"Did Communism Threaten America's International Security After World War II?"

I agree more with Richard M. Fried's "no" argument. Communism's "red scares" share too many similarities with the Salem witch trials back in 1692, especially since Joseph McCarthy went severely overboard with his accusations. I do not truly believe that there were half as many Communists as he claimed there were. It is truly ridiculous how Hollywood actors, teachers, and other prestigious people were accused. They had done nothing wrong at all! In addition, Fried makes a good point when he says that Americans' first and fifth amendments were violated because they couldn't really do anything without being accused of being Communists. Many government officials were also wrongly accused. I think that McCartney was just trying to get attention, and that he went way off track when doing so. The lists that he had of supposed Communists did not even originate from a legitimate source! In conclusion, I believe that the "witch trials" of the 1950's and the McCarthyism that accompanied it posed much bigger threats to the American people than actual Communism did. A mountain was most certainly made out of a molehill.