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When we think of the Red Scare that gripped the United States in the post-war era, names like Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) immediately spring to mind. The focus is often on federal-level investigations and Hollywood blacklists. However, as historian David Caute meticulously details in his seminal book, “The Great Fear,” some of the most fervent and extreme anti-communist zealotry occurred at the state, county, and even municipal levels. This under-explored aspect of the McCarthyite era reveals a widespread panic that drove the creation of staggeringly repressive, and often bizarre, local legislation. This post, inspired…