In the long years between 1947 and about 1957, the fear of communism froze America's very voices in unison. A seemingly enlightened country, the United States of America succumbed to the mass hysteria of the Red Scare with surprisingly little resistance. “Red” Communists and “Pink” Communist sympathizers were seen everywhere and were often persecuted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (also known by the imprecise acronym HUAC). The only crime of many of these individuals was that of sensitivity; they saw the truth behind the terrifying chaos. One of the best documents of this dark chapter in American history is its literature, which expressed opinions when it might have been dangerous to do so. The American public's paranoid fear of communism and other extremist organizations is evident in the literature of the period, which reflects the conformist mentality. World War II had barely ended when the Cold War began in 1945 and with it, a period in which American culture emphasized patriotism and fervent hatred of anything remotely communist. The fear and paranoia of the Cold War eliminated social and political nonconformity and created a strict, conformist society in which the traditional values ​​of family, home life, and religion were forcefully embraced by most Americans (Maltz 61). For the works of authors like Ayn Rand, who detested the very tenets of communism, this meant extremely enthusiastic acceptance. In her 1946 short story Anthem, Rand wrote of a dystopian society in which the motto is “We are one in all and all in one./There are no men but only the great WE./One, indivisible and forever” (Rand 19). . The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, later known as Prometheus, is 'cursed' with an individualistic streak that will not allow his… middle of paper… sponsor” (Ross 263). In fact, in the late 1950s, 68% of Americans wanted to make communism illegal, in blatant disregard for the First Amendment of the Constitution (Zeinert 67). Books like George Orwell's 1984 depicted a world where the Party reigned supreme and Big Brother was always watching in a totalitarian-communist government reminiscent of the Soviet Union. Similar to Anthem in its dystopian abuse of basic human rights, 1984 differs in that the Party is not an unintelligent force, ruling only through numbers. The Party is a cunning, powerful and ruthless enemy, skilled in the art of psychological warfare and breaking souls. This efficient, intelligent, and manipulative version of communism reflects the public's changing perception of communism; as the fear of the threat grew, what was feared gained power.