During the McCarthy Era of the 1950s in America, Senator Joseph McCarthy exploited fears about communism for political gain. He claimed to have a list of government employees who were communists and launched accusations with little evidence. McCarthyism led to widespread paranoia where Americans were denounced as communist sympathizers. It influenced society through restrictions on education, censorship of media, and promotion of pro-American ideals. McCarthy's accusations eventually lost credibility and he was censured after televised hearings showed his bullying behavior, marking the end of the McCarthy Era.

1. McCarthyism The McCarthy Era (1950s)

2. McCarthyism Anti-Communist hysteria and suspicion Americans turned on their fellow citizens Denounced Americans as Communist sympathizers based on little or no evidence

3. Senator Joseph McCarthy Little known Republican senator from Wisconsin He would have been defeated in bid for reelection in 1950 He found a way to promote himself for reelection as an anti-Communist On Feb. 12, 1950. McCarthy gave a campaign speech where he said he had a list of 205 people in the government that were communists

4. McCarthy was able to get reelected and became an active committee member for HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) Went after government leaders and movie stars (McCarthy made quite a name for himself in pursuit of supposed communists) Main reason for his success was the Cold War

5. Anti-Communist Sentiment in American Society McCarthyism became a major part of our society in the 1950s Many states went after Communists, put people in jail for long sentences if affiliated with Communists On federal level, illegal to be a member of the Communist Party Anti-Communists hysteria influenced American Education Textbooks pushed patriotism and preached anti-communism Un-American books were banned from libraries

6. Movie makers began to make films that promoted American ideals or were anti-Communist This is the era that “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance

7. The End of McCarthyism McCarthy, despite his popularity, proved very little and gradually people became wise to him On televised hearings, McCarthy made a fool of himself, acting like a bully and even sounding like he was drunk Eventually he was censured by the Senate and faded away, dying 3 years later One of the ironies of all of this is that were very few actual Communists in the US