US and USSR.

The Epilogue seems irrelevant, while it goes into some of the activities against subversives post McCarthy, its purpose seems to show that the spirit of McCarthy lived on after he was long gone. Perhaps this is true, but personally I have no more sympathy for subversives whether they are taking orders from Moscow or are home grown. I stopped reading it once it deviated off topic into the obvious prejudices against Nixon, Reagan and GWB.

Despite the obvious leftist lean of Mr. Morgan, this book is well worth reading and in my opinion doesn't condemn McCarthy so much as show he was a very flawed person who was largely correct in intuitions, except perhaps when it came to choosing assistants, who proved to be his downfall. ...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Rich added it

If you want a thoroughly exhaustive survey of the history of Communism in America, well, this is it. This book is different from what I was expecting, it went in a lot of directions I didn't anticipate, and it challenged a lot of my assumptions about the topic. I had thought the book would deal more with how the American public responded to Communism, from the 1920's on, and how America treated Communism culturally---but no. Much more with how the US government dealt with communism from the 19

If you want a thoroughly exhaustive survey of the history of Communism in America, well, this is it. This book is different from what I was expecting, it went in a lot of directions I didn't anticipate, and it challenged a lot of my assumptions about the topic. I had thought the book would deal more with how the American public responded to Communism, from the 1920's on, and how America treated Communism culturally---but no. Much more with how the US government dealt with communism from the 1920s on. Morgan, a true historian, starts out with the early diplomatic and military interactions between Soviet Russia, takes you through the growth of the Communist Party in the United States and its interactions with the Soviet Union, the rise of Soviet spy networks in the United States during World War II, the various Congressional commissions that attempted to tackle and deal with the problem of Soviet espionage and influence within the government, and, finally, McCarthyism. Probably the most interesting sections of the book deal with the initial interactions between the Soviet Union and America, and McCarthy. I had expected this book to confirm my biases about Communist persecution in the US---that it was overblown, that the Communists kicked out of their jobs were leftists, not Communists, etc etc---but it challenged my expectations completely. Morgan, no ax grinder or partisan, marshals tons of primary sources to demonstrate that there were actually fairly extensive Soviet spy networks in America, in government, industry, Hollywood, and that they had been dismantled thanks to the FBI and government loyalty programs by the time McCarthy came along. Morgan shows that the Communist Party in America actually was fairly close and loyal to Stalin and the Soviet Union, and argues that Joseph McCarthy in many instances accurately diagnosed a problem of espionage----he was just years too late to the game. Morgan maintains that US responses to Communism were scattershot, misguided on just about every occasion, and self-defeating. Most of those trying to warn of the threat in a timely manner were ignored. Morgan shows that McCarthy was a truly ugly character in American history. ...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Peter D'Souza rated it liked it

A thoroughly detailed and insightful view of the influence of communists on America, starting with 1919 to the present day. The author makes a case that McCarthyism existed long before Joe McCarthy, he merely took red-hunting to an extreme form while showing no regard whatsoever for anyone who remotely got in his way. Against America's imaginary foes McCarthy launched an all-out war until he disgraced himself and, eventually, died a bitter man.

Ted Morgan inadvertently illustrates the close paral ...more

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Nov 15, 2014 Joseph Sellors rated it it was amazing

A fantastic account of the communist fear that spread through America in the 20th century. This book doesn't just look at the era of senator Joseph McCarthy that gives the book its title, but begins at the time of the Bolshevik revolution and carries on throughout the McCarthy witchiest before concluding with how it has been brought into the modern world during the war on terror, albeit in a different form and a different threat. Morgan's account is easy to read and understand and gives a damnin ...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Oliver Hazan rated it it was amazing

A magnificent book, which covers especially well the long build-up to the Red Scare, including the US reaction to the Russian Revolution, and various switches of allegiance during WWII. Newly open Soviet documents help understanding the spying cases of the 40s and 50s. The collapse of the anti-red movement is clearly explained too.

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Apr 06, 2016 Ann Tonks rated it really liked it

Shelves: usa, history, communism, mccarthyism, owned

Extraordinary amount of history going from Russian Revolution to the Iraq war. Although there are lots of opinions amongst the history it feels well balanced with the people who gave up on the Communists not as brutalised as in some books of the past. If you have any interest in American politics, this is a must read.

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Aug 09, 2011 Ryan Milbrath rated it really liked it

I don't usually like it when journalists write history. They tend to make comparative statements that do not add up and they're writing style indicates little concern with objectivity. However, I do enjoy this book and I think Morgan did a decent job with the topic. ...more

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May 20, 2010 Jerry rated it liked it

Very informative. An excellent reference, but a long difficult read.

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May 28, 2014 Don Thompson rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Was not as interesting as I had hoped. Lots of details and back ground and it was worth the read but it is nothing I would re-read or strongly recommend.

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Nov 05, 2011 Rick Hautala rated it really liked it

This book spans the Russian Revolution to George W ... with some McCarthy in the middle ... Exhaustive and exhausting and well worth the effort ...

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Jun 14, 2013 Drusha is currently reading it

This is a good book. Still reading it.

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Feb 17, 2013 Chrissy rated it it was amazing

Thoroughly detailed... Worth reading

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About Ted Morgan

Ted Morgan

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Born Saint-Charles Armand Gabriel de Gramont*, he used the name Sanche de Gramont as his byline (and also on his books) during the early part of his career. He worked as a journalist for many years, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for local reporting written under pressure of a deadline. He first came to the United States in 1937, and became a naturalized citizen in February 1977, at wh ...more