They were afraid that there would be communists loyal to the Soviet Union working in their government, and getting information to some of their most top secret projects. This could be very dangerous; for, their plans and weaponry ideas could be given to the opposing side and not work out for them. Also, they did not want the ideas of communism spreading in America, in general. They were not fond of the idea of them living their lives in the communist lifestyle, and they did not want it spreading. The text states, “When the Cold War developed in the late 1940s, Americans again began to fear that communism could infiltrate the United States.” (2) Since communism was big in the Soviet Union, and because people from there were coming into America, Americans were intimidated that they would convince others that Communism is good. America feared communism and the Soviet Union during the Cold …show more content…
It was very dangerous to have an espionage working in the government because their plans could be sold out to the Soviet Union’s government. In order to prevent this from happening, the U.S. government took measures to ensure the workers’ loyalty to the United States. To illustrate, “Employees who were suspected of harboring Communist party loyalties were tried by a Loyalty Board.” (2) Not only did they do this, but in other specific areas they were taking precautions as well. Even in Hollywood they started taking measures to ensure there were no spies; a group in Hollywood investigated communist influence in the entertainment industry. This method seemed to work because the government could discover who was loyal to America, but there were some flaws that came with it. Once searches and investigations were made, the word would usually spread around, and people would know to be more careful and to hide any evidence. Also, they were not allowed to punish the people found guilty, and put them in prison. Although, they could fire them from their job and make it almost impossible to find another one. For example, “The proceedings were often leaked to the media and an anxious public. There was no penalty for perjury. While the board did not have the authority to imprison people it found guilty, some were fired when they could not prove their