As World War II came to an end, tensions between the United States and The Soviet union began due to the rise and spread of Communism all around the world. In 1952, A senator by the name of Joseph McCarthy had been gaining power in the realm of politics because he acted as a demagogue using the fears and paranoia that most people in the United States held due to the Red Scare. McCarthy began a ruthless campaign to try and root out any communists that he felt were in the country. Over the years, McCarthy initiated a witch hunt where he accused many people of being communists including prominent political figures and even actors. With the help of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, McCarthy continued his campaign by trying to expose as many people as people as he could even if it meant falsely accusing individuals in order to promote his cause and try to gain power. What McCarthy was able to do was created an environment that of mistrust and fear in order for him to move up in his political career and remove any competition for him. Americans soon began proxy wars with the Soviet Union. In the 1950 's, American society was constantly in fear of a communist invasion because people truly did not understand what communism was. People like Senator Joseph McCarthy played on the fears that Americans had of communism, which allowed him to propel his political career. At this time, McCarthy was trying to instill fear into the eyes of citizens by accusing many people of being communists
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.
Republican Wisconsin senator, Joseph R. McCarthy, was originally a quiet senator who was fairly unknown and had done nothing extraordinary previous to 1950. The senator changed all that when he delivered a speech in February 1950, in which he leveled allegations that the State Department employed numerous Communists. He claimed to possess a list of these Communist employees, although that list was never produced (Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi). Senator McCarthy’s attempt to gain publicity with his outlandish accusations worked. Since the first Red Scare years before the fifties, many Americans continued to be terrified of Communists and their potential ability to corrupt and overrun America. Senator McCarthy played on these fears, and he continued to claim communism had infiltrated every aspect of America; politics, culture and all of American society. Because of the similarity of events from the first Red Scare, this time period of the early fifties in America is often called the second Red Scare. The second Red Scare in America’s history actually began in the late forties, previous to McCarthy’s emergence in 1950, and it continued on throughout the fifties lasting at least a dozen years (Storrs, Landon R. Y.) McCarthy’s short era during the second Red Scare actually lasted only four years, but because of his outspoken and arrogant persona, as well as his ability to inflict fear and persecution on innocent people, this entire span of time went down in the
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 the Cold War occurred between the Soviet Union and the United States it was intensifying. There was fear that there would be a communist influence toward the United States.This is later to be known as the second Red Scare which occurred in the late 1940s to the mid 1950s. The first Red Scare occurred in the early 20th century, when there was a period of suspicion that the revolution in Russia would overthrow the United States government. Leading to the fear of communist revolution in the United States. During the second Red Scare in the late 1940s, Joseph McCarthy was a senator of Wisconsin ,during that time. In half of his time in office ,he tried to 1 expose communists and other people who were risks to the United States, this
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).
In 1946, McCarthy entered the U.S. Congress and was the youngest member of the Senate. His first term we not impressive, so when it was time for re-election McCarthy looked for ways to ensure his success. During this time period, the Cold War had caused fear among the American citizens towards communism. As tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union grew stronger, so did the fear. As a result, Edward Walsh told McCarthy to create a crusade against the communists. McCarthy agreed to this and took advantage of the citizens’ fear of communism.
McCarthy fed off of America’s intense communist fears and stated that Communist spies were everywhere. He believed and campaigned that he was the only one who could “save America” Dwight Eisenhower disagreed with McCarthy when he became president, but did not want to denounce him in fear that he would divide the Republican party. As more of McCarthy’s campaigns were broadcasted on television, he started accusations of U.S. army members and began losing support quickly as a result.
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
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.
McCarthy is a name that will live forever in the annals of American history as a dark mark on American freedoms and everything the country stands for. Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin was essentially a nobody during the majority of his time in government, but in the early 50’s McCarthy saw a chance to force himself into the limelight. Everybody hears about Totalitarian regimes arresting political dissidents such as North Korea and Nazi Germany, but many do not know that the USA also jailed political dissidents during the late 40’s to early 50’s. After World War 2 the United States and the Soviet Union had disposed of their common enemy and immediately had cold relations due to their different ideologies. The development of nuclear weapons
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.
“In 1917 an anti-communist Red Scare gripped the United States (“Communist”).” Without a doubt the most important event in the U.S. battle against Communism was when America’s worst nightmare came true and Communism was invading the U.S. This event is known as the Red Scare. The Red Scare was a result of a popularity grab from U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. He was trying to gain attention from the U.S. during his campaign. “On February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy made an announcement that he had a list of the members of the communist party” (“Communism”). This definitely got him the attention he desired as well as put the spotlight on him to share the list with America and end the terror. He proceeded to name names of people he was running against in election. He was very manipulative at removing the other candidates in election, but sadly he was not telling the truth. “By the end of the 1950s, the American public doubted McCarthy’s reliability and with a few court decisions these witch hunts came to an end” (“Communism”). This event took the U.S. by surprise. It showed them a glimpse of what it would look like if it were invaded by
Almost all narratives of Allied victory in World War II account economic output as a decisive factor. Overy concedes to this point as well, citing Soviet evacuation of civilians and industry as salvation for the Eastern front. (Overy, 181) As the Germans flooded into the Soviet Union in 1941 entire populations and industries fled to the east, destined for the Urals, the Volga region, and Eastern Siberia. Along with saving Soviet industry by relocation, the Soviets also destroyed what they could not move including food and manufacturing plants. Destruction denied the invading Germans valuable resources that could’ve assisted the Axis war machine. The relocation of industry in the Soviet Union forced hard conditions on civilians who endured scarce rations and appalling working conditions. (Overy, 187) However, despite the odds, Soviet war production actually increased after the relocation of its industry. Overy attributes this economic success to central planning and control of the economy as well as simple models that allowed for easy mass production. The Soviet Union operated under a command economy that was completely controlled by the government and were more easily able to direct the economy for wartime production. Centralized organizations such as the Manpower Committee allocated valuable resources to labor, reserving skilled men for the war industry. Additionally, the Soviet Union simplified tank and aircraft models to allow quick production. For example, Overy writes
Overall, the impact of World War II on Europe can best be described as a restructuring of the balance of power in Europe and the world. Having destroyed the infrastructures and economies of European states, World War II produced a bipolar world order dominated by the Soviet Union and United States. The once “Great and Lesser Powers” of Europe had thus found themselves caught between competing ideologies that would influence the course of European and world affairs until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.