ipl-logo

How Did Mccarthyism Affect The Civil Rights Movement

626 Words3 Pages

Civil Rights and McCarthyism

In American history, the 1950s consisted of a decade of opposites. On the one hand, it was a period of wealth, consumerism. On the other side, it was a period of persecution, fear, and obedience. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union promoted an environment of fear and suspicion that affected all aspects of life. McCarthyism, a campaign of anti-communist witch-hunts directed by Senator Joseph McCarthy and his associates, was one of the most important examples of this. McCarthyism attacked liberals, intellectuals, artists, labor activists, and civil rights activists in addition to suspected communists. This paper will argue that McCarthyism harmed the civil rights movement by undermining its …show more content…

The anti-communist poorly affected the labor movement, which had been an essential ally of the black struggle in the 1930s and 1940s. Many unions that had supported civil rights campaigns were kicked out of the CIO for supposed Communist Party relationships. These unions had a strong track record of mobilizing black workers and combating discrimination in employment and housing. According to Lee Sustar, "union support for black struggles withered in the right-wing atmosphere" (Sustar). With the demise of these unions, the civil rights movement lost an essential source of finance, action, and …show more content…

Many civil rights activists were forced to control their demands and techniques in order to fit in and accept American ideals and avoid being regarded as rebellious. They focused on legal reforms and slow integration rather than solving the key causes of racial discrimination and inequality. Instead of forming alliances with other poor groups both at home and abroad, they sought to demonstrate their commitment to the nation and its foreign policy. According to Paul Heideman, "the anticommunist campaign...narrowed the movement's focus to legal equality, leaving its larger ambitions unfulfilled" (Heideman).

To summarize, McCarthyism was an important obstacle to the growth of civil rights in the 1950s. It weakened the movement's leadership by focusing on its most outspoken and extreme members. It weakened its ties by eliminating its most reliable ally, the labor movement. It also limited the scope by imposing a conservative and strict agenda on its objectives and techniques. To accomplish important successes in the next ten years, the civil rights movement had to overcome these

Show More
Related

Summary Of The Age Of Mccarthyism

403 Words | 2 Pages

Ellen Schrecker’s The Age of Mccarthyism begins with an extensive essay consisting of a following of the path of domestic subversion within the USA starting in the 1930’s to the 1950’s. She explains the starting points and the peak of the rising anti-communist campaign in the states. Due to the struggle against the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, the anti-communist movement became the ideological center of American politics. Joseph McCarthy, U.S. senator, became the notorious face of a period during American history characterizing the widespread fear of Communist subversion. He explained the American people that communist and soviet spies had infiltrated almost everything people felt were their safety nets (the government, school,

Read More

Sam Robert's Rhetorical Analysis Of 'A Decade Of Fear'

930 Words | 4 Pages

Sam Robert in the article, “A Decade of Fear”, argues that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other. Robert supports his argument by illustrating, describing, and listing the roots of McCarthyism. The author's purpose is to inform people about McCarthyism in order to convince readers that it caused conflict between Americans. The author writes in a factual tone for the adults reading New York Times. I strongly agree with Robert’s argument.

Read More

The Crucible Dbq Essay

608 Words | 3 Pages

McCarthyism was a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. In these two events, many similarities

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Civil Rights Movement In The 1950's And 1960s

1017 Words | 5 Pages

The tactics used civil rights movement of both the 1950’s and 1960’s were different helped them succeed in different ways. During the late 1950s the tactics that were used were political, while in the early in 1960s they used social and political tactics to get their goals achieved, but in the late 1960s the tactics that were used were primarily economic and social, In the 1950’s, the civil rights movement was very successful because activist showed the level of racism and segregation in the south. The tactics and resistance made in this time period helped achieve desegregation because and the resistance that the activists dealt with just made them become more aware in the media and hopefully spread nation wide.

Read More

Analysis Of A Decade Of Fear By Sam Roberts

1069 Words | 5 Pages

McCarthyism resulted in Americans turning against each other because of fear of communist takeover, overbearing political power, and protecting their reputation. Clearly, Americans feared the idea of a communist takeover. One reason Americans were filled with anxiety about communist infiltration was because, “... in 1949 when Communists led by Mao Zedong took

Read More

How Did Jim Crow Laws Affect The Civil Rights Movement

481 Words | 2 Pages

The civil rights movement was arguably the most important movement that has happened in the history of the U.S. This movement had gotten people equal rights. This movement helped everyone get treated equally because they used to treat people differently for their skin color and they’re race in America. But therefore they passed these laws and African American gained equality and improved in social conditions because they were getting treated equally after they passed the law of the civil rights movement. This movement affected all over America because not only did it give African American rights but they gave women the right to vote and to do more in America but it really helped out all of America.

Read More

Mccarthyism In The 1950s

1384 Words | 6 Pages

The McCarthyism era in the United States came to be a major contributor to various social changes in America during the early years of the Cold War. The McCarthy campaign was known for its belligerent accusations against individuals and organizations who were conspired to be associated with Communism. Most were the victims to McCarthyism were tragically affected due to economic and social sanctions. The attack of the Civil Rights Movement by McCarthyism ended up actually helping bring success to the movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Read More

How Did The Jim Crow Laws Influence The Civil Rights Movement

1164 Words | 5 Pages

The Civil Rights Movement has taken America a long way from "separate but equal" to the integration of public places to now where discrimination is mostly gone. After people got past the fact that something had to change the movement took off. " Plessy vs. Ferguson" influenced America because it showed nothing can ever be separate but equal (Brown 27). It explained the fact that if you separate two races how will they ever grow or learn new ideas (Ober, Lauren). Then once the races were integrated it hit America hard.

Read More

How Did The Civil Rights Movement Change Throughout The 1950's

1007 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the 1950s and 60s many problems and reasons played into the desegregation of America. The civil rights people have in America are far better than those in the 50s and 60s. There were different water fountains, bathrooms, and kids of color were denied access to education. Many issues that people will never have to face.

Read More

How Cold War Impacted The Civil Rights Movement

1277 Words | 6 Pages

How The Cold War Impacted the Civil Rights Movement The Cold War and the fight for Civil Rights in the 1960s are two historical events in U.S. history that individually are viewed as being vital to the development of the U.S. in the twentieth century. However, it is often overlooked how much these two events intertwined and affected each other. Realistically, the Cold War provided both setback and initiative to move forward within the Civil Rights movement.

Read More

The Ballot Or The Bullet Essay

1318 Words | 6 Pages

The African American Civil Rights movement existed at large between the early fifties and the late sixties in a society that was constantly on the verge of social destruction. The black rights movement existed politically, socially, and economically everywhere in the United States. As time progressed the movement developed and saw many changes along with schisms separating activists and how they approached getting their rights. In the early fifties there was a large non-violent integration based movement spearheaded by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. However, as the time progressed, the movement started seeing a more aggressive leadership with figures such as Malcolm X, but eventually it turned into an extremist movement

Read More

What Was The Purpose Of The Civil Rights Movement During The 1960's

158 Words | 1 Pages

The Civil Rights Movement is a very important period during the 1960s because the African-Americans struggled since the beginning of American history. From abuse they suffered like segregation, beatings, and slavery--there are all sorts of ways to torture African-Americans. Another way of torture would be the lack of education for Blacks. One historian author describes one of the reasons for the purpose of the movement as, “Nearly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern states still inhabited an unequal world of segregation and various forms of oppression, including race inspired violence. Jim Crow Laws at the local and state levels segregates African Americans from classrooms, bathrooms, theaters and

Read More

Essay On The Cold War And Civil Rights

1440 Words | 6 Pages

"Civil Rights are the Personal liberties that belong to an individual, owing to his or her status as a citizen or resident of a particular country or community" (Civil Rights and Civil Liberties) In America during the midcentury (1945-1960), The Cold War contributed to how African American people struggled for social justice and battles with how the way people treated them. African Americans were subjected to racial violence, segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. The African American people knew the struggle of having equality made, and that it will take a longer process to make a global movement. Local law enforcement and the FBI used fear of the anticommunist people to give right to the attacks on the civil rights activist.

Read More

How Did The Civil Rights Movement Impact Society Today

1509 Words | 7 Pages

In order to look at the impact that the Civil Rights Movement had on society today it is important to first look back at where it all began. The author will base her opinion around the change in American culture, as America is one of the most powerful countries in today’s modern society and many countries follow the lead of America. The fight for justice and equality went on for many years in America and it has become one of the most well known movements in history. The note to take action all started when the African-American citizens decided that they

Read More

Civil Rights Movement Essay

634 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil Rights Movement was an intense and passionate battle in the United States from the 1950s to the late 1960s for social and political reform. The main purpose of the movement was to end racial discrimination and segregation in ethnic minorities, as well as to advocate for other underrepresented groups, such as farm workers who were aided by the National Farm Workers Association. The most prominent of these movements was the African Americans Civil Rights Movement and at the center of this movement was the strategy of non-violent civil disobedience, utilized by major leaders of the movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis. The nonviolent nature of civil disobedience in the Civil War was key in its purpose to advocate for

Read More

More about How Did Mccarthyism Affect The Civil Rights Movement

Related Topics

Open Document