McCarthyism

Joseph McCarthy, a famous anti-Communist activist and Republican from Wisconsin, created a movement that came to be known as McCarthyism.

This concept began in the early 1950s. McCarthy was looking for a winning issue in order to get himself reelected in 1952, thus he overhyped his anti-Communist beliefs- claiming that Communists were taking over the government.

His main tactic was taking advantage of Americans' growing fear of communism. He made numerous unsupported accusations. Sometimes he claimed to have the names of all the Communists in the State Department. He accused the Democrats of "20 years of treason" for allowing Communists penetrate the government, and made other ridiculous accusations.

McCarthy's downfall came when he made accusations about the U.S. Army, which launched a nationally televised State investigation. McCarthy lost public support, and was condemned for improper conduct that brought dishonor and a bad reputation to the U.S. Senate.

The effects of McCarthyism were seen nation-wide. By 1953, 39 states passed laws making advocacy of overthrowing of government illegal. Many times people were forced to take a loyalty oath, and many times people refused to sign petitions in fear of ideas being deemed "communist".

-Nicole Pavlovsky