Great Depression
At the start of the Spanish Civil War, the United States was in the middle of an intense economic recession known as the Great Depression caused largely by the stock market crash of 1929 and regional banking panics of 1930 and 1931. Unemployment rates and the prices of goods soared during this period. As an increased percentage of the population descended into poverty, public morale and faith in the federal government declined. Despite the relative economic recovery brought about by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, Americans increasingly believed that politicians should focus on rebuilding the economy and solving domestic issues before getting involved in conflicts abroad.
Library of Congress. “Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945.”
Neutrality Acts
This sentiment, known as isolationism, was also influenced by growing criticism of U.S. involvement in World War I. Critics viewed the war as an effort by banks and wealthy elites to protect their business affairs in Europe while neglecting the interests of the American people. The rise of fascism in Europe further reinforced Americans’ reluctance to associate themselves with international conflicts. Distrust in the government and economic hardships at home motivated, starting in 1935, the passage of a series of laws titled the “Neutrality Acts,” which barred all involvement in foreign conflicts, including the supply of arms, ammunition, and other military aid. In direct response to the Spanish crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the Neutrality Act of 1937 that, among other things, forbade Americans to travel to Spain.
Office of the Historian. “The Neutrality Acts, 1930s.”
As a result of the Great Depression, American workers increasingly questioned the ideals of capitalism and democracy and explored other political ideologies. Parts of the working class hoped that communism might resolve the economic and social hardships plaguing the nation.
PBS Learning Media. “Communism’s Appeal Grows during the Great Depression.”
Black Americans
Some Black Americans were also drawn to communist groups because the latter embraced ideals of equality and rejected racial segregation. This policy was particularly enforced against Black Americans since the 1870s in the aftermath of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. In the American south, white elites created a racial code of conduct called the Jim Crow laws that enforced the racist idea that black people were inferior to whites. Jim Crow laws detailed what black people could or could not do in a white-dominated society. These policies of racial segregation lasted until the mid-1960s. Communist organizations denounced segregation and Jim Crow laws, and they welcomed Black Americans as their equals which attracted some to fight fascism with the International Brigades in Spain. Many Black Americans were also motivated to stop the spread of fascism after witnessing Benito Mussolini’s fascist occupation of Ethiopia in 1935. Not only were the military formations in Spain the first integrated units in American history, but Black American volunteers also became officers in charge of white men.
Ferris State University. Jim Crow Museum. “What was Jim Crow”
McCarthyism
While some Americans embraced communist ideology, others held on to isolationism and grew wary of the Soviet Union’s potential influence on communist groups in the United States. Anti-communist rhetoric grew to discredit the efforts of labor unions and civil rights activists. In 1937, anti-communist representatives in Congress formed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to monitor American individuals associated with communist organizations. Despite being allies in World War II, the growing fear of communism and concerns about Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical policies turned the United States against the Soviet Union. The two nations entered into a Cold War that lasted from 1947 to 1991. In the 1950s, American anti-communism rose to an all-time high and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) monitored individuals whom they believed to be associated with communist groups or the Soviet Union. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin was a leading figure in public trials against those accused of being communists. Later, historians referred to this period as “McCarthyism.” McCarthy’s investigations were not limited to political leaders but targeted also actors, artists, and hundreds of everyday citizens.
UVA. Miller Center. “McCarthyism and the Red Scare.”
The Rosenberg Case
One of the most notorious trials was against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Julius was an American electrical engineer who committed espionage for the Soviet Union. Rosenberg and his associates, including his wife Ethel, fed information about American atomic weapons to Soviet officials. In 1951, the Rosenbergs were found guilty and received the death penalty. Various groups in the United States immediately organized to reopen the Rosenberg investigation. They formed the 1951 National Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case (NCSJRC). The organization sought to prove the Rosenbergs’ innocence and to pressure the United States government to recognize a miscarriage of justice. The NCSJRC is still insisting on the innocence of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and seeking justice for them.
FBI. Atom Spy Case/Rosenbergs.
NYU. Guide to the National Committee to Reopen the Rosenberg Case Records.