An Accurate Assessment of the 50's and 60's in America

McCarthyism shook up the United States during the 1950’s. The Man all behind it was Senator McCarthy.McCarthy was a senator which lots of great achievements! He was the youngest member of the Senate. For the most part McCarthy flew under the radar and did not really make his presence known, “He helped pass a bill to end sugar rationing.” Majorly all he did was under the radar until that one day when he gave that speech in West Virginia on February 9,1950.As McCarthy gave that speech he held up this paper and said “I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State

In her paper, "What We Really Miss About the 1950s", Stephany Coontz contends about the "myth" of the 50s. Coontz is a specialist on family and she has composed books and showed up on TV on various events. She appears to think about her work literally. She even specifies herself in a few samples in the content and some of her own acknowledge about media and data that got to be clearer to her after turning into a mother herself.

In the 1700's and 1800's the United States was plagued by diseases like cholera and measles, however in the mid to late 1900's the U.S. suffered from a different kind of disease that infected its citizens and stripped them of their fundamental rights; McCarthyism. During the 1950's, the junior senator of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, started a campaign to expose all communists. Although trusted reporters like Edward R. Murrow and Congress members like Margaret Chase Smith confronted Senator McCarthy, he was still able to tarnish the reputations of hundreds of falsely accused people. There were a variety of different reasons and methods behind McCarthy becoming extremely powerful, he was able to accomplish this through manipulating, lying and

During the 1950s there was a rise in the fear of communism called “The Red Scare”. Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the many people who contributed to people’s fear by making a list of people who he said were communists even though there was no proof in most cases. In an article by Alan Brinkley called “The 1950s Part One: McCarthy and The Red Scare”, it informs, “McCarthy was only one of many who helped create the great fear. The Red Scare was visible in almost every area of American life” (Brinkley). This quote tell us that in the 1950s even though Senator Joseph McCarthy was a huge contributor to The Red Scare. His list of suspected communists made rumors spread and the people on the list get questioned and even go to jail when in some cases they were innocent. It also says in the article by USHistory.org called “McCarthyism: Witch Hunting and Blacklisting in America”, that, “In the 1950s anyone who was considered a communist could be questioned and thrown in jail” (USHistory.org). Which means that his allegations could have easily put people in prison.

McCarthy was the senator of Wisconsin and he makes no name for himself. It is a list of 200 members of the Department of State that are referred to as Communists. The punishments of being accused of being a Communist is it could lead to “loss of employment and destroyed reputation, could be jailed.” (McCarthy’s List). The people could lose their jobs and be jailed if they do not confess or release information on former Communists. If they refuse they would be punished with a series of false accusations that could not be justified. It did many damage to peoples lives and careers. The people felt threatened because if they do not release the information their careers would be over and they would have no life. The people did not known what to do. Finally, McCarthy did not find any communists and his “personal power collapsed in 1954 when he accused the Army of coddling known Communists.” His false accusations resulted in his downfall. The people were threatened because their lives could have been taken away from them with no concrete

At the end of the 1940’s and the beginning of the 1950’s, the United States were in the midst of the Second Red Scare and a fear that Communism might over throw the American way of life. Cold War tensions were at an all time high, which only fueled the widespread fears of Communist subversion. It was here that Senator Joseph McCarthy became a public face when he began making claims that the U.S. Government, as well as many other areas of the country, including the entertainment industry, had been invaded by Soviet and Communist spies, looking to destroy America from within. Hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Hollywood Blacklisting, and anti-communist activity from the FBI soon followed. McCarthy was under intense analysis

Joseph McCarthy was a senator who used a series of tactics fueled by manipulation, deceit, and scapegoating to achieve his end goal: to gain fame and popularity. This started an era which came to be known as McCarthyism, named after the man himself. He exploited a fear that many people held after World War II, the Red Scare, and out of it came instant fame. Here, in his speech at Wheeling, he earned millions of followers who would join him in the hopes of defeating Communism once and for all. Unfortunately, like all famous fibbers, McCarthy would eventually make a series of bad decisions that would make him unpopular. Beginning with the See it Now broadcasts and the Army-McCarthy hearings, McCarthy would lose the surge of popularity he

From 1949 to 1954, the citizens of the United States were overcome with terror of the possibility of being accused of Communism. Joseph McCarthy was an anti-communist zealot consumed with rooting out perceived Communist spies and activities in the United States. Public opinion indicated that McCarthy was a bully and a liar. The Senate condemned him for it because at the time, there was no evidence to support him. However, in recent years, evidence has appeared that confirms the basis of what McCarthy said. There were Communists infiltrating America, and it seemed McCarthy was the only one who actively trying to find it. McCarthy governed the U.S. people with fear for three year, the Senate censured him, and now is being proven correct,

An award-winning writer and internationally recognized expert on the family, Stephanie Coontz, in her article, “What We Really Miss About The 1950’s,” states that “In a poll by the Knight-Ridder News Agency, more Americans chose the 1950’s than any single decade as the best time for children to grow up.” However, Coontz has her own view of the 1950s, and she illustrates her own opinions about this decade using strong and logical facts. While the nostalgia of the 1950s is vastly strong in some people, some fail to notice the negativity and the reality of it.

The values of the modern American society have changed drastically from how they were sixty years ago, in the 1950s. The values of today’s society consist of relationships (social), appearances (clothes), and items of possessions (technology).

Also during this time from the late 1940s to the late 1950s began McCarthyism and the scare of Communism being the United States. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin would be pushed into the public spotlight by the issue of anti-Communism. It was discovered later that the FBI had helped give McCarthy the information to help him start his campaign against Communism. For several years, McCarthy operated to seek out and destroy the lives of people whom he or others had declared as being a Communist. Lytle mentions that McCarthy charged that Communists had penetrated the United States by becoming involved in churches, the army, the CIA, and the hydrogen bomb program. Even after McCarthy’s eventual political death, McCarthyism still went on and took longer to fade away. McCarthyism was the lasting legacy of McCarthy that put the nation in a frenzy. It was characterized by false accusations of neighbors, family members, and friends and being part of the Communist party. These accusations meant that these peoples’ lives were over. They had no more authority, respect, or even career opportunities after being accused, albeit falsely.

Joseph McCarthy, the notorious US senator who causes the McCarthyism era in the 1940s to the 1960s to arise, deceives the American people to lose trust with each other because of suspicion of Communism. McCarthy does not have a really great reputation before following the route of corruption. He simply over exaggerates the growing tension of Communism credits from President Harry Truman’s speech. His reign continues to grow until, “In early 1954 he opened hearings investigating the promotion of an Army dentist, Irving Peress, who was suspected of being a Communist. The Army-McCarthy hearings were televised and made for grand theater as McCarthy sparred with the Army's counsel Joseph Welch” (Capps). Joseph McCarthy is an arrogant and an overconfident man who thinks he can win every court cases until the very end. He believes that whatever

When most people think of the 1950’s or 1960’s, they think of Elvis, Greasers, jukeboxes, Woodstock, and rainbow peace signs and hippie love. Although these symbols are somewhat accurate (and very popular), not many people think about the changes society and culture went through. The 1950’s and 60’s were a time of great change and freedom for many Americans. Everything from World War II, to the gay liberation movement, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped to change society. Many of the views American’s had on topics such as war, gender roles and sexual preference were changed greatly after these events and have led to our culture being what it is today. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time where great changes took place that helped to

Historians tend to portray the 1950’s as a decade of prosperity, conformity, and consensus, and the 1960’s as a decade of turbulence, protest, and disillusionment. Do you agree or disagree with this view? Show evidence to support your argument.

The 1960s was crammed full of many impacting events and important figures. From Hitchcock releasing one of the greatest thrillers of all time, Psycho, to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, to the infamous Woodstock festival. This era changed history completely and made the United States think twice about its youth. Events of the 1960s are still impacting our country as we know it today. The sudden pull from the conservative ‘50s changed America’s views on all aspects of life, including fashion, entertainment, and lifestyles.