[From "The Failure of the Third Red Scare"]

In the historiography of the United States, there are three periods that are particularly noted for a high degree of anti-communist sentiment – the 1920s, the 1950s, and the 1980s. These periods, especially the first two, are known as “Red Scares”[…]
To understand the Red Scares, we must examine the world right before they began. In 1914, communism was a marginal ideology[…]By 1920, all that changed[…]Communists were able to seize control of the largest nation on earth[…]Communist undergrounds sprang into action and launched terrorist campaigns[…]
This can also be observed during the Second Red Scare in the 1950s. In 1944, there was one communist nation on earth. By 1950, communism covered half of Europe[…]Even more concerning was the revelation of just how extensive Soviet spying had been[…]
After the fall of South Vietnam, communism quickly spread in Southeast Asia and Africa and was even threatening the one area of the world most vital to American security – Latin America[…]
Something does stand out about the Third Red Scare – what an utter failure it was. Though not perfect, the First and Second Red Scares did a fine job at stopping communism. After the 1920s, no nation would fall to communism until the end of World War II[…]
I think there are two major reasons for this. The first reason is that, unlike the previous two, the Third Red Scare displayed a distinct lack of concern for domestic communism[…]The ultimate reason for this shift in emphasis is due to the Right being unwilling to push for the full rehabilitation of Joseph McCarthy[…]
Though it was able to correctly identify the danger of foreign communism, the Third Red Scare failed to understand the threat of domestic communism[…]Now the Right is being forced to answer for its past failures