Red Scare in US and Canada - Research Paper Example

But upon comparing the American Red Scare to the Red Scare that occurred in its closest neighbouring country, Canada, one can see that America’s actions during the Cold War were perhaps more overt than any other country, but actually tended to be more representative of first world countries during the Cold War. The United States had a significantly more public Red Scare than did Canada. Canada did not suffer through the same sort of public trials in front of Congressional comities, like the US, nor were famous Canadian Film stars targeted and dragged in front of Cameras to answer questions.

1 There was no public black list in Canada, unlike in the United States, where everyone knew what individuals were suspected of “un-American” activates (Whitaker, 18) Canada likewise faced fewer elements of propaganda asking them to fear for their surroundings and report any activities they felt suspicious of. While the United States played out the Red Scare on a grandiose stage in full public view, Canada's was held a secret affair largely ignored until one's personal life became directly affected by the witch hunt.

This had both positive and negative implications for the Canadian population. The lack of publicity surrounding the Red Scare likely meant that the average Canadian was perhaps less fearful than his or her American counterpart, due to being less frequently bombarded with fearful rhetoric and not seeing as many people targeted by allegations. It also meant, however, that there was a noticeable lack of transparency in the Canadian Red Scare experience. One would often not know any avenues to appeal the negative treatment which he had been experiencing, and could not publicly defend himself.

Furthermore, the lack of transparency meant that the general population could not weigh in on the proceedings; in the United States McCarthyism, due to its publicity, flared up but quickly died out, consumed by itself (Kimmel, 321). The Canadian Red Scare, however, was able to smoulder outside of the public eye, still affecting ordinary Canadians while not perceptible to the general public. Canada also lacked any sort of permanent safeguard to their citizens civil rights, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms still being four decades away, so it was easier for Canadian authorities to, for instance, hold people without charges in Canada than in the United States.

A stealthier Red Scare certainly does not mean a less significant Red Scare, nor a 'better' one. While the way in which the Red Scare occurred in Canada was markedly different than in the United States, these differences were largely superficial. Canada's goals during the Red Scare, for instance, along with the reasons that Canadians felt threatened, were identical to those in the United States. In Canada, as in the United States, the principal concern was that Communisms and Communists in particular had already infiltrated society at great depth, and were engaging in Soviet espionage in an attempt to overthrow Western democracy (Spardellati, 496).

Canadians perceived this both as a threat to their society, a moral degradation that could hurt both families and damage the foundation of society, and therefore an inherent risk to democracy, which was already perceived as being possibly by weak due to the outcome of German democracy before the second world war. Canadians thought communism was a direct