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Joseph Mccarthyism And The Red Scare

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The cold war was a fight between the Soviet Union and the U.S. it took place in the 1940's -the 1950's. The communists in the U.S.became known as the Red Scare because (communists were often called reds because for their alliance with the red Soviet).after that it went on into an effect of the federal government so they decided to investigate the employees and if found even a little bit guilty would be fired. And later analyzed by the Un-American Activities Community. After the World War in (1939-1945), the Soviet Spies and the American government became engaged in a series of economic disasters called the Cold War. during the content attacks the United States that Communists and leftist sympathizers inside America. While they were trying …show more content…

Senator) started a national scene by waving a piece of paper in the air saying “I have here in my hand a list of 205…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 [US] policy.” even though he didn’t actually have that list. After that, the Wisconsin Republican passed fifty-two charges later eight-one. Finally, they promised to disclose the name of just one communist, the nation’s top Soviet agent and later McCarthy claimed that he fame and fueled the ongoing “red …show more content…

This episode of political repression lasted longer and was more pervasive than the Red Scare that followed the Bolshevik Revolution and World War I. Popularly known as “McCarthyism” after Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin), who made himself famous in 1950 by claiming that large numbers of Communists had infiltrated the U.S. State Department, the second Red Scare predated and outlasted McCarthy, and its machinery far exceeded the reach of a single maverick politician. Nonetheless, “McCarthyism” became the label for the tactic of undermining political opponents by making unsubstantiated attacks on their loyalty to the United

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McCarthy used this to further his career and public standing by dragging people’s names through the mud and ending their careers. Needless to say that the issue McCarthy addresses is a highly emotional subject and needs to broach with great care. McCarthy uses good and sometimes logical fallacies to argue his point, however he also uses strong bold statements to encourage the president to give him the records he wants to continue his witch hunt in America. After listing his demands McCarthy states, “Failure on your part will label the Democratic Party of being the bedfellow of international communism.

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In McCarthy’s speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, he mentions how there were communists throughout the government. He targeted those treated well by the Nation, such as the wealthy and white-collar workers. Attacking people born with silver spoons in their mouths, those who are born privileged, and claiming the ones in the government are Communists increases the amount of fear the Americans had that communism was spreading. Despite McCarthy’s accusations that these people were communists, he never provided evidence that supported his claim. McCarthy’s “witch hunt” for Communists, also known as McCarthyism, was a movement he used to make himself more powerful and to discredit the Truman

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This shocking announcement propelled the senator into the national spotlight, and McCarthyism gained a foothold in the United States.” This announcement led to widespread panic, with individuals fearing communism

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McCarthyism era was this huge idea of creating terror and frenzy by accusing most of the people of being involved in an "unwelcome" repetition, and making deals like letting them go in exchange for turning in friends, family members, and acquaintances. Senator Joseph McCarthy worn with an accused communist stating, "Senator, have you no shame" (Miller 1995; 111; Schrecker 1994; 93). In these cases, fear, philosophy and suspicion threatened to destroy the "community" of people and put in its place a tyrannical lead. People then started looking away from each other and questioning and trying to find out if they have a communist ideology. This gave so much tense and stress to the

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The year 1950 was a time of civil unrest amongst the people of America. The Red Scare swept through the nation, and the worry of a communist or a fascist living just down the street became a very real and very common fear of many Americans. This angst then grew due to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s claims in his “Wheeling Speech”, given on February 9th 1950, in which he proclaimed that he was in possession of a list of 205 communists working for the Senate Department. This alone sent a frenzy throughout America; the thought of the corruption communists could cause within the government terrified the American citizens. In this time of uneasiness, a brave Republican Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, takes the house floor and gives a remarkable speech that addresses her concerns about the government and the country.

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Arushi Patil ILS 200, Discussion Section 307 Essay 1 19 March 2023 Essay 2 Senator Joseph McCarthy is famous for initiating the Red Scare, which made people question whether or not the US government was safe and trustworthy. McCarthy gave several speeches ranging from 1950 to 1953 addressing the existence of communism in America and its threatening consequences. His powerful rhetoric and compelling speaking style allowed McCarthy to gain and maintain an immense group of followers. Through the use of several rhetorical devices such as repetition and extreme language, McCarthy convinces his audience—a wide range of Americans—of the dangers of Communists and their presence in the US government, overall generating a sense of fear, urgency, and

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In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

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From 1946-1952 the United States chose Joseph McCarthy as Senate. When McCarthy became chairman of the Senate’s Committee he began his anti-communist investigation. But the word McCarthyism began well before Joseph McCarthy became Senator. Joseph McCarthy became U.S. Senate in 1946 He was then reelected in 1952 because he had publicly said that 205 communists had infiltrated the U.S. State Department. McCarthy then became chair of the Senate’s subcommittee on investigation and had claimed he had the names of 57 State Department communists.

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Joseph McCarthy gained power because of people’s fear of communism (“Red Monday”). McCarthy claimed that 205 government officials were communists without supporting it with evidence which caused a panic (Fried 1). Frightened Americans asked for an explanation and instead McCarthy accused people, but he had the people’s support because he was against communists and that blinded people to the true facts (Fried 1). With the Smith Act and the House Un-American Activities Committee in place to ease the fear of communism, McCarthy’s unjust trials were able to be conducted (“Red Monday”). Rights were quickly being taken away to prevent the spread of communism, however, it was so that McCarthy could keep gaining power without anyone being able to say otherwise (“Red Monday”).

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“Americans were uneasy, filled with anxieties and fears about the Cold War, and distressed that World War I had obviously not been the war to end war. They wanted answers to explain their dilemma and for many the Communist “conspiracy” in Washington seemed to be the apparent explanation.” (Associated Press 144) It was at that moment Senator Mccarthy, who was in search of a political agenda, had found

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Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator, as well as other citizens, began posing false accusations of communists in the country and government. Since the fear of communism during the Cold War was so high, mass hysteria extended through the United States and its government, like the Salem Witch Trials and the village of Salem,

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296 Words | 2 Pages

McCarthy and McCarthyism rose to prominence at a time when large numbers of Americans were in the fear of the beginning of the Cold War and the Communism. Thus, although most of McCarthy’s accusations

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McCarthy unlawfully accused American citizens of being Communist without substantial evidence. Senator McCarthy used his authority to spread anti-Communist hysteria across the nation in order to further his political career (“McCarthyism”). Thus proving the Second Red Scare was based upon hysteria and that Communism posed no real threat to American politics. The third example that proves the Second Red Scare was based upon hysteria not legitimate political threats is the investigations of the Loyalty Review Board. “By mid-1950, when more than 4 million people, actual or prospective employees, had gone through, the [Loyalty Review] boards had… dismissed or denied employment to 378… None of the discharged cases led to discovery of espionage” (“Anticommunist Hysteria”).

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In the beginning, the American public was quick to latch to anything they could, and McCarthyism was the new thing that everyone supported. No one wanted to be a communist or have them in America. But as time went on, McCarthy’s claims slowly proved unsupported. He neglected to show anyone the list of names he claimed he had of communists working in our government. Even his colleagues and closest friends desired to see the list, but he denied their requests.

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No one ever saw his list, and he never named any of the supposed offenders, but he nevertheless gained national headlines and further stoked the Red Scare flames (Fitzgerald 12-13). With the Federal-Loyalty Security Program in place, government workers already worried they would come under scrutiny, but the situation only worsened when McCarthy arrived on the scene. Aided by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and other “Red-Hunters”, he cracked down on the State Department and its Foreign Service operations so frequently and relentlessly that the agency had trouble just finding people who wanted to work there. Most preferred to take a job outside of government rather than have their entire personal life investigated by the FBI (Hillstrom 64-65). McCarthy and the Red Scare’s influence reached beyond the government, even finding its way to books.

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