Mccarthyism In The 1950's

With the dropping of the Atomic bomb that ended WWII and the beginning of the Cold War, the United states was in distress. The start of the 1950s brought about many changes to American society, from the Red Scare and threat of the possible spread of communism in America, to changes in political movements, civil rights movements, and another possible war. The political climate in the 1950s was a period when people made judgement without proof based on people’s occupations, it instilled a fear that anyone could be a communist and pushed McCarthy to find and dispose of them. Factors that influenced this political crisis and fear go back years to 1917 when communism was recognized as a political force. It was known as the last red scare. Another influence was the success of the communist party organization of labor unions and its opposition to fascism. By the 1930s the Communist Party of

Many people had been willing to overlook their discomfort with McCarthyism during the senator’s campaign against government employees and others they saw as upper class, but over time their support for the cause began to wane. The fatal blow was the decision to broadcast the Army-McCarthy hearings on national television. The American people watched as McCarthy intimidated witnesses and offered elusive responses when questioned himself. The breaking point for Americans was when in McCarthy attacked a young Army lawyer, the Army’s chief counsel rebuked McCarthy and asked “Have you no sense of decency, sir? Have you no sense of decency”(American Passages, 615)? The Army-McCarthy hearings struck many observers as a shameful moment in American politics. A few months later, the senate censured McCarthy for bringing that body into “into dishonor and disrepute”(American Passages 615). After the hearing McCarthy 's political career died and his influence