America's Uncivil Wars

Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin was the person that was partially responsible for the fear instilled in American citizens thinking that communists lived among them. McCarthy appeared on television making countless accusations of many people ranging from politicians to actors. He made it a point to tell the citizens that the United States government was not properly dealing with communism. Although all these accusation were made, McCarthy was never able to adequately back up these claims. Aside from McCarthyism, which is now a term used for “unsubstantiated accusations,” the US Government set up a committee called the House Un- American Activities Committee (HUAC) to do investigations. One major case was the case against Alger Hiss. He was an American government official who was accused an tried for espionage and served a 5 year sentence. The creation of committees specifically dedicated to finding those that may be communist spies in the United States shows exactly how far the paranoia in our country went. McCarthy never had a single piece of evidence to expose the people he wrongfully accused but people were quick to jump and agree with him out of their own fear. McCarthy was able to convince thousands that what he was saying was true because of the status of his targets which made it more believable. Just because of all the mass hysteria that was happening overseas involving

Senator Joseph McCarthy is notorious for his speech where he claimed to have a list of two hundred five communists. He became partially responsible for the communist witch hunts, which cost many people their jobs and their reputations. In his speech “Enemies From Within,” he uses metaphors and appeals to ethos and pathos in order to convince his audience that communism is a major threat to the US, and many powerful people are communist. The United States and USSR were allies during World War II, and only after the war did tensions arise. McCarthy uses metaphors to explain why communism was not treated as such a threat until after the war. He states that the apathy towards communism was due to an “emotional hangover” caused by the war, and “this

After the end of World War II on September 2, 1945, a new era called the Cold War began. The Cold War was a non-violent state of political and military tension between the democratic and capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union: two of the biggest powers of the world at the time. However, they were drastically different in both economy and politics, allowing rivalry to build up. They both wanted to become the most powerful nation of the world, and both feared that the other nation would rise up to become the most powerful nation of the world.

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 the United 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.

Senator Joseph McCarthy fed the increasing panic, using unfounded rumors and intimidation to gain popularity as a potent government figure. With this newfound fame and influence, McCarthy denounced numerous public figures as being communist supporters. His victims included government officials, celebrities, intellectuals, and anyone else opposed to his view point. Most people accused by McCarthy were innocent, but many lost their reputation, and often their employment. People later came to realize that his accusations were false and McCarthy soon after died. The term “McCarthyism” has an everlasting connection with the Red Scare and persecution of the

Senator Joseph McCarthy wildly raged that Soviet spies had infiltrated the State Department and were re-directing it to support Communism abroad. A multitude of these allegations were false. The lives and reputation of hundreds were ruined by McCarthy’s verbal attacks. He led a craze through government to root out suspected communists. As more and more people were accused, the hysteria increased. The government was powerless to stop the rampant forces of McCarthyism, as government officials feared that criticizing McCarthy’s tactics would result in their being accused. As a result of the senators’ unscrupulous statements, “McCarthyism” is defined as “the political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence.” He also contributed the Second Red Scare occurring in the 1950, after his crusade created massive hysteria. His downfall occurred after going too far in his communist witch hunt, and soon there was a backlash against him. Ultimately, McCarthy alleged Communist influence in

Through the 1940s and 1950s, America was beleaguered with anxieties about the menace of communism arising in Eastern Europe and China. Profiting out of such worries of the nation, young Senator Joseph McCarthy made an open charge that hundreds of "card-carrying" communists had penetrate in the United States government. Although his allegations were found ultimately to be false and the Senate reproached him for improper ways, his ardent shakeup heralded as one of the most tyrannical era in 20th-century American politics. While the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAA) had been made in 1938 as a body to resist communists, McCarthy's charges enhanced the political nervousness of the epoch. The suspicious chase for moles,

The United States sought to prevent the spread of communism, in order to limit the Soviet Union’s global authority. Americans viewed communism as a direct threat to democracy, free-market values, and civil liberties. They feared “communists are dedicated to the overthrow” of the American government (doc. 7.10). Due to the domino effect, Americans feared if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, the surrounding countries would follow. In order to protect American security and belittle the Soviet Union’s global authority, the United States intervened in Korea and Vietnam. Additionally, Joseph McCarthy, the junior senator from Wisconsin, claimed he had “a list of 205” traitorous U.S. government employees who were secretly communist (doc. 7.14). This sparked mass fear among American society, due to the concerte number given of 205. The belief that there was enemies from within further encouraged Americans to adopt the foreign policy of containment to ensure communism would not threaten American democracy and

In the war, the U.S. and the Soviets fought as allies, but after the war, their alliance fractured due to the conflicting ideologies of government. This controversy brought up an old phenomenon of anticommunism. Americans feared communism was seeping into the U.S. government and arguments were brought up that communist sympathizers posed a threat for national security. This fear lead U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy to start a crusade to find and expose American communists, later these tactics came to be known as McCarthyism. His campaign lasted from 1950 to 1954 and it became one of the most controversial movements in U.S. history (Ventura).

The fear of communism in America held a significant presence during and after World War II. The establishment of The House of Un-American Activities Committees in the late 1940’s was a result of this fear. The committee investigated communist influence in Hollywood and accused ten writers and directors of communism and were then subjected to a year in jail and were blacklisted. Then in the early 1950’s, Senator of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy established a public view of McCarthyism. McCarthy claimed he knew of many government employees working for the Communist Party. Joseph McCarthy’s speech “Enemies Within” launched anticommunism hearings in the Senate sub-committee. McCarthy accused many of communist activity and all he accused would be convicted unless they gave names of other “communists”. He even accused decorated World War II hero’s, which would eventually be the downfall of his McCarthyism point of view. The United Sates also had a constant fear of nuclear bombs, which was a powerful weapon that became popular amongst many world powers; especially the Soviets after they exploded their first atomic bomb in 1949. Communism in America was a taboo

Joe McCarthy enjoyed a short reign in the spotlight of American politics in the early 1950s. His tactics, the baseless accusations of Communist ties, would come to be called McCarthyism and they set the tone of the American crusade against the ‘threat’ of Communism for years to come. The era in which the heavily anti-Communist McCarthyism reigned in America was one marked by fear, suspicion, and tightly geld ideals. Many found themselves under fire from the political witch hunts and more than one life was destroyed by the accusations brought upon it. The illegalization of the Communist movement and the misfortune that a Communist branding would cause were all unfortunate products of a fallacy filled mindset what stripped Americans of their

McCarthyism, like the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust, targeted a specific group of people and was caused from one person blaming others based on suspicion. Senator Joseph McCarthy rose to power because he “capitalized on national paranoia by proclaiming that communist spies were omnipresent and that he was America’s only salvation” (U.S. History, “McCarthyism”). Since there had already been cases where government employees were convicted of being spies for communist countries, fear and panic struck Americans quickly which caused them to turn to Senator McCarthy for safety. During the 1950s, Americans had a logical reason to fear communism because they were at war with other countries that have a communist government. This fear was rooted from the belief that if the United States lost the war, the Americans would lose their freedom of speech, not have their own religious beliefs, and lose their land (“Why did Americans fear communism”). Now that America has been an established federal government, the McCarthyism era is seen as an unnecessary part of United States history because thousands of people lost their jobs based on little to no evidence of committing espionage. The same accusations made by McCarthy are extremely similar to those from Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris in the Salem Witch Trials. In both the McCarthyism Hearings and the Salem Witch Trials, the

Joseph McCarthy is a desperate and unlikeable U.S senator who uses fear against others, which leads to the use of the horrific use of McCarthyism. Mccarthy is not a supporter of communists, “Thus he spread terror among his peers. His Republican colleagues were torn between fear of his prowess and willingness to use his attacks on President Harry Truman” (“Joseph”). McCarthy claims that people working within the U.S government are communists and that they should be exposed. Mccarthy blames others so people see him as a hero for saving the country from communist. His desperateness causes him to accuse his peers of being communists. For that reason people do not want to be around him because of the “terror” he causes and “spreads”. Mccarthy wants to do everything to address the problem of communism. Therefore, to prove that there is a problem going on, “McCarthy claimed to have in hand a list of 205 people in the U.S. State Department

McCarthy turned Americans against each other by developing the fear of communism. During the time in America, the Cold war was rampant so the idea of communism was present around the war against Russia.The idea of indicting fellow Americans as communist during the Red Scare was very common due to McCarthy’s allegations. According to the article, McCarthy announced “I have here in hand a list of 205- a list of names” this shows that he was willing to announce names of people that were alleged communists. McCarthy also accused members of power for example, the article claims “he has alleged 57 communist worked in the state department” this shows he was willing to create chaos among those that were suppose to be trusted by civilians. McCarthyism

When senator Joseph McCarthy announced the presence of communists in the United States, aroused fear in the public which led to infamous the Red Scare. Senator McCarthy used this fear to his advantage and political standing. The Red Scare took place in the late 1940s and late 1950s, as a result of the cold war conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. According to History , the Soviets had long carried out espionage activities in the U.S. with the aid of American citizens, http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare. Though there were some spies in America; the methods of searching for communists by McCarthy were not very effective or logical.