McCarthyism

McCarthyism is a term that was named after Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.  McCarthy was a prominent public figure in the early 1950's.  At that time, known as the Red Scare, people were afraid that communism was going to take over the world.  McCarthy gained attention by claiming that he had a list of Soviet spies in the United States government.  However, he never provided any evidence for his accusations.  For a few years, he continued to accuse people of being communist without giving any evidence.  Despite this, many people believed him.  Some of the accused were imprisoned, but even those who were not suffered.  No one wanted to hire a communist, so many people accused lost their jobs and had their careers destroyed.  McCarthy mainly targeted government employees, union activists, educators, and those in the movie industry.  In 1954 McCarthy accused the army of being communist, which led to a highly publicized case about it.  This made McCarthy lose support and popularity.

Since then, the term has expanded to envelop more than simply the actions of Joseph McCarthy.  It can also be used to describe other unjustified accusations of communism during the 1950's.  For example, the House Committee on Un-American Activities formed a Hollywood blacklist, which listed all of the Hollywood actors who they suspected were communist.

Today, McCarthyism is used in an even more general way.  It can be used to describe many actions, from making badly supported accusations to questioning a person's patriotism to accusing someone of being disloyal in order to pressure them to conform.

~By Erin M

McCarthyism

McCarthyism

The most famous anti-Communist activist during the Red Scare was Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin. My January 1950, he had a reputation as an ineffective legislator and had to pick a winning issue that would get him reelected in 1952. He chose to claim that communists were infiltrating the government.

McCarthy made many unsupported accusations, such as claiming that there were hundreds of Communists in the State Department without producing a single name. He also accused the Democratic Party of “20 years of treason”.  The Republican Party did little to stop McCarthy because they believed they would win the 1952 presidential election of the public saw them purging the nation of Communists.

However, when McCarthy made accusations against the US Army, it resulted in a nationally televised Senate investigation. His bullying of witnesses alienated the audience and cost him public support. The Senate condemned him for improper conduct that “tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute”. Three years later, an alcoholic McCarthy died a disgraced and broken man.

To this day, the unfair tactic of accusing people of disloyalty without providing evidence is known as McCarthyism.

By: Derek Nielsen and Aston Sun

McCarthyism

During the time anti-Communist fever was sweeping the nation, one senator saw the opportunity to make a name for himself and garner supporters. That man was Senator Joseph McCarthy.

McCarthy, after his first three years in the Senate, had become known for being an ineffective legislator. Realizing that his unpopularity put his reelection to the Senate at risk, McCarthy took advantage of anti-Communist sentiment and charged that Communists were taking over the government.

McCarthy repeatedly made one untenable accusation after another about who the Communists were in the government. This act of accusation without evidence became known as McCarthyism. McCarthy eventually claimed, at three separate times, that there were 57, 81, and 205 Communists in the State Department. He even charged that the Democratic Party was guilty for allowing Communist infiltration into the government. Such slander would have gotten McCarthy sued had it not been for his legal immunity in the Senate that protected him. McCarthy’s own party, the Republicans, did not moderate his actions because they believed he would win the 1952 presidential election if the public saw McCarthy cleansing the nation of Communists.

However, McCarthy finally went too far when he accused the U.S. Army of harboring and being Communist. This led to a nationally televised Senate investigation that resulted in the Senate condemning him for his dishonest actions. McCarthy, who suffered from alcoholism, died three years later a broken and dishonored man.

by Jonathan Marson and Andy Yeh