Communism And Violence: The 1950's Red Scare

The 1950s Red Scare The 1950s were years full of celebration but also fear. The second world war had ended recently, and people were joyous. However, a fear of communism had crept its way into the United States and uprooted the very society it had built. What was once a society of freedom had transformed into a pool of terror. This terror earned itself the name: the ‘Red Scare.’ The Red Scare, in lamest terms, was “hysteria over the perceived threat posed by communists” and includes all of the events associated with such fears (History.com Editors). In general, the Red Scare of the 1950s instilled great fears of communism into the population and caused a massive witch hunt. Before the anti-communist wave in the 1950s, there were many events

While not the only one to promote such things, Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the largest proponents of rejecting communists in America. Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, who was in office from 1947 to 1957, pushed for the ruination of communism (The Editors of Encyclopeadia Britannica). As a senator, he undoubtedly had more ability to out communists, at least compared to the average folks. His crusade against communism sparked when he used his “Lincoln Day'' speech in Wheeling, Virginia, to blame “Communist infiltration” on the “failures in American foreign policy” (“Joseph R. McCarthy: A Featured Biography”). Selling his claim, the exaggerated diction including ‘failures’ and ‘infiltration’ likely scared people into hating communism even more. During his speech, he also “claimed to possess a list of 205-card-carrying communists” that worked for the “U.S. Department of State” (“McCarthyism / The ‘Red Scare’”). His proposition that communists were hiding in the American government increasingly worried Americans as it meant that their enemies had entered the American homeland. Years later, McCarthy was elected “chairman of [the Senate] Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations” and began investigating cases of “alleged subversion and espionage” (“Joseph R. McCarthy: A Featured Biography”). With his acquisition of the chairman role, McCarthy earned himself more influence and power in the realm of exposing

Army. In doing so, McCarthy and his associates were proven to have no credibility via a “damaging dossier of dirt” (“McCarthyism and the Red Scare”). This dossier, also known as a collection of documents about someone or something, proved, through its reliable information, that McCarthy was not trustworthy. Thus, the tide of the Red Scare had shifted. According to Marc G. Pufong, the dossier’s claims were truthful as McCarthy attacked people for allegedly being communist “without [bearing] credible evidence” (Pufong). Consequently, the public’s image of McCarthy was changed from a positive view to a certainly negative one. This change was cemented when he was condemned by the Senate “in a vote of 67 to 22” (“McCarthyism and the Red Scare”). Once being a prominent figure of fighting against communism, Joseph McCarthy’s reputation crumbled as his illusion faded. All together, the McCarthy situation highlights how the fear of communism was able to allow corrupt and dishonest people into power, all in the name of eradicating communism. However, McCarthy is not the only example of such negative occurrences sprouting from the Red