The Mccarthyism Of Joseph Mccarthy

After WW2 on february 9, 1950 Joseph McCarthy gave a speech “Enemies from Within” when communism was the biggest threat to the whole world. Joseph McCarthy was a Republican Senate who got famous after his speech. He claimed that there were people in U.S. government who are a member of communist society and also mentioned in his speech that he have a list 57 people. In the speech Joseph McCarthy is appealing to the Republicans and christians, trying to influence them to take action and fight against communism. He uses people's emotional fear to turn them against each other. In his speech he uses allusion, metaphor, and rhetorical appeals.

McCarthyism- McCarthy was a senator famous for the communist hysteria in the 50’s. He blamed 205 State Department workers for having ties with communists. He gained support by playing into American’s fears of the spread of communism. Though some of these people accused of not being loyal were in fact not loyal, most weren’t. His accusations were mainly built on speculation. His smear tactics became known as McCarthyism. Once he questioned the army’s loyalty that was it and he was called out by Eisenhower.

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.”

Despite this information being outdated, the media took the bait that McCarthy had set out, and broadened the reach the Senator had, leading to a fast up rise for the Senator. As time went on, the initial list of 100 that the Senator had naming all the communists would fluctuate at one point decreasing to 57, and later increasing to 81 (Ferrell 10-11).

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

McCarthy is mostly known for the second red scare in which he claimed that many Communists and Soviet spies have infiltrated numerous places in the United States including the federal government.

However, his ignoring the truth only made him more powerful and frightening. Few dared to challenge McCarthy directly. After a while President Truman got tired of hearing about McCarthy and all of the accusations he was making. The President thought the idea of communists being in the government was silly and did not give into the hysteria like other people were. McCarthy sent a telegram to President Truman telling him that he should pick up the phone and ask Mr. Acheson how many people in the state department, that were labeled as dangerous communists, did not get discharged. His response is said to be probably unsent. But it explained that it was his first time that he has ever heard a senator trying to discredit his own government before the world and that it is not something done by honest public officials. He called his telegraph a untrue and insolent approach to a situation that should have been worked out man to man. He then went on to say that McCarthy was not fit to have a hand in the operation of the government of the United States. McCarthy created hysteria that was not necessary. He made people think that there were large amounts of communists in the government which is what created the hysteria. However people thought there were communists in more places than just the government.

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

This occured in the 1950’s, when various Americans were questioned before a congrssional panel.(McCarthyism, 1) Senator Joseph McCarthy was to blame for this incedent.(McCarthyism, 1) Safegaurds promised by the Constitution were destroyed(Skohrecker 1). McCarthy made himself seem like America’s only salvation against the communist spies that were said to be among the United States Army.(McCarthyism, 1) In the after war years America was in fear of the communist. On February 9, 1950, McCarthy gave a speech and proclaimed there was 205 card-carrying members of the communist party who worked for the U.S. McCarthy accused and questioned very important people.(McCarthyism, 1)

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

Joseph McCarthy did not become well known until 1950. He was a senator from Wisconsin. The reason why he became well known was because he supposedly had a list of people who were Communists but living and working in the United States. He was determined to make it his mission to find and deport or destroy these people. This time in American history became known as the Red Scare. He was chairman of the Senate Permanent Investigation Subcommittee. He destroyed many innocent people lives with his witch hunt. After much debate and investigation, there was no such list and there were no Communists living amongst American citizens. He was ostracized by many. The tactics he used to try and find the so called Communists living amongst American

One of the most significant symbols of the “Red Scare” including the era of communism was Republican Senator Joseph P. McCarthy of Wisconsin. McCarthy attained infamy in 1950 by stating that a great numbers of Communists had entered the U.S. State Department (“American History)” During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy(Republican-Wisconsin) claimed that “The State Department [was] infested with communists” and that he had 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 [were] still working and shaping policy in the State Department” In February of 1950, Joseph McCarthy gave this speech warning of communism in America. He targeted people who were employed in the “Department of State, the Army and the entertainment industry in

While McCarthy may have been an adept manipulator of America’s fear of communism, by the time he made his allegations, these fears were already firmly entrenched in the American consciousness. Dating back as far the first Red Scare, during which a number of labor strikes were falsely attributed to communist agitation, Americans had been lead to believe that communism not only posed a threat to their way of life, but that communist agents were actively at work within not only America, but the American government. These fears were further exacerbated by the onset of the cold war following World War II, and by Truman’s announcement in 1949 that Russia had developed nuclear capabilities roughly 10 years ahead of schedule, which had lead to allegations of soviet espionage. Additionally, the case of Alger Hiss, which had been tried concurrently with McCarthy’s allegations, had presented the possibility that there were in fact a large number of high-level American government officials who were transmitting classified documents to Russia (the fact that Hiss had was a former member of the State Department of course helped McCarthy’s cause), despite the fact that this was probably not the

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,

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.