SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 20
Download to read offline
Essay on Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism
The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria
inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the
"Witch–Hunts in Washington." He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist
sympathizers.
Joseph McCarthy was born in a small town in Wisconsin on November 15, 1908. After quitting school at the age of fourteen, he had a short stint as a
chicken farmer and became the manager of a local grocery store ("McCarthy"). At the age of twenty he completed the four year high school curriculum
in nine short...show more content...
His accusations generated national interest and gained him a significant amount of fame, or rather, infamy. However, it was later found out that the
piece of paper he'd been holding during that speech had merely been his laundry receipt (Bates). Even so, McCarthy was already well on his way to
becoming one of the most notable communist "hunters" in U.S. history.
The Second Red Scare took place during the Cold War. It arose largely due to widespread fear of the Communistic Soviet Union, but also due to
strong opposition to Truman's New Deal, mostly by conservative Republicans who equated the Deal's labor unions and social programs to Communism
("The Second"). McCarthy began his hearings in order to identify what he believed was a Communist conspiracy, and stop the supposed Communist
infiltration into the government. He has often been criticized for the methods he used in these hearings. For example, his "executive sessions," a term
which usually was synonymous with "closed," were, as John G. Adams, the army's counsel at many hearings, put it, neither closed nor secret,
essentially boiling down to that "Joe could do whatever he wanted" (U.S. Senate xix). McCarthy's harsh methods were often criticized, and in 1954, the
Senate censured him for "his non–cooperation with and abuse of the Subcommittee on Privileges and Elections" and
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
The Red Scare And The Hollywood Blacklist
During the Cold War, the United States was deeply enthralled in fears of a Communist takeover. The Cold War, a nuclear war between the Soviet
Union and the United States, lasted from 1945 to 1990. As the Cold War progressed spies and individuals of the communist party were uncovered and
put on trial. Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator, took advantage of theUnited States fear of communists by making up false evidence and
accusations against innocent people. Americans feared that there were roots of Communism throughout communities in the United States, and more
specifically, in the government. In February of 1950, McCarthy made a radical statement announcing he possessed a list of 205 government officials
that were involved in the communist party. This sparked the beginning of the McCarthy era. Because this list was made up, McCarthy had to keep his
lie going to maintain spotlight attention from the media and its millions of viewers. His false accusations led to tension and outbreak among numerous
communities in the United States. McCarthy generated the Red Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist, these two events ruined thousands of innocent
peoples lives. Joseph McCarthy was driven by the need for power and, briefly, accomplished his goal through the use of fear and accusatory tactics.
Following World War II, Americans were confronted with another enemy in the form of communism. The Soviet Union has a communist society,
where all property was publicly owned and each
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Mccarthyism : Mccarthyism And Mccarthyism
McCarthyism There were lights beaming so bright that you can barely see. All of the sudden the judge enters the courtroom before you. After the judge
and this man named Joseph McCarthy asks you questions regarding the Communist Party. You stutter through the microphone and you are hesitant on
what to say. This will go down in history as an era with intimidation and very aggressive forms of bullying calledMcCarthyism. McCarthyism was a
campaign or practice that endorses the use of unfair allegations and investigations. It all started on February 9, 1950 Sen. Joseph McCarthy stepped on
the limelight of national attention with a speech at Wheeling,West Virginia. McCarthy, himself had huge success during his first term as a Senator and
he...show more content...
McCarthyism and The Red Scare affected the society so badly it caused the American people to have fear, Paranoia, and caused global attention.
McCarthy's downfall began in October of 1953 when he started to investigate the Communist infiltration into the Military. This was the final straw
for him and Dwight D. Eisenhower who realized McCarthy's actions must be stopped. The army wouldn't tolerate his accusations because he was
apart of the Military before he became a senator. In the early 1940's the U.S was apart of World War II when McCarthy, himself joined the Marine
Corps as the first lieutenant. As a result, the Army backfired back at the accusations, sending information about McCarthy and advisors abusing
congressional privileges critics of McCarthy. While the Red Scare supported McCarthy and his actions, there was another group named Hollywood
10. The Hollywood 10 was officially created on October 1947 and there were 10 members involved in this particular organization that supported
McCarthy. For the Hollywood 10, their main target was for the Hollywood Film industry. They would denounce the tactics employed by the House
Un–American Activities Committee (HUAC), and investigation of the U.S House of Representatives during its probe alleged Communist in the
American Motion picture business.
After denouncing their tactics, the Hollywood 10 received jail sentences because they were wrongfully convicting people without having the proper
evidence. Soon after
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
McCarthyism: Alive Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow "Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear
thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self–preservation strikes its jarring gong – these are the features which constitute the
endless repetition of history."
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was correct to state that history does in fact repeat itself, and when one looks at the past one can see that McCarthyism, the execution
of making unethical claims or accusations to restrict known differences, is a recurring theme throughout human history. Proof is shown in the events
of the McCarthy era (the intensified fear of Communists from the late 1940s and early 1950s also recognized as the Red Scare) the burning of Jews
during the Black Death, the events of the Salem Witch Trials, and other episodes of mass hysteria. The spirit of McCarthyism continues to plague
mankind and is kept burning by people who possess post 9/11 fears about Islamist terrorists (citation).
Characterized by widespread anxiety and panic, incoherent beliefs and/or behavior, or unexplainable symptoms of illness, mass hysteria (a factor of
McCarthyism where a varied population experience similar frantic symptoms – either from a "phantom illness" or a specific event) has appeared a
series of times within mankind 's past and has two significant elements: Collective Delusion (CD) and widespread panic. Collective Delusion is
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Essay on Mccarthyism
Vivian Gonzalez Mr. Martinez–Ramos A.P. United States History May 3, 2000 McCarthyism was one of the saddest events of American history. It
destroyed people's lives and shattered many families. It threw innocent people into a whirlwind of mass confusion and fictional portrayals of their lives.
McCarthyism spawned for the country's new found terror of Communism known as the red scare. McCarthyism was an extreme version of the red
scare, a scare whose ends did not justify the means. The Red Scare happened twice in the history of this great country. When the communist took over
Russia in 1919, the American people were unnerved. They were afraid of a communist take over in the states. When the First World War ended in 1918,
there was still...show more content...
127) Fear is the most primal instinct. It causes people to do and act in certain ways in which they are not accustomed. It can turn brother against brother,
neighbor against neighbor, politician against politician, and country against country. Fear instigates panic. It was that panic that prompted thePalmer
Raids. The Palmer Raids were started by A. Mitchel Palmer. He felt that in order to keep the American values in tact communism had to be out of the
picture. Palmer believed that communism was "eating its way into the American workman". He thought it was the root of all
evils in his society. Palmer felt that communism was "seeking to replace marriage vows with libertine laws, burning up the foundations of
society". In December of 1919, in their most famous act, Palmer's agents seized 249 resident aliens. Those seized were placed on board a
ship, the Buford, bound for the Soviet Union. Deportees included Emma Goldman the feminist, anarchist and writer who later recalled the deportation
in her autobiography. Another reason for the Red Scare was the strike held by mine workers. They were thought to be making threatening moves
against the Capitalist system through subversive Socialist organizations. These strikes were part of a series of events taking place in 1919. This strike,
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Essay on McCarthyism
McCarthyism
To talk about McCarthyism we must first look at what was going on in the United States at the time. WW II had just ended a few years prior, and the
cold war was in full swing. Following WW II, for the US Government to be able to spend so much of the taxpayers money on the cold war, the
Government had to get the US citizens behind them. To do this the US government started a propaganda campaign to scare the public into thinking the
communists were bad and very dangerous people. That the communist people, their way of thinking, and their type of government had to be contained.
There were several things that happened to help in–force what the government was saying. First Czechoslovakia and China fell to communism....show
more content...
McCarthy then starts backing up his position by quoting some very large numbers. He quotes that there were 180,000,000 Russians under Soviet rule
after WW II and 6 years later there were almost 800,000,000 now under Soviet rule. He points out that this was an increase of over 400%. He then
puts the numbers in ratios saying that the "odds have changed from 9 to one in our favor to 8 to 5 against us." (Chafe 50). In this he is emphasizing the
us against them and selling the idea that Communism is growing fast and that the United States is loosing the cold war.
This is where McCarthy starts the real setup for his bombshell. He is quoted, "When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies
from without, but rather because of enemies from within." (Chafe 50). He then says that these traitors are not the minority of this country but are of the
wealthiest of this country, and have the finest jobs in the Government. So he is telling these people that it is not them, but those rich people in the
government who are selling out this country. This is where he drops the bomb. McCarthy insinuates that one of the most important government
agencies, the State Department "is infested with Communists" (Chafe 50). He then says that he had a list of 57 people he believed to be "either card
carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party" (Chafe 50). The truth is there was no list, no names, it was just
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Essay Mccarthyism and Its Effects on America
McCarthyism not only destroyed the lives and careers of many Americans but also the innocent image of the country. Senator Joe McCarthy from
Wisconsin was the same as any man. But when he cried Communism the world seemed to listen.<br><br>Following the Cold War between Russia and
the United States there came many hardships, such as unemployment and high inflation. These hardships produced a restless society. The society then
looked for something or someone to blame (Fried, 39). They found someone to blame. Communists. Throughout the country there was a witch hunt
known as the Red Scare. A basic idea was formed:Communism was evil. Anyone who participated in such evil was considered illegitimate and were to
be excluded from such things as...show more content...
Laws would hold no meaning and innocent people would be accused (Feuerlicht, 154). <br><br>Communists were everywhere. But they were hard to
identify because Communism was a philosophy. There was no way a person could provide supporting evidence that someone believed in something
(Feuerlicht, 154). According to McCarthy there were over 200 Communists in the State Department (Feuerlicht, 55). And some 57 cases of people who
fall into the category of card – carrying Communists, loyalist of the Communist Party, or risks to the nation (Divine, 265). Despite the issue of
Communists in America there was a bigger issue, Communist spies. Though the truth of the matter is that all countries spy and are spied on, even
America. The shock felt by the nation was not lessened (Feuerlicht, 54). Communist spies were the worst kind because they were not the type that
stole plans for new weapons they worked from within. They were the people helping us build our policy (Divine, 265). These Communist spies
were also hard to find because very few made it easy and confessed to being a spy. One such a person was a German named Klaus Fuchs. He
confessed to spying for the Russians while he worked on the development of the atom bomb (Fried, 120).<br><br>Many Americans lives and careers
were lost due to McCarthy and his accusations. Hollywood's leaders resisted allowing politicians to regulate their hiring practices, but following the
HUAC hearings the "blacklists" began in
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Communism In Joseph Mccarthy's Second Red Scare
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party (Barnes)?" This question was asked by Republican senator Joseph McCarthy
to hundreds of people that he proclaimed were Communists during the late 1940s and early 1950s. McCarthy's words were ones of fear that the
American public gravitated toward to show their hatred for communism. Although this anti–communist effort was only most evident in the mid–20th
century, the McCarthy strategy of creating baseless claims against people continues to happen in today's society. The media has covered and created
false stories that the American public thrives on. Many people see these stories as factual instead of falsehoods. The American population has also
become McCarthy–esque...show more content...
After World War I, America was having economic difficulties. William Wheeler and Susan Becker said, "The Bolshevik Revolution gave many
Americans a convenient scapegoat for their postwar troubles. A few Americans were involved in radical activities, as evidenced by the discovery of
numerous mail bombs intended for thirty–six prominent government leaders. Americans, however, identified communist conspirators as the cause of all
their postwar difficulties" (Wheeler 233). The accusation of communists against America created the first hatred toward the organization. Americans
now believed that communism was not just a factor on the other side of the world. It was now near their homes. The fear of communism was growing
larger and larger with each passing day. During theCold War, the Soviets had created an atomic bomb (Giblin 75). The invention brought the War to
new heights with total destruction seeming inevitable. More and more countries were becoming communist, as well. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s
America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and China ("McCarthyism"). China was taken in
1949 by communist rebels ("Joseph McCarthy"). It was feared that communism would spread around the globe, eventually reaching the United States.
The tension between democracy and communism was at an all–time
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Connecting McCarthyism and The Crucible Essay
The horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never occur again. People look back on these times and are
appalled at how horrendous the times were; yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. During this time, Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator from
Wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists or communist sympathizers, which is parallel to the Salem witch trials in the late 1690s when
innocent people were accused of practicing witchcraft. One of the people McCarthy accused was author and playwright Arthur Miller. To express his
outrage at McCarthy's actions, miller wrote The Crucible, intentionally drawing similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials.
...show more content...
Like Abigail, McCarthy had no evidence against the people he blamed of being communists. His list contained 205 names of communists and "[was]
mainly based on a vague report" (1). Although there was not evidence against the accused communists, the American people were ready to believe
that communists had infiltrated their country because the communist Soviet Union had already taken over other countries, including China, Korea,
and North Vietnam ("Domino Theory" 1). Like the American people, the town folk of Salem were willing to believe that there were witches in
their town since witchcraft had just been discovered in nearby Andover, where forty people were accused of witchcraft ("Andover, Massachusetts"
1). Both McCarthy and Abigail were able to take advantage of the atmosphere of hysteria during their time period to get what they so desperately
wanted. Yet their reigns of power did not last long. When Abigail accused highly respected people such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, the
townspeople were not so willing to accept that the people they respected were practicing witchcraft. Abigail's credibility wavered. Likewise, when
McCarthy accused officials in the United States Army of being communists and innocent children like Shirley Temple, people began doubting his
credibility, especially with the lack of evidence ("The Red Scare: McCarthyism" 1). Although the periods that Abigail and McCarthy controlled people's
fear was
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
The Red Scare and McCarthyism Essays
The Red Scare and McCarthyism had begun Paranoia, disloyalty, people losing jobs. The Red Scare and McCarthyism both made everything else
worse. Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly
owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. At the end of the month when they get their paychecks they both end
up with the same amount of money it is not fair, right? but that is more or less what McCarthyism is. During the 1950s, there was a great amount of
paranoia and the government technically speaking did not confide in anyone else and falsely accused other people (Essay). The government was so
paranoid that they had...show more content...
People that worked in the army or were part of the movie industry had to answer to this question (McCarthyism).
Another one of the major things that happened in the 1950s was the Red Scare. What that means is that people were scared that communists would
rise against them. Many of the people were very affected and according to The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:"Hundreds of
screenwriters, actors, and directors were blacklisted because of their alleged political beliefs, while teachers, steelworkers, sailors, lawyers, and social
workers lost their jobs for similar reasons.More than thirty–nine states required teachers and other public employees to take loyalty oaths" (Anti–
Communism).
As you can see many people, many important people had been affected. Many books were also burned or banned such as Robin Hood, Civil
Disobedience, etc (Anti–Communism). As was stated before many people had lost their jobs because the government was suspicious of people.
The government was not doing so well there was so much disloyalty that teachers had to take an oath of loyalty before they were hired. Could you
imagine someone making you take an oath of loyalty before you were hired just because of a few problems with the government? well it happened
(Anti–Communism). They also banned a ton of books that were considered too "leftist" (democrats) which means they were
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
The Crucible Mccarthyism Essay
McCarthyism and its Influence on The Crucible
After World War Two, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, was beginning to gain more power over surrounding countries, and the people of
the United States of America became concerned about the possibility of communists taking over the world. The Soviets had recently created and tested
its first atomic bomb, and thus many were afraid that there would be an apocalyptic nuclear war between their two countries. Starting in 1947 and
continuing throughout the fifties, all citizens of America were requested to have background checks done on them by the government to make sure
they were not Soviet spies. After one state official, Alger Hiss, was convicted of espionage, Americans became extremely...show more content...
He was convicted of contempt for not cooperating with the court and giving them names of communists, even if he was not one and would not know
of any in the first place. His passport was taken away by the government, assumingly so that he would not go to the Soviet Union and leak information
to their government. However, the only thing it prevented him from doing was going to Brussels to see the premier of his play. Miller's involvement in
McCarthyism led to his portrayal of the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible because he believed that the investigations happening in theUnited States
were nothing more than a witch hunt. Many connections between the trials of the 1690s and those of the Cold–War Era can be made. The most
notable one is the fact that in both cases, the chaos that ensued was a result of nothing more than the fear of the unwanted from those in society. In
Salem, the unwanted were the witches, who were workers of Satan in their very religious Puritan society. In the United States, the problem was the
communists, the products of an increasingly–popular governmental system overseas that "normal" Americans did not agree with, and were afraid it
would take over. In the end, the point that Miller was trying to make with his The Crucible was that McCarthyism was really just as foolish as the
Salem Witch Trials, and with the play he was trying to make people realize
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Mccarthyism : America 's History
McCarthyism has a lot to do with America 's history, even still today examples of McCarthyism are seen in america . Most victims of mccarthyism
are hollywood actors and famous people because they impact american society more than regular people. Famous people such as Helen Keller,
Leonard Bernstein , Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Artie Shaw, Zero Mostel, Charlie Chaplin, Langston Hughes, Orson Welles, and Dolores del Rio were
blamed for supposedly being part of the communist party. But that was not all, there was also another 205 average people that were blamed for being a
part of the communist party as well. McCarthy's committee then started investigating the United States Army. His charges kept affecting more and
more powerful people. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. McCarthyism
was used to make unfair allegations and using unfair investigative techniques in order to restrict dissent or political criticism. McCarthyism was
developed by Joseph McCarthy, the whole purpose of why he did it was to scare Americans in order to make them not want to be a communist.
McCarthyism led to several people being accused of being part of the communist party all by people blaming them when they had no hard facts that
they were even a part of communism. in the McCarthy trials more than three–hundred twenty people were falsely accused of being communists and in
the Salem witch trials more than 100 people were falsely
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Mccarthyism Research Paper
McCarthyism, first look at the word and around 90% of people wonder what it actually means. McCarthyism is "the practice of making accusations
of disloyalty, subversion or treason without any means or evidence". So now that that's out of the way, the new question people are asking
themselves now is "How was Hollywood the PERPETRATOR rather than the VICTIM of McCarthyism?" McCarthyism most often seen in America
during the period of time from 1950 to 1956, otherwise known as the "Second Red Scare" (and has been found throughout America during all the
wars from World War I where people were frightened because of spies once America joined in that war, World War II for fear of Nazi supporters, and
The Cold War for Communist supporters), where people were often accused of being Communists, harbouring Communists, interacting with known
Communists, etc. This led to scares in even the most desolate of places with the fear that someone might just randomly accuse you of being a
Communist and have you become a subject of aggressive investigators. McCarthyism suspects were often those in schools, union activists, and in the
entertainment industry (Hollywood) so people there were in a huge amount of pressure not to make it look as though they had nothing to hide, they
didn't do anything that could be taken in any way as "Communist like" and they lived in constant fear that they would suddenly be fired the very next
day for supporting Communism when in fact, they didn't. Hollywood, as
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
McCarthyism Essay
&amp;#65279; The McCarthy Hearings
Senator Joseph McCarthy instilled fear into the minds of the Americans with his anti–
Communist thinking, with his ideals. Senator McCarthy, during 1950–1954, disrupted the United
States with the HUAC ( House of Un–American Activity Committee) Hearings. These hearings brought government workers, college professors,
playwrights and Hollywood screen writers, actors, artists, musicians, gays, Jews and anyone with a goatee under suspicion.
Joseph McCarthy was an unknown senator from Wisconsin, who wanted to be in the spotlight. During a speech in West Virginia, Senator McCarthy
accused the State Department of being full of Communists. The media...show more content...
As a result of the accusations, a group of Hollywood liberals established the
"Committee for the First Amendment". The CFA went to Washington to support their
Hollywood but in the end denied all involvement with them because they felt they were being used. Many people in Hollywood had lost their jobs
because of the HUAC meetings. President
Truman at a Democratic meeting backed the Anti–Communist feelings to gain political and popular support. It was very common for people to have to
take an Anti–Communist oaths when they worked in the government. If they refused, they were fired.
McCarthyism left its mark on the United States government and its people. If the public could express their opinions about the government without
their fears about being labeled a
Communist, an event such as the Vietnam War may have not taken place. The cultural and academic life was also affected. T.V. shows were bland and
non–threatening, as were movies. The
United States tried to isolate itself from Communism and liberal views. It was not until the 1960's with the Civil Rights Movement and the full–blown
Vietnam War, that the liberal ideas began to be accepted.
McCarthyism and "The Crucible" have many similarities such as the need for attention.
Senator McCarthy was looking for attention and made accusations about the State Department having Communist–personnel. There was no proof of
this and he never
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Mccarthyism: The Crucible And The Mccarthy Era
Crucible and McCarthyism Essay by : Baylei Cox There have been many events in history that shape the time we live in. The Crucible by Arthur
Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in McCarthy Era because of fear, accusations, anger within the people. The way the Crucible showed fear
was,"I saw Goody Hawkins with the devil!" this quote from Abigail shows how accusations started the whole Hysteria and brought people in front of
the court because they were being accused of participating in witchcraft. Nobody wanted to be punished or killed. When Abigail started accusing
people of being witches or communicating with the devil, everyone started to get scared that she would accuse them. McCarthy era played a role in
fear as well, Nuclear war.
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Joseph Mccarthyism Research Paper
During the late 1940's, Senator Joseph McCarthy had begun rumors of infiltrated communists, which would later become to be known as
"McCarthyism". McCarthyism was showed in many different ways such as falsely accusing, and the widespread use of fear throughout the nation of
communism. in the political cartoon "It's okay – we're hunting communists", The HUAC (which played a large role in the second red scare alongside
McCarthyism), is shown ramming into a large crowd of people, which signifies how the people driving the "HUAC car" were affected and influenced
by McCarthyism to search many people due to speculations and lots of news surrounding communism infiltration (Block). During the time of
McCarthyism, there were many investigations and
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Mccarthyism Analysis
The "rhetorical function dictated by the novel's ruling paradigm" (Tompkins 278) is supposed to be "the presence of realistic detail...[that] lull[s]
readers into thinking that they are in an everyday world" (Tompkins 278), so they end up finding out about the "expression of a highly schematic
intent" (Tompkins 278) due to the inherent fakeness of the paradigm in the book.
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Joseph McCarthy Essay
Joseph McCarthy Throughout the early 1950's, the nation was deeply engrossed in fears of a Communist takeover. At a time when America's fears
were at their very height, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin pushed America's fears to an extreme. As a ploy to get himself
re–elected, and to make America hate Communism as much as he did, the Senator devised a devious scheme. McCarthy, while giving a speech, held
up a piece of paper and exclaimed, "I have here a list of 57 known Communists who are currently employed by the U.S. State Department" (Fried, 89).
A few days later, McCarthy raised the number of people on the list from 57 to 205. The reaction to McCarthy's announcement was absolute panic. Until
that time, the...show more content...
Everyone knew about it, but no one ever talked about it. The first knowledge many American's had of Communism came from Winston Churchill's
"Iron Curtain Speech" (Matusow, 45). Churchill basically said in his speech that the Soviet Union was pushing forward a global Communist
takeover. And Churchill also said that he believed, "We should not let such a force loose on the planet" (Matusow, 46). That was the first time many
American eyes were opened to Communism, and McCarthy made sure it was not the last. The entire chaos that Senator McCarthy caused had become
collectively known as "The Red Scare" (Feuerlicht, 34). McCarthy used this entire "Red Scare" idea to boost his hopes for re–election. But an elected
official is supposed to be a representative of the people. All McCarthy did was abuse his power and pull the wool over the people's eyes.
McCarthy did not work for the benefit of the people. He only worked for the benefit of himself. Next, the people whose lives McCarthy destroyed
must be looked at. In the immediate aftermath of McCarthy's speech came many accusations. America wanted the people that McCarthy said were on
his list. But when asked for the list, McCarthy said he lost it, and he could not remember which individuals were on the list. But he said he did see
some key Hollywood figures on it. That was when the focus shifted to all of Hollywood. If anyone thought that an actor or actress seemed suspicious,
they would simply start gossip about
Get more content on HelpWriting.net
Victims Of Mccarthyism During The Cold War
McCarthyism was practiced during the Cold War. People would report someone who was allegedly a communist and they would be put on trial in
front of a court. In the United States, communism was feared and many people grew wary of neighbors due to this fear, as they didn't know who was a
communist. Panic was widespread across America because of this. However, most of the time, whenever someone was accused of being a communist it
was to get back at that person for one reason or another. Victims of McCarthyism included government employees, famous actors and directors,
homosexuals, voices behind radio talk shows, union activists, teachers, and people with relations to a "communist." Even in the event that the trial
ended up concluding that the
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

More Related Content

Similar to Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare Witch-Hunts

The Crucible: Historical Context
The Crucible: Historical ContextThe Crucible: Historical Context
The Crucible: Historical Contextshanovitz
 
Communism, Fear, and McCarthyism
Communism, Fear, and McCarthyismCommunism, Fear, and McCarthyism
Communism, Fear, and McCarthyismtkvalesk
 
The Cold War at Home
The Cold War at HomeThe Cold War at Home
The Cold War at HomeMelissa
 
McCarthyism & The Crucible
McCarthyism & The CrucibleMcCarthyism & The Crucible
McCarthyism & The CrucibleMichael Maslak
 
Powerpoint for McCarthyismness
Powerpoint for McCarthyismnessPowerpoint for McCarthyismness
Powerpoint for McCarthyismnessRpcRaey666
 
The Crucible Historical Context and Literary Merit
The Crucible Historical Context and Literary MeritThe Crucible Historical Context and Literary Merit
The Crucible Historical Context and Literary MeritMrs. Janovitz
 

Similar to Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare Witch-Hunts (6)

The Crucible: Historical Context
The Crucible: Historical ContextThe Crucible: Historical Context
The Crucible: Historical Context
 
Communism, Fear, and McCarthyism
Communism, Fear, and McCarthyismCommunism, Fear, and McCarthyism
Communism, Fear, and McCarthyism
 
The Cold War at Home
The Cold War at HomeThe Cold War at Home
The Cold War at Home
 
McCarthyism & The Crucible
McCarthyism & The CrucibleMcCarthyism & The Crucible
McCarthyism & The Crucible
 
Powerpoint for McCarthyismness
Powerpoint for McCarthyismnessPowerpoint for McCarthyismness
Powerpoint for McCarthyismness
 
The Crucible Historical Context and Literary Merit
The Crucible Historical Context and Literary MeritThe Crucible Historical Context and Literary Merit
The Crucible Historical Context and Literary Merit
 

Recently uploaded

Proudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptx
Proudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptxProudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptx
Proudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptxthorishapillay1
 
AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.
AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.
AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.arsicmarija21
 
ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)
ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)
ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)Dr. Mazin Mohamed alkathiri
 
CELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptx
CELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptxCELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptx
CELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptxJiesonDelaCerna
 
Crayon Activity Handout For the Crayon A
Crayon Activity Handout For the Crayon ACrayon Activity Handout For the Crayon A
Crayon Activity Handout For the Crayon AUnboundStockton
 
MARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized Group
MARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized GroupMARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized Group
MARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized GroupJonathanParaisoCruz
 
ECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptx
ECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptxECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptx
ECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptxiammrhaywood
 
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...jaredbarbolino94
 
Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...
Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...
Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...Jisc
 
Alper Gobel In Media Res Media Component
Alper Gobel In Media Res Media ComponentAlper Gobel In Media Res Media Component
Alper Gobel In Media Res Media ComponentInMediaRes1
 
Pharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdf
Pharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdfPharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdf
Pharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdfMahmoud M. Sallam
 
Types of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptx
Types of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptxTypes of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptx
Types of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptxEyham Joco
 
18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf
18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf
18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdfssuser54595a
 
Full Stack Web Development Course for Beginners
Full Stack Web Development Course  for BeginnersFull Stack Web Development Course  for Beginners
Full Stack Web Development Course for BeginnersSabitha Banu
 
Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha elections
Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha electionsPresiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha elections
Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha electionsanshu789521
 
call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️
call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️
call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️9953056974 Low Rate Call Girls In Saket, Delhi NCR
 
Earth Day Presentation wow hello nice great
Earth Day Presentation wow hello nice greatEarth Day Presentation wow hello nice great
Earth Day Presentation wow hello nice greatYousafMalik24
 

Recently uploaded (20)

Proudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptx
Proudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptxProudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptx
Proudly South Africa powerpoint Thorisha.pptx
 
AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.
AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.
AmericanHighSchoolsprezentacijaoskolama.
 
ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)
ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)
ESSENTIAL of (CS/IT/IS) class 06 (database)
 
CELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptx
CELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptxCELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptx
CELL CYCLE Division Science 8 quarter IV.pptx
 
Crayon Activity Handout For the Crayon A
Crayon Activity Handout For the Crayon ACrayon Activity Handout For the Crayon A
Crayon Activity Handout For the Crayon A
 
MARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized Group
MARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized GroupMARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized Group
MARGINALIZATION (Different learners in Marginalized Group
 
ECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptx
ECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptxECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptx
ECONOMIC CONTEXT - PAPER 1 Q3: NEWSPAPERS.pptx
 
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
 
Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...
Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...
Procuring digital preservation CAN be quick and painless with our new dynamic...
 
Model Call Girl in Tilak Nagar Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝
Model Call Girl in Tilak Nagar Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝Model Call Girl in Tilak Nagar Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝
Model Call Girl in Tilak Nagar Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝
 
Alper Gobel In Media Res Media Component
Alper Gobel In Media Res Media ComponentAlper Gobel In Media Res Media Component
Alper Gobel In Media Res Media Component
 
Pharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdf
Pharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdfPharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdf
Pharmacognosy Flower 3. Compositae 2023.pdf
 
Model Call Girl in Bikash Puri Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝
Model Call Girl in Bikash Puri  Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝Model Call Girl in Bikash Puri  Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝
Model Call Girl in Bikash Puri Delhi reach out to us at 🔝9953056974🔝
 
Types of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptx
Types of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptxTypes of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptx
Types of Journalistic Writing Grade 8.pptx
 
18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf
18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf
18-04-UA_REPORT_MEDIALITERAСY_INDEX-DM_23-1-final-eng.pdf
 
Full Stack Web Development Course for Beginners
Full Stack Web Development Course  for BeginnersFull Stack Web Development Course  for Beginners
Full Stack Web Development Course for Beginners
 
Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha elections
Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha electionsPresiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha elections
Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha elections
 
call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️
call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️
call girls in Kamla Market (DELHI) 🔝 >༒9953330565🔝 genuine Escort Service 🔝✔️✔️
 
Earth Day Presentation wow hello nice great
Earth Day Presentation wow hello nice greatEarth Day Presentation wow hello nice great
Earth Day Presentation wow hello nice great
 
TataKelola dan KamSiber Kecerdasan Buatan v022.pdf
TataKelola dan KamSiber Kecerdasan Buatan v022.pdfTataKelola dan KamSiber Kecerdasan Buatan v022.pdf
TataKelola dan KamSiber Kecerdasan Buatan v022.pdf
 

Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare Witch-Hunts

  • 1. Essay on Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the "Witch–Hunts in Washington." He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers. Joseph McCarthy was born in a small town in Wisconsin on November 15, 1908. After quitting school at the age of fourteen, he had a short stint as a chicken farmer and became the manager of a local grocery store ("McCarthy"). At the age of twenty he completed the four year high school curriculum in nine short...show more content... His accusations generated national interest and gained him a significant amount of fame, or rather, infamy. However, it was later found out that the piece of paper he'd been holding during that speech had merely been his laundry receipt (Bates). Even so, McCarthy was already well on his way to becoming one of the most notable communist "hunters" in U.S. history. The Second Red Scare took place during the Cold War. It arose largely due to widespread fear of the Communistic Soviet Union, but also due to strong opposition to Truman's New Deal, mostly by conservative Republicans who equated the Deal's labor unions and social programs to Communism ("The Second"). McCarthy began his hearings in order to identify what he believed was a Communist conspiracy, and stop the supposed Communist infiltration into the government. He has often been criticized for the methods he used in these hearings. For example, his "executive sessions," a term which usually was synonymous with "closed," were, as John G. Adams, the army's counsel at many hearings, put it, neither closed nor secret, essentially boiling down to that "Joe could do whatever he wanted" (U.S. Senate xix). McCarthy's harsh methods were often criticized, and in 1954, the Senate censured him for "his non–cooperation with and abuse of the Subcommittee on Privileges and Elections" and Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 2. The Red Scare And The Hollywood Blacklist During the Cold War, the United States was deeply enthralled in fears of a Communist takeover. The Cold War, a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States, lasted from 1945 to 1990. As the Cold War progressed spies and individuals of the communist party were uncovered and put on trial. Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin senator, took advantage of theUnited States fear of communists by making up false evidence and accusations against innocent people. Americans feared that there were roots of Communism throughout communities in the United States, and more specifically, in the government. In February of 1950, McCarthy made a radical statement announcing he possessed a list of 205 government officials that were involved in the communist party. This sparked the beginning of the McCarthy era. Because this list was made up, McCarthy had to keep his lie going to maintain spotlight attention from the media and its millions of viewers. His false accusations led to tension and outbreak among numerous communities in the United States. McCarthy generated the Red Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist, these two events ruined thousands of innocent peoples lives. Joseph McCarthy was driven by the need for power and, briefly, accomplished his goal through the use of fear and accusatory tactics. Following World War II, Americans were confronted with another enemy in the form of communism. The Soviet Union has a communist society, where all property was publicly owned and each Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 3. Mccarthyism : Mccarthyism And Mccarthyism McCarthyism There were lights beaming so bright that you can barely see. All of the sudden the judge enters the courtroom before you. After the judge and this man named Joseph McCarthy asks you questions regarding the Communist Party. You stutter through the microphone and you are hesitant on what to say. This will go down in history as an era with intimidation and very aggressive forms of bullying calledMcCarthyism. McCarthyism was a campaign or practice that endorses the use of unfair allegations and investigations. It all started on February 9, 1950 Sen. Joseph McCarthy stepped on the limelight of national attention with a speech at Wheeling,West Virginia. McCarthy, himself had huge success during his first term as a Senator and he...show more content... McCarthyism and The Red Scare affected the society so badly it caused the American people to have fear, Paranoia, and caused global attention. McCarthy's downfall began in October of 1953 when he started to investigate the Communist infiltration into the Military. This was the final straw for him and Dwight D. Eisenhower who realized McCarthy's actions must be stopped. The army wouldn't tolerate his accusations because he was apart of the Military before he became a senator. In the early 1940's the U.S was apart of World War II when McCarthy, himself joined the Marine Corps as the first lieutenant. As a result, the Army backfired back at the accusations, sending information about McCarthy and advisors abusing congressional privileges critics of McCarthy. While the Red Scare supported McCarthy and his actions, there was another group named Hollywood 10. The Hollywood 10 was officially created on October 1947 and there were 10 members involved in this particular organization that supported McCarthy. For the Hollywood 10, their main target was for the Hollywood Film industry. They would denounce the tactics employed by the House Un–American Activities Committee (HUAC), and investigation of the U.S House of Representatives during its probe alleged Communist in the American Motion picture business. After denouncing their tactics, the Hollywood 10 received jail sentences because they were wrongfully convicting people without having the proper evidence. Soon after Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 4. McCarthyism: Alive Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow "Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self–preservation strikes its jarring gong – these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history." Winston Churchill Winston Churchill was correct to state that history does in fact repeat itself, and when one looks at the past one can see that McCarthyism, the execution of making unethical claims or accusations to restrict known differences, is a recurring theme throughout human history. Proof is shown in the events of the McCarthy era (the intensified fear of Communists from the late 1940s and early 1950s also recognized as the Red Scare) the burning of Jews during the Black Death, the events of the Salem Witch Trials, and other episodes of mass hysteria. The spirit of McCarthyism continues to plague mankind and is kept burning by people who possess post 9/11 fears about Islamist terrorists (citation). Characterized by widespread anxiety and panic, incoherent beliefs and/or behavior, or unexplainable symptoms of illness, mass hysteria (a factor of McCarthyism where a varied population experience similar frantic symptoms – either from a "phantom illness" or a specific event) has appeared a series of times within mankind 's past and has two significant elements: Collective Delusion (CD) and widespread panic. Collective Delusion is Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 5. Essay on Mccarthyism Vivian Gonzalez Mr. Martinez–Ramos A.P. United States History May 3, 2000 McCarthyism was one of the saddest events of American history. It destroyed people's lives and shattered many families. It threw innocent people into a whirlwind of mass confusion and fictional portrayals of their lives. McCarthyism spawned for the country's new found terror of Communism known as the red scare. McCarthyism was an extreme version of the red scare, a scare whose ends did not justify the means. The Red Scare happened twice in the history of this great country. When the communist took over Russia in 1919, the American people were unnerved. They were afraid of a communist take over in the states. When the First World War ended in 1918, there was still...show more content... 127) Fear is the most primal instinct. It causes people to do and act in certain ways in which they are not accustomed. It can turn brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, politician against politician, and country against country. Fear instigates panic. It was that panic that prompted thePalmer Raids. The Palmer Raids were started by A. Mitchel Palmer. He felt that in order to keep the American values in tact communism had to be out of the picture. Palmer believed that communism was &amp;quot;eating its way into the American workman&amp;quot;. He thought it was the root of all evils in his society. Palmer felt that communism was &amp;quot;seeking to replace marriage vows with libertine laws, burning up the foundations of society&amp;quot;. In December of 1919, in their most famous act, Palmer's agents seized 249 resident aliens. Those seized were placed on board a ship, the Buford, bound for the Soviet Union. Deportees included Emma Goldman the feminist, anarchist and writer who later recalled the deportation in her autobiography. Another reason for the Red Scare was the strike held by mine workers. They were thought to be making threatening moves against the Capitalist system through subversive Socialist organizations. These strikes were part of a series of events taking place in 1919. This strike, Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 6. Essay on McCarthyism McCarthyism To talk about McCarthyism we must first look at what was going on in the United States at the time. WW II had just ended a few years prior, and the cold war was in full swing. Following WW II, for the US Government to be able to spend so much of the taxpayers money on the cold war, the Government had to get the US citizens behind them. To do this the US government started a propaganda campaign to scare the public into thinking the communists were bad and very dangerous people. That the communist people, their way of thinking, and their type of government had to be contained. There were several things that happened to help in–force what the government was saying. First Czechoslovakia and China fell to communism....show more content... McCarthy then starts backing up his position by quoting some very large numbers. He quotes that there were 180,000,000 Russians under Soviet rule after WW II and 6 years later there were almost 800,000,000 now under Soviet rule. He points out that this was an increase of over 400%. He then puts the numbers in ratios saying that the "odds have changed from 9 to one in our favor to 8 to 5 against us." (Chafe 50). In this he is emphasizing the us against them and selling the idea that Communism is growing fast and that the United States is loosing the cold war. This is where McCarthy starts the real setup for his bombshell. He is quoted, "When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within." (Chafe 50). He then says that these traitors are not the minority of this country but are of the wealthiest of this country, and have the finest jobs in the Government. So he is telling these people that it is not them, but those rich people in the government who are selling out this country. This is where he drops the bomb. McCarthy insinuates that one of the most important government agencies, the State Department "is infested with Communists" (Chafe 50). He then says that he had a list of 57 people he believed to be "either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party" (Chafe 50). The truth is there was no list, no names, it was just Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 7. Essay Mccarthyism and Its Effects on America McCarthyism not only destroyed the lives and careers of many Americans but also the innocent image of the country. Senator Joe McCarthy from Wisconsin was the same as any man. But when he cried Communism the world seemed to listen.<br><br>Following the Cold War between Russia and the United States there came many hardships, such as unemployment and high inflation. These hardships produced a restless society. The society then looked for something or someone to blame (Fried, 39). They found someone to blame. Communists. Throughout the country there was a witch hunt known as the Red Scare. A basic idea was formed:Communism was evil. Anyone who participated in such evil was considered illegitimate and were to be excluded from such things as...show more content... Laws would hold no meaning and innocent people would be accused (Feuerlicht, 154). <br><br>Communists were everywhere. But they were hard to identify because Communism was a philosophy. There was no way a person could provide supporting evidence that someone believed in something (Feuerlicht, 154). According to McCarthy there were over 200 Communists in the State Department (Feuerlicht, 55). And some 57 cases of people who fall into the category of card – carrying Communists, loyalist of the Communist Party, or risks to the nation (Divine, 265). Despite the issue of Communists in America there was a bigger issue, Communist spies. Though the truth of the matter is that all countries spy and are spied on, even America. The shock felt by the nation was not lessened (Feuerlicht, 54). Communist spies were the worst kind because they were not the type that stole plans for new weapons they worked from within. They were the people helping us build our policy (Divine, 265). These Communist spies were also hard to find because very few made it easy and confessed to being a spy. One such a person was a German named Klaus Fuchs. He confessed to spying for the Russians while he worked on the development of the atom bomb (Fried, 120).<br><br>Many Americans lives and careers were lost due to McCarthy and his accusations. Hollywood's leaders resisted allowing politicians to regulate their hiring practices, but following the HUAC hearings the "blacklists" began in Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 8. Communism In Joseph Mccarthy's Second Red Scare "Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party (Barnes)?" This question was asked by Republican senator Joseph McCarthy to hundreds of people that he proclaimed were Communists during the late 1940s and early 1950s. McCarthy's words were ones of fear that the American public gravitated toward to show their hatred for communism. Although this anti–communist effort was only most evident in the mid–20th century, the McCarthy strategy of creating baseless claims against people continues to happen in today's society. The media has covered and created false stories that the American public thrives on. Many people see these stories as factual instead of falsehoods. The American population has also become McCarthy–esque...show more content... After World War I, America was having economic difficulties. William Wheeler and Susan Becker said, "The Bolshevik Revolution gave many Americans a convenient scapegoat for their postwar troubles. A few Americans were involved in radical activities, as evidenced by the discovery of numerous mail bombs intended for thirty–six prominent government leaders. Americans, however, identified communist conspirators as the cause of all their postwar difficulties" (Wheeler 233). The accusation of communists against America created the first hatred toward the organization. Americans now believed that communism was not just a factor on the other side of the world. It was now near their homes. The fear of communism was growing larger and larger with each passing day. During theCold War, the Soviets had created an atomic bomb (Giblin 75). The invention brought the War to new heights with total destruction seeming inevitable. More and more countries were becoming communist, as well. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and China ("McCarthyism"). China was taken in 1949 by communist rebels ("Joseph McCarthy"). It was feared that communism would spread around the globe, eventually reaching the United States. The tension between democracy and communism was at an all–time Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 9. Connecting McCarthyism and The Crucible Essay The horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never occur again. People look back on these times and are appalled at how horrendous the times were; yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. During this time, Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator from Wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists or communist sympathizers, which is parallel to the Salem witch trials in the late 1690s when innocent people were accused of practicing witchcraft. One of the people McCarthy accused was author and playwright Arthur Miller. To express his outrage at McCarthy's actions, miller wrote The Crucible, intentionally drawing similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials. ...show more content... Like Abigail, McCarthy had no evidence against the people he blamed of being communists. His list contained 205 names of communists and "[was] mainly based on a vague report" (1). Although there was not evidence against the accused communists, the American people were ready to believe that communists had infiltrated their country because the communist Soviet Union had already taken over other countries, including China, Korea, and North Vietnam ("Domino Theory" 1). Like the American people, the town folk of Salem were willing to believe that there were witches in their town since witchcraft had just been discovered in nearby Andover, where forty people were accused of witchcraft ("Andover, Massachusetts" 1). Both McCarthy and Abigail were able to take advantage of the atmosphere of hysteria during their time period to get what they so desperately wanted. Yet their reigns of power did not last long. When Abigail accused highly respected people such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, the townspeople were not so willing to accept that the people they respected were practicing witchcraft. Abigail's credibility wavered. Likewise, when McCarthy accused officials in the United States Army of being communists and innocent children like Shirley Temple, people began doubting his credibility, especially with the lack of evidence ("The Red Scare: McCarthyism" 1). Although the periods that Abigail and McCarthy controlled people's fear was Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 10. The Red Scare and McCarthyism Essays The Red Scare and McCarthyism had begun Paranoia, disloyalty, people losing jobs. The Red Scare and McCarthyism both made everything else worse. Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. At the end of the month when they get their paychecks they both end up with the same amount of money it is not fair, right? but that is more or less what McCarthyism is. During the 1950s, there was a great amount of paranoia and the government technically speaking did not confide in anyone else and falsely accused other people (Essay). The government was so paranoid that they had...show more content... People that worked in the army or were part of the movie industry had to answer to this question (McCarthyism). Another one of the major things that happened in the 1950s was the Red Scare. What that means is that people were scared that communists would rise against them. Many of the people were very affected and according to The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:"Hundreds of screenwriters, actors, and directors were blacklisted because of their alleged political beliefs, while teachers, steelworkers, sailors, lawyers, and social workers lost their jobs for similar reasons.More than thirty–nine states required teachers and other public employees to take loyalty oaths" (Anti– Communism). As you can see many people, many important people had been affected. Many books were also burned or banned such as Robin Hood, Civil Disobedience, etc (Anti–Communism). As was stated before many people had lost their jobs because the government was suspicious of people. The government was not doing so well there was so much disloyalty that teachers had to take an oath of loyalty before they were hired. Could you imagine someone making you take an oath of loyalty before you were hired just because of a few problems with the government? well it happened (Anti–Communism). They also banned a ton of books that were considered too "leftist" (democrats) which means they were Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 11. The Crucible Mccarthyism Essay McCarthyism and its Influence on The Crucible After World War Two, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, was beginning to gain more power over surrounding countries, and the people of the United States of America became concerned about the possibility of communists taking over the world. The Soviets had recently created and tested its first atomic bomb, and thus many were afraid that there would be an apocalyptic nuclear war between their two countries. Starting in 1947 and continuing throughout the fifties, all citizens of America were requested to have background checks done on them by the government to make sure they were not Soviet spies. After one state official, Alger Hiss, was convicted of espionage, Americans became extremely...show more content... He was convicted of contempt for not cooperating with the court and giving them names of communists, even if he was not one and would not know of any in the first place. His passport was taken away by the government, assumingly so that he would not go to the Soviet Union and leak information to their government. However, the only thing it prevented him from doing was going to Brussels to see the premier of his play. Miller's involvement in McCarthyism led to his portrayal of the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible because he believed that the investigations happening in theUnited States were nothing more than a witch hunt. Many connections between the trials of the 1690s and those of the Cold–War Era can be made. The most notable one is the fact that in both cases, the chaos that ensued was a result of nothing more than the fear of the unwanted from those in society. In Salem, the unwanted were the witches, who were workers of Satan in their very religious Puritan society. In the United States, the problem was the communists, the products of an increasingly–popular governmental system overseas that "normal" Americans did not agree with, and were afraid it would take over. In the end, the point that Miller was trying to make with his The Crucible was that McCarthyism was really just as foolish as the Salem Witch Trials, and with the play he was trying to make people realize Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 12. Mccarthyism : America 's History McCarthyism has a lot to do with America 's history, even still today examples of McCarthyism are seen in america . Most victims of mccarthyism are hollywood actors and famous people because they impact american society more than regular people. Famous people such as Helen Keller, Leonard Bernstein , Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Artie Shaw, Zero Mostel, Charlie Chaplin, Langston Hughes, Orson Welles, and Dolores del Rio were blamed for supposedly being part of the communist party. But that was not all, there was also another 205 average people that were blamed for being a part of the communist party as well. McCarthy's committee then started investigating the United States Army. His charges kept affecting more and more powerful people. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. McCarthyism was used to make unfair allegations and using unfair investigative techniques in order to restrict dissent or political criticism. McCarthyism was developed by Joseph McCarthy, the whole purpose of why he did it was to scare Americans in order to make them not want to be a communist. McCarthyism led to several people being accused of being part of the communist party all by people blaming them when they had no hard facts that they were even a part of communism. in the McCarthy trials more than three–hundred twenty people were falsely accused of being communists and in the Salem witch trials more than 100 people were falsely Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 13. Mccarthyism Research Paper McCarthyism, first look at the word and around 90% of people wonder what it actually means. McCarthyism is "the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion or treason without any means or evidence". So now that that's out of the way, the new question people are asking themselves now is "How was Hollywood the PERPETRATOR rather than the VICTIM of McCarthyism?" McCarthyism most often seen in America during the period of time from 1950 to 1956, otherwise known as the "Second Red Scare" (and has been found throughout America during all the wars from World War I where people were frightened because of spies once America joined in that war, World War II for fear of Nazi supporters, and The Cold War for Communist supporters), where people were often accused of being Communists, harbouring Communists, interacting with known Communists, etc. This led to scares in even the most desolate of places with the fear that someone might just randomly accuse you of being a Communist and have you become a subject of aggressive investigators. McCarthyism suspects were often those in schools, union activists, and in the entertainment industry (Hollywood) so people there were in a huge amount of pressure not to make it look as though they had nothing to hide, they didn't do anything that could be taken in any way as "Communist like" and they lived in constant fear that they would suddenly be fired the very next day for supporting Communism when in fact, they didn't. Hollywood, as Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 14. McCarthyism Essay &amp;#65279; The McCarthy Hearings Senator Joseph McCarthy instilled fear into the minds of the Americans with his anti– Communist thinking, with his ideals. Senator McCarthy, during 1950–1954, disrupted the United States with the HUAC ( House of Un–American Activity Committee) Hearings. These hearings brought government workers, college professors, playwrights and Hollywood screen writers, actors, artists, musicians, gays, Jews and anyone with a goatee under suspicion. Joseph McCarthy was an unknown senator from Wisconsin, who wanted to be in the spotlight. During a speech in West Virginia, Senator McCarthy accused the State Department of being full of Communists. The media...show more content... As a result of the accusations, a group of Hollywood liberals established the "Committee for the First Amendment". The CFA went to Washington to support their Hollywood but in the end denied all involvement with them because they felt they were being used. Many people in Hollywood had lost their jobs because of the HUAC meetings. President Truman at a Democratic meeting backed the Anti–Communist feelings to gain political and popular support. It was very common for people to have to take an Anti–Communist oaths when they worked in the government. If they refused, they were fired. McCarthyism left its mark on the United States government and its people. If the public could express their opinions about the government without their fears about being labeled a Communist, an event such as the Vietnam War may have not taken place. The cultural and academic life was also affected. T.V. shows were bland and non–threatening, as were movies. The United States tried to isolate itself from Communism and liberal views. It was not until the 1960's with the Civil Rights Movement and the full–blown Vietnam War, that the liberal ideas began to be accepted. McCarthyism and "The Crucible" have many similarities such as the need for attention. Senator McCarthy was looking for attention and made accusations about the State Department having Communist–personnel. There was no proof of this and he never
  • 15. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 16. Mccarthyism: The Crucible And The Mccarthy Era Crucible and McCarthyism Essay by : Baylei Cox There have been many events in history that shape the time we live in. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in McCarthy Era because of fear, accusations, anger within the people. The way the Crucible showed fear was,"I saw Goody Hawkins with the devil!" this quote from Abigail shows how accusations started the whole Hysteria and brought people in front of the court because they were being accused of participating in witchcraft. Nobody wanted to be punished or killed. When Abigail started accusing people of being witches or communicating with the devil, everyone started to get scared that she would accuse them. McCarthy era played a role in fear as well, Nuclear war. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 17. Joseph Mccarthyism Research Paper During the late 1940's, Senator Joseph McCarthy had begun rumors of infiltrated communists, which would later become to be known as "McCarthyism". McCarthyism was showed in many different ways such as falsely accusing, and the widespread use of fear throughout the nation of communism. in the political cartoon "It's okay – we're hunting communists", The HUAC (which played a large role in the second red scare alongside McCarthyism), is shown ramming into a large crowd of people, which signifies how the people driving the "HUAC car" were affected and influenced by McCarthyism to search many people due to speculations and lots of news surrounding communism infiltration (Block). During the time of McCarthyism, there were many investigations and Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 18. Mccarthyism Analysis The "rhetorical function dictated by the novel's ruling paradigm" (Tompkins 278) is supposed to be "the presence of realistic detail...[that] lull[s] readers into thinking that they are in an everyday world" (Tompkins 278), so they end up finding out about the "expression of a highly schematic intent" (Tompkins 278) due to the inherent fakeness of the paradigm in the book. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 19. Joseph McCarthy Essay Joseph McCarthy Throughout the early 1950's, the nation was deeply engrossed in fears of a Communist takeover. At a time when America's fears were at their very height, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin pushed America's fears to an extreme. As a ploy to get himself re–elected, and to make America hate Communism as much as he did, the Senator devised a devious scheme. McCarthy, while giving a speech, held up a piece of paper and exclaimed, "I have here a list of 57 known Communists who are currently employed by the U.S. State Department" (Fried, 89). A few days later, McCarthy raised the number of people on the list from 57 to 205. The reaction to McCarthy's announcement was absolute panic. Until that time, the...show more content... Everyone knew about it, but no one ever talked about it. The first knowledge many American's had of Communism came from Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain Speech" (Matusow, 45). Churchill basically said in his speech that the Soviet Union was pushing forward a global Communist takeover. And Churchill also said that he believed, "We should not let such a force loose on the planet" (Matusow, 46). That was the first time many American eyes were opened to Communism, and McCarthy made sure it was not the last. The entire chaos that Senator McCarthy caused had become collectively known as "The Red Scare" (Feuerlicht, 34). McCarthy used this entire "Red Scare" idea to boost his hopes for re–election. But an elected official is supposed to be a representative of the people. All McCarthy did was abuse his power and pull the wool over the people's eyes. McCarthy did not work for the benefit of the people. He only worked for the benefit of himself. Next, the people whose lives McCarthy destroyed must be looked at. In the immediate aftermath of McCarthy's speech came many accusations. America wanted the people that McCarthy said were on his list. But when asked for the list, McCarthy said he lost it, and he could not remember which individuals were on the list. But he said he did see some key Hollywood figures on it. That was when the focus shifted to all of Hollywood. If anyone thought that an actor or actress seemed suspicious, they would simply start gossip about Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 20. Victims Of Mccarthyism During The Cold War McCarthyism was practiced during the Cold War. People would report someone who was allegedly a communist and they would be put on trial in front of a court. In the United States, communism was feared and many people grew wary of neighbors due to this fear, as they didn't know who was a communist. Panic was widespread across America because of this. However, most of the time, whenever someone was accused of being a communist it was to get back at that person for one reason or another. Victims of McCarthyism included government employees, famous actors and directors, homosexuals, voices behind radio talk shows, union activists, teachers, and people with relations to a "communist." Even in the event that the trial ended up concluding that the Get more content on HelpWriting.net