Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Communists?

Fellowship Lesson 2008

Krista Ruud

Champaign County Archives

Abstract: Students will use local and national primary and secondary resources to understand why there was a fear of Communism in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, what about Communism Americans feared, and how Americans responded. At the end of the unit students will create an informational pamphlet detailing the evils (or positive aspects) of Communism.

Essential Questions:

• What was Communism? The Cold War?
• Why were Americans so fearful of Communism?
• What might Communists do in America?
• How did Americans respond to the threat of Communism?
• What was the real nature of the Communist threat during the Cold War?

Age Group: Middle School

Duration: This unit will take 8-10 days, though some lessons may be combined or extended depending on the classroom situation.

Assessment: Throughout the unit there will be some informal assessment as well as formal assessment. The unit ends with a final project.
*Students can recreate some of the worksheets on notebook paper, instead of individuals or groups each having a copied worksheet. This may save paper and time.

Setting the Purpose: The Cold War was a unique time in American history. For about forty-five years America feared Communism and worked to eliminate (or at least contain) it. Also, although the nation prepared for war, no actual fighting took place with the Soviet Union. Many Americans learned to loathe Communists, and those who did not dislike Communists usually had to hide their sympathies. Students today were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and find it difficult to understand and connect with the intense panic that transformed the lives of many Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. This lesson will allow students to view resources from the time and become award of how Americans felt during the era and how they reacted.

Lesson 1 - Introduction to Communism:
Students will first define terms (Communism, Democracy, Cold War, Containment) they will commonly use in this unit and use a world map to locate Communist and Democratic nations through 1960.

Lesson 2 - The Fear of Communism:
Students will first brainstorm why they think Americans were fearful of Communism and what they did because of the fear. Then students will read parts of a pamphlet on Communism and record what they discover.

Lesson 3 - Champaign County Response to Communism:
In groups students will view 4 local primary documents about Communism and citizens’ reactions to it in Champaign County. There are 3 different sets of local primary documents so different groups will be analyzing different documents. Groups will then create a 4-square chart summarizing each primary document in three bullet points and share their findings with their classmates.

Lesson 4 - The Defector of Champaign County:
Was there really a reason to fear Communists? In this lesson students will read about a University of Illinois graduate who defected to the Soviet Union in 1960. While learning about William H. Martin, students will create a story chart to explain what happened.

Lesson 5 - And Now We Know…:
After gaining a basic knowledge of Communism and understanding the dread it created in Americans, students will create their own informational pamphlet detailing the evils of Communism. And for those students who are radicals, they may create an informational pamphlet detailing why Communism was really a good institution.