Joseph McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin during the 1950s who gained fame for accusing over 200 government employees of being communists. During the height of the Red Scare and Cold War hysteria, McCarthy named people like John Service who had expressed views seen as too favorable to communism. This led McCarthy to launch a widespread witch hunt where he made unproven claims against thousands. His tactics ruined lives and careers but support waned as his accusations grew absurd, damaging the anti-communist cause. He was eventually censured by the Senate and died disgraced in 1957.

1. McCarthyismThe Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy

2. Who was Joseph McCarthy?
●
Senator from Wisconsin during the 1950s
●
●
Former U.S. Marine
●
●
Gained national recognition due to a speech he gave
in 1950 in Wheeling, WV

3. What did McCarthy do?
●
In his speech, McCarthy accused
a list of 205 members of the
U.S. State Department,
claiming they were members of
the Communist Party.
●
●
He did this during the Cold War,
a time of great hysteria
throughout the world, so his
allegations seemed reasonable
to most Americans.

4. John Service
●
In his speech, McCarthy went on to list specific individuals, one
being John Service.
●
●
According to the Senator, Service, who had been working in
China, sent back reports saying Communism was in China's
best interests.
●
●
McCarthy instantly condemned him as a communist.
●

5. What happened to John Service?
●
McCarthy felt that Service should
be punished and prosecuted for
his actions, but instead the State
Department promoted him.
●
On top of that, the man who
wanted to prosecute Service,
Joseph Grew, was forced to
resign.
●
McCarthy then fledged a full-
force attack on the State
Department.

6. Why all the craziness?
●
McCarthy, along with many
other Americans, radically
feared Communism and
all things related to it.
●
McCarthy quoted a historical figure,
agreeing that, “When a
democracy is destroyed, it will
not be because of enemies from
without, but rather because of
enemies from within.”

7. McCarthy's Plan
●
On February 20, 1950,
McCarthy brought a plan
to the Senate. He
provided a list of 81 cases.
The Senate set up a
committee and began
investigations for each of
the cases.
●
The trials were extremely
unfair. If accused refused
trial, the committee said it
was because they wouldn't
own up to their
Communist actions. If
found guilty, their
reputation and career were
in jeopardy, and they
faced a possibility of jail
time along with a fine.

8. Where did McCarthy get his
information?
●
A Jesuit priest from
Georgetown University
informed McCarthy that
Communism was a major
issue in U.S. Politics.
●
He supposedly received inside
information from a friend, J.
Edgar Hoover, who was head
of the Federal Bureau of
Investigations.

9. What next?
●
McCarthy did not stop after accusing the State
Department.
●
●
He went on to affirm that Communists had penetrated
American life at all levels.
●
●
McCarthyism had only begun, and the accusations
continued.

10. Hollywood
●
McCarthyism had a huge effect
on Hollywood.
●
Studios would no longer hire
anyone associated with the
Communist Party.
●
Many talented artists moved to
England, Mexico, or
elsewhere to continue their
work.
●
Lucille Ball and Shirley temple
were among those
questioned.

11. Arthur Miller
●
Miller, married to Marilyn
Monroe, was accused and
asked to sign an anti-
Communist declaration.
●
He was subpoenaed in 1956 for
contempt of Congress because
he would not name others.
●
The hearing cost him $40,000 in
lawyer fees, and $500 fine, and
a one year suspension.
●
The process inspired Miller
to write The Crucible,
which is one of few pieces
of writing left from the
McCarthy era.

12. Subject Matter
●
Beyond traumatizing the lives of numerous actors,
screenwriters, and producers, McCarthyism had an impact on
the finished products that made their way out of Hollywood.
●
Anything referring to Communism was not allowed.
●
Controversial topics were to be avoided.
●
Entertainment became sillier and less meaningful.

13. Beyond Hollywood
●
No one was safe from his
accusations.
●
He accused Hollywood,
government workers, gays
Jews, etc.
●
McCarthy attacked
universities.
●
State governments and
school boards followed
suit.
●
Books were taken off of
shelves for “Communist-
●
One book taken was Robbin
Hood, due to its message
regarding taking from the
rich and giving to the
poor.

14. How far is too far?
●
Rather than quit while he was ahead, McCarthy took his witch hunt
to the next level and began attacking the U.S. Army in 1954.
●
The hearings were televised, and the trials lasted eight weeks.
●
This allowed Americans to see McCarthyism for what it truly was, a
cruel, unfair witch-hunt.
●
The army lashed back, questioning methods and credibility.
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Council for the Army asked, “At long last, have you no sence of
decency left?”

15. Military Officials
●
Rising doubts did not slow
McCarthy.
●
He began attacking even
higher military officials,
including Robert Stevens,
the Secretary of the Army.
●
Stevens released evidence of
unjust strategies used by the
committee, including
intimidation, offers of
protection, and promises of
promotion.

16. President Eisenhower
● The President had had
enough.
● McCarthy then went on to
accuse Eisenhower
himself of having
Communist connections.
● More people began to doubt
McCarthy's accuracy.
● Eisenhower asked Vice
President, Richard Nixon,
to attack McCarthy.

17. The Results
●
In the end, not a single charge
against a government official
was ever proven to be true.
●
Everyone was getting tired of
McCarthyism, from fellow
Republicans to the American
public.
●
A subcommittee was formed to
look into his claims.
●
The committee found that his
accusations were unjust and
unreasonable.

18. The Downfall
●
McCarthyism lived a powerful but short life.
●
McCarthy lost his chairmanship of the Government
Committee on Operations of the Senate.
●
The government and media lost interest in him.
●
The hearings ended, and the Senator was removed from
the public eye.

19. Aftermath
●
People were angry after the
charade was over.
●
Senate decided to have
McCarthy condemned for
charging the Senate itself.
●
People got more confident in
their statements against
McCarthy, including writers
and cartoonists.
●
Many felt he gave anti-
Communism a bad name.

20. What happened next?
●
The state of paranoia calmed down, but the results did
not disappear.
●
For years after the era, movies, books, and television
upheld their anti-Communist approach.
●
People were less open about their views because they
feared being interrogated.
●
McCarthy's popularity waned, and he died of alcohol
abuse in 1957.

21. Why did this happen?
●
McCarthy became too
powerful and didn't know
what to do with himself.
●
He took advantage of the
power given to him,
eventually taking things too
far.
●
Much like in The Crucible, the
accusations started out
plausible only to become
extremely unreasonable,
causing great unrest.
●
McCarthy out-did
himself, and it cost
him.

22. THE END

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