How did the Cold War affect the political and social climate in the United States during the 1950s?

How did the Cold War affect the political and social climate in the United States during the 1950s? In particular, how do you explain McCarthyism and the Red Scare? Can you think of any parallels to these events in today鈥檚 society?|||The Cold War caused a huge tension between the Soviet Union and the United States - neither countries knew who was going to attack first, or when/where it was going to happen, if it ever was going to happen. It was a non-fighting expansion of time from the late 1940s - the early 1990s. Both countries wanted to avoid break-outs and nuclear destruction. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusation of disloyalties or wrong-doings without proper evidence. During the post-World War II, Americans were accused of being Communists, questioning the acts of government privates, officials, and rulers. The Red Scare is split into two parts: The First Red Scare from 1917-1920, and the Second Red Scare from 1947-1957. The term 'Red Scare' denotes two distinct periods of strong anti-communism, and both McCarthyism and the Red Scares are connected within issues of Communism during World War II.