Senator Joseph Mccarthy: The Rise Of Communism In The 1950's

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

Sam Roberts, A Decade of Fear (published March 2010) addresses the topic of the Red Scare and declares that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other after WWII by accusing one another of being a communist. These accusations led to targeting many famous or well-known people in Hollywood or politics. Therefore, Senator Joseph McCarthy had exploited the nation’s fear of communism for what many believed to be for his own gain, also the mass hysteria that came with the Red Scare and McCarthyism had a huge impact in the United States after the end of World War II. The explanation Mass Hysteria occurred was because the majority of people did not want to be accused of being a communist. A lot of innocent people, even children, had been blamed

On February 9, 1950, Joe McCarthy began interrogating suspected Communists in the United States. McCarthy stated, “I hold in my hand a list of people named by the secretary of state as members of the communist party still serving in Government ”(McCarthy). What McCarthy was trying to accomplish in doing this, was to emit fear into the eyes of the people so that they would be more impressionable, and by showing them the “list” of people who were rumored to be communists, he ensured their fear and made his point. For a few years, this method worked only in limited ways, although many people were deported back to Russia, and as stated in the article, “McCarthy and the Red scare”, President

The Red Scare was a time of mass hysteria for the nation. It occurred during the Cold War, which was after World War II, when the Soviet Union and America were undergoing economic and political altercations. Due to some Americans previously helping the Soviet Union during World War II, it was greatly feared that those very Americans would commit treason by providing the Soviet Union with information that could harm American society and the security of the United States (Red Scare). Nevertheless, during the 1990’s, sources revealed that three hundred or more American communists did give Soviets information during World War II. This concludes that espionage was a legitimate threat. Furthermore, the question remains, were the actions to prevent communism taken too far? Joseph McCarthy played a large role in the second Red Scare because essentially he was responsible for the false accusations of innocent people in order to look more powerful. Consequently, McCarthy’s tactics involved many to be placed on a blacklist, or

McCarthy scared Americans into thinking they were next to be convicted of being a communist. Many Americans turned against each other by believing their next door neighbor was a communist. According to the article, “Thousands of alleged Communist in the U.S. were arrested and deported during what became known as the Red Scare. Neighbors did not trust one another after this event, imagine living next to a suspected Communist. The article states, “ McCarthy dropped a bombshell:The State Department is infested with Communist.” McCarthy shocked the media and the American people, McCarthy gained instant fame as this accusation sent shock waves through the nation. The tension that was already between America and the Soviet Union made

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

An American culture of strict conformity accounts for the rise of the phenomenon known as the Red Scare, as well as its widespread nature and prominent power. The Red Scare was complicated and a result of many different aspects of American culture. However the American culture in the 1950’s was one of strict conformity. This conformist society, created in the late 1940’s was created by many early discoveries that uncovered Communist members as Soviet spies. There arose a prevalent belief that anyone who thought differently was unpatriotic. This conformist nature of American society thus resulted in few organizations fighting for social justice. The Communist party therefore attracted a wide range of liberals from different aspects of life. Joseph McCarthy himself, along with many other governmental officials, was able to institute anti-communist laws and practices under the pretense that an unwavering conformity was the American goal. The conformist nature of American society in the 1950’s created one of the most powerful anti-communist crusades and allowed for a dominant Red Scare.

McCarthy’s anti-communist propaganda achieved the opposite of its goals. Rather than strengthening democracy, it weakened democracy; rather than promoting the freedom of speech of which the United States was founded, it limited freedom of speech so greatly individuals were afraid to speak out; and rather than creating a sense of peace and security in the country, it created complete and utter chaos and anarchy. The Red Scare, created by Joseph McCarthy, threatened the rights every American citizen and damaged the names, lives, and reputations of many, many innocent

Senator Joseph R. McCarthy was born on November 14, 1908 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He became the Senate of the United States in 1946. In 1952 after being reelected he became chair of the Senate's subcommittee on investigations which was him questioning various government form. Further on in his career he discovered that 205 Communists had infiltrated the United States Department, that then lead to the “Red Scare”. The discovery of Red Scare happened on February 9, 1950. Red Scare was a nationwide witch hunt for communist out of fear which was then called “McCarthyism”. During the McCarthyism time period many american were being questioned and accused of being communist without any actual evidence. Many of these American that were being accused

The red scare is a time where America was scared of Communist USSR, the other rival for power. There was a committee, formed in 1938, to search for possible communists in the United States. McCarthy, who was an important politician at the time, began accusing prominent figures, politicians, entertainers, who beliefs were “communist- like” McCarthy once stated , “Where those who were born with every possible advantage are the ones who have been most traitorous” He is trying to say, that those who grown up with more advantages are more likely to get greedy and then become traitors. “McCarthy addressed the Senate and made a list of questionable claims. His proof was flimsy and he

Joseph McCarthy, born on November 14, 1908 was a U.S. senator from Wisconsin and became a national figure in a highly publicized pursuit of a communist "conspiracy." Because of him, the term McCarthyism became a synonym for a public "witch-hunt" intended to destroy the victim's political standing and public character. McCarthy’s first years in the Senate average and at the very least slightly dishonorable. As a number of his past adventures (including some questionable tax returns) began catching up with him, he needed an issue that would distract attention from his dealings. In a speech in Wheeling West Virginia on February 9, 1950, McCarthy claimed to have in hand a list of two hundred and five people in the State Department known to be members

McCarthyism, also known as the second red scare, was primarily common in the 50s, and it was called as such because of the main influencer and creator of McCarthyism was senator Joseph McCarthy. Joseph McCarthy was a senator who conducted different hearings, or more practically ‘search parties’ to hunt down communists in the american peoples. He was responsible for the conviction of many people because of their ‘unloyalty’ to America. Anyone who was found to be unloyal was immediately accused of affiliation with communists. He was able to do such things because of the executive order passed by president Truman to screen all workers across the country for ‘loyalty’. Everyone was afraid of the spread of communism, and they all fought to get rid of any infectious communists.

Following World War II, America entered the Cold War with Russia, suspicion of communist corruption in the United States grew. This threat that was perceived by Americans become known as the Red Scare do to the suspicion and distrust placed in the United States by communism. McCarthy used this perceived threat to convince

There is cold air during the time of the Cold War where superior countries were hostile to those behind the Iron Curtain. There were constant threats from opposing adversaries but the biggest concern was from within. Senator Joseph McCarthy gave a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia in early 1950 stating that the atheistic communist countries were going to immortalize the rest of the world. McCarthy goes on to say that Karl Marx, a communist philosopher, influenced Lenin and Stalin, Soviet Union leaders, to make a communist country and to hinder citizens from talking freely about love, justice, humanity or morality. According to McCarthy communism is taking of the world eight to five against Democracy. Democracies

Just a year after his appointment to the Circuit Court, McCarthy made a successful bid to serve as a Republican U.S. Senator. In Richard Rovere’s biography of Joe McCarthy, he claims that McCarthy’s opponent, Robert LaFollette, Jr., may have been the first to suffer from false accusations for McCarthy’s political gain. LaFollette was accused of war profiteering, among other things, and was soundly beaten (Rovere).