Joseph Mccarthy Dbq

In addition to fighting communism overseas, the United States battled communism within its own government. Pressured by the republicans, President Truman created a loyalty Review Board in which government employees where investigated for their loyalty. Of the 3 million who where testified, only 212 where dismissed as security risks. This method was often ineffective because individuals who had been accused of disloyalty where not allowed to see the evidence against them. Another program aimed at eliminating communist influence was HUAC, or the House Un-American Activity Committee. In 1947, HUAC questioned 43 Hollywood actors about their loyalty to the government.

In addition to limiting freedom of speech through the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Smith Act, Congress continued on a witch-hunt to remove all dissenters in any way they could, often charging and prosecuting individuals based on circumstantial evidence. This period, often referred to as the Second Red Scare, followed World War II and came as the United States entered the Cold War, was a time of much paranoia. One of the many cases during this period that showed how little evidence was used against individuals to incriminate them was the case of Annie Lee Moss. According to a F.B.I informant, Ms. Moss was a “card carrying, dues paying” member of the Communist party and was brought to testify before McCarthy’s committee, for she was “alleged to have examined and correct secret, encoded oversee messages.” (The McCarthy Years)

Joseph McCarthy a US senator faced a similar situation during the Cold War. At the time, Red Scare caused panic among citizens as it meant a rise of communism. McCarthy spent his time trying to reveal communists in U.S government however due to the panic and sensitive time people began to accuse him of communism until he attacked reinsuring the public. Since both Giles and McCarthy were wrongly accused both of them stayed true to their purpose which shows that This shows that in times of panic and hysteria people are put into a position where they must choose and it can be wrongful

Although prosperity filled the 50s, controversy and dissatisfaction surrounded it also. As the picture "Senator McCarthy Extinguishes the Torch of Liberty" conveys, McCarthyism hushed the freedom of speech. (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey A127)The man who gave McCarthyism a name, Joseph McCarthy, ruined many lives by accusing tons of Americas of being Communists for about 5 years. The post-cold war paranoia about spies and infiltrates in the American government escalated the allegations to a whole other level, despite the lack of evidence. Many people lost their jobs, went to jail, or became shunned by the public. Senator McCarthy conducted countless numbers of speeches, investigations, and hearings. His actions proved to be so terrifying that very few spoke out against him. Only when taking the claims to the military did the people finally take a stand. Weeks afterward, the Senate condemned McCarthy for “practicing conduct unfit for a member.”

Due to this specific part of freedom, people were not supposed to be treated any differently by the government for their political belief, but senator Joseph McCarthy did not respect the individual liberty which was given to each person. McCarthy decided that since he had more power being senator of Wisconsin, it meant he had the power to take away the liberty of a man and divert a man’s beliefs by disrespecting and treating them differently due to their political stance.

McCarthy of Wisconsin, spent years trying to expose communists in the government. During the Cold War, few cases of disloyalty convinced many Americans that the U.S. government was ran by traitors and spies. His thought of anyone being a communist ended up in prison or alienation. Americans were always "fearing what unwise investigators will do to us here at home" (Document A) and what their "hysterical reactions" could end up in. This fear was given insufficient attention to by the Eisenhower Administration, as the communist investigators were backed by the government. A great example of the fears Americans suffered from in the Cold War, American fear of communist investigators in the nation, and the Eisenhower Administration did not attend to

“The Cold War became a dominant influence on many aspects of American society for much of the second half of the twentieth century. It escalated due to antagonist values between the United States, representing capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, representing communism and authoritarianism” (Tradshad, par. 1). This long lasting war had a lot of negative effects on the American people, but also helped many in a positive way of becoming free citizens. Although most people had feelings of hatred toward the Soviet Union, a sense of fear swept over the United States and many actions had to be taken to keep the enemy and their influences out. 4 done.

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.

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.

During the 1950’s, Communism was a major fear that Democratic nations such as America were afraid of because of its radical ideas. The actions taken due to the Red Scare and the rise of McCarthyism were necessary and completely justified to protect America’s freedom and government from Communist power. With an increase of Communistic nations invading other countries and forcing their ideas upon them there was an uproar of fear in the United States. The Domino Theory was a legitimate fear of if one nation falling to communism, every nation around it would fall as well. Focusing their attention to VIetnam especially, America increased military control in these regions. Multiple Legislative actions taken by the United States such as the creation of the HAUC and the Espionage and Sedition acts were necessary to stop threats to America’s freedom. The heated tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War contributed to the fear of an attack from the East. Senator McCarthy’s convincing accusations lead to many accurate accusations as well as the rise of McCarthyism. Valid points were brought up about president Roosevelt’s New Deal policies of having capitalistic characteristics. While some actions did take away the civil liberties of some Americans, and were not always accurate, they were necessary to protect American Democracy, as well as the safety of the citizens.

The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the “Witch-Hunts in Washington.” He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers.

The McCarthy era, which generally spanned from 1947 to 1957, brought to the forefront of American politics the question of civil rights. At issue were controversies about both First Amendment rights to assembly and free speech and Fifth Amendment rights to due process and freedom from self-incrimination. Anti-Communist actions often involved restrictions on these rights, and heading the anti-Communist movement was the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). This committee, which consisted of government officials from Congress, was formed to investigate the threat of Communism in America. In doing so, the committee brought in witnesses, usually individuals thought to have, or to have had, Communist

Republicans willingly used the fear of the people to take control of congress and the government. Once people were accused of being a communist they would have to testify in front of organizations such as the House of Un-American Activities Committee. This committee would do what ever necessary to prove someone guilty. They would use the smallest evidence against u to prove you guilty. Despite someone being able to claim their Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination, the accused would lose their jobs. All the people that the were accused of being communist were put on black lists created by the House of Un-American Activities Committee. One of the most popular of these lists was the Hollywood ten lists. It contained a list of some screen writers who went against HUAC in 1947. Important industries in the United States of America contained some of these black lists of people who were believed to be communists or communist sympathizers. Because of that fact anybody on these black lists could not get a real job to support them. The people on these black lists were accused of being communists based on no real solid information that the United States government really had. About 20 percent of the people affected were college faculty or graduate students. (Anne Marie Hacht and Dwayne D. Hayes 3) By the republicans having control of Washington this would ironically be the end of McCarthyism. He was unable to make up tales of communist

Vivian Gonzalez Mr. Martinez-Ramos A.P. United States History May 3, 2000 McCarthyism was one of the saddest events of American history. It destroyed people’s lives and shattered many families. It threw innocent people into a whirlwind of mass confusion and fictional portrayals of their lives. McCarthyism spawned for the country’s new found terror of Communism known as the red scare. McCarthyism was an extreme version of the red scare, a scare whose ends did not justify the means. The Red Scare happened twice in the history of this great country. When the communist took over Russia in 1919, the American people were unnerved. They were afraid of a communist take over in the states. When the First World War ended in 1918, there was still

The Cold War changed American society by introducing both foreign and domestic fear into the lives of Americans. It brought neighbor against neighbor, and a trembling thoughts to all Americans. It gave an upper-hand to the men in the branches of Federal Government, and especially to the HUAC; moreover it