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Mccarthyism In The 1950's

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In the 1950’s there was a general theme of anti-communism; and the rise of mccarthyism in american politics led to increased politics in Hollywood Films. Mccarthyism is defined as “a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the United States government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the nineteen fifties” After World War II, many events in the United States and abroad increased the American fear of communism. For example, the Soviet Union used an atomic bomb for the first time in August 1949. Also, the communist party won the civil war in china and established the China we know today. In the early nineteen fifties, The House Un-American Activities Committee (or HUAC) began a campaign to “hunt” communists …show more content…

As soon as the clash between the United States and the soviet union became direct with the creation of the truman doctrine, communism in the United States went from being a subject of controversy to an issue of national security. Anyone that was suspected of having communist or communist like ideas or was thought of as a “communist sympathizer faced the prospect of being labeled Un-American. People in influential positions were under intense investigation from the state and the public. The situation was the same in the soviet union. However, the cultural vigilance was controlled and monitored, The Ministry of Cinematography. Media in the United States was instigated by a loose consolidation of old and new organizations. For example the United States Aliens Registration Act, which made it illegal to conspire to support to overthrow the American government or go against american ideals. It was used to prosecute communists in the late nineteen forties. In the Soviet union, Zhdanovism’ or cultural authoritarianism caused a huge decrease in film production because producers and directors decided that they do not want to work under the immense pressure. This meant that there were less Cold War movies the russian people could see. The situation in the United States was the opposite, Hollywood created an immense amount of Cold War films, which meant that cinema-goers watched movies that had anti-communist ideas due to it being beneficial to the “national interest” of the United

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For the first half of the 1950s, anti-Communist leaders were very powerful in the United States; however, by 1955 McCarthy was in disgrace, and in 1957 the courts determined that membership in the Communist Party should no longer be a criminal offense in this country. For the first half of the 1950s, anti-Communist leaders were very powerful in the United States; however, by 1955 McCarthy was in disgrace; and in 1957 the courts determined that membership in the Communist Party should no longer be a criminal offense in this

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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,

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During the 1950’s McCarthyism was a widespread problem reflected in the Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, in hope to warn and prevent mass hysteria developing in the United States. The population of the United States became excessively paranoid at the thought of communists in their country. Paranoia among the citizens did nothing but worsen the current situation of the country at the time, since everyone was accusing everyone else of being a communist. Similar amounts of paranoia during the Salem witch hunts caused

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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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McCarthyism turned Americans against each other after WWII by claiming that Communists had infiltrated many areas of American life and government. In fact, “According to a local newspaper McCarthy dropped a bombshell: ‘The State Department is infested with Communists,” (para 3). In other words, this is the beginning of McCarthy turning Americans against each other. Paranoia started to spread through America which all this strongly affected Americans everyday life. McCarthyism was a result of American fear of communism in the 1950s.

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There was widespread fear that secret communism spies would come in and infiltrate the country without the people knowing. The United States citizens though these spies would destroy the country from the inside out so this fear forced immigration bans to be placed on people coming from communist countries or their allies. Even Senator Joseph McCarthy talks of the threat and fear of internal communism to be a menace in 1950. He wrote, “As one of our outstanding historical figures once said, “When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without, but rather enemies from within.” Every United States citizen was fearful of this happening so they were not hesitant to expose anything that they believed could lead to communism playing into the mass hysteria.

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1940’s America was a nation in the grip of paranoia. The terror of communist infiltration hung heavily over the heads of every citizen. Everyone from government employees to actors were called before congress, under accusations of being a communist. However, there was more fiction to this anxiety than fact. Yet, due to the actions of certain individuals, it persisted.

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The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and Joseph McCarthy were extreme in their methods to cleanse the media industry of the communist message that was suppose to infiltrating the American public. Those who were pro-HUAC fell under the assumptions that the Soviet had much more of a presence in the United States and with Truman’s view on taking initiative on getting rid of the Soviet spies and potential threat it escalated to this large and politically driven movement in the Hollywood media industry. The whole point of attacking the Hollywood was to stop the potential of positive propaganda of the Soviet Union that could sprout more sympathizers in the government and led to the worst scenario a war with the Soviet Union and not just any war, but the spark of World War III. McCarthy noted this in his speech on February 9th, 1950 in Wheeling, West Virginia stating “Five years after a world war has been won, men’s

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McCarthyism was the fear of communism which spread across America in the 1950s. The hysteria of the American citizens was due to the threat that communism would spread across the globe. The government has accused many people of communism,

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It was soon after WWII and the beginning of our cold war with Russia.   The United States experienced a particularly extreme and severe period of anti-communism lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. This period became known as ‘McCarthyism’, which is a time of fear and uncertainty when fundamental civil liberties were downtrodden under the guise of national security. In my opinion, both the threats from the domestic communism and the partisan politics played the important role in allowing and encouraging McCarthyism to spread.

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American and Russian culture changed majorly, we had anticommunist propaganda hidden in movies, art, and music and so did

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Communism was known to be the most powerful physiology and came during the nineteenth century, mainly in Russia but was spreading to China and parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. (“Communism” 127). During the McCarthyism period, “Senator McCarthy himself never actually documented the existence of a single communist in a government job, but his power to deflate his political enemies with false accusations was enormous” (“McCarthyism” 2). Arthur Miller even once complained that Americans were so concerned about being labeled communists that it caused the entire mood of Americans to be bad. Miller felt like every American was scared and acted fearful in everything they said and did.(“The Crucible”

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Since the early 1900’s, the United States had been undergoing a domestic battle with Communism in America. After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in the Soviet Union, the fear of Communism spreading in America and across the world overwhelmed the United States government. The threat of Communism in America threatened its traditional political and economic system which resulted in a strong tension between the Soviet Union who was wanting to spread it across the world. The

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Those working within Hollywood became targets, accused of surreptitiously publishing Communist propaganda within their work that could ‘poison’ the minds of those watching at home (RedScare Propaganda, 1950). Hollywood became the next in a list of many targeted groups after the HAUC made a claim in 1938 that “Hollywood was pervasive with Communism” (History.com, 2017). Those who were investigated ultimately met the fate of the Hollywood blacklist, meaning they would no longer be able to do credible work in the industry, costing hundreds of families their livelihoods and reputations. The most famous of those questioned became known as the Hollywood ten after they refused to comply with the subpoena and answer questions regarding their association with the Communist Party (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017). Dalton Trumbo, the most famous of the ten called the trials “the beginning of the American concentration camp … with no man so low or foul as a Communist and anyone holding slightly leftist views suspect” (Trumbo, 2014).

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This kind of hysteria caused the Red Scare, which was a period that Americans thought communists were working to destroy America. This mass fear of communism ruined people’s lives and made them turn against their own family and friends. Joseph McCarthy played an

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