6. Spy Cases: Rosenbergs and Hiss
Few events fueled the Red Scare’s intensity like the high-profile espionage trials of the era. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted—and ultimately executed—for allegedly passing atomic secrets to the Soviets, a case that electrified public opinion and remains controversial to this day. Similarly, Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, was accused of espionage and convicted of perjury. These cases, filled with dramatic testimony and disputed evidence, intensified fears that communist spies lurked in every corner of American society.
