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Mccarthyism and its effects
Primary source analysis essay
Primary source analysis essay
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Mccarthyism and its effects
Primary source analysis essay
Primary source analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Red Scare Analysis During the rise of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union had been brought into an alliance due to both of their desires to defeat Nazi, Germany. Although the Soviet Union’s aggressive, antidemocratic policy towards Europe created tensions even before World War II had ended. That being said, they tolerated each other as much as they could but weren’t exactly friends. The United States government was initially hostile to the Soviet leaders for their decision to take Russia out of World War I and was opposed to a state ideologically based on communism. The main conflict between them was their inability to agree about communism.
Upon taking office McCarthy was already facing issues that dealt with police brutally. In regards to the shooting of an unarmed African American man captured on video, McCarthy acknowledge that the officer had previously shot two other people and that he shouldn’t of been on the street. McCarthy along with Rob Emanuel acknowledged the long history of excessive force and misconduct of the Chicago Police Department. Knowing that Van Dyke had over a dozen complaints against him including serious ones MCarthy failed to take him of the streets. Not only was McCarthy not taking action by implementing new rules in his department to fix the complaints of excessive force and misconduct, but he was covering up things as well.
Sam Roberts in the article A Decade of Fear argues that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other. Roberts supports his claim by illustrating fear, describing betrayal, and comparing it to other United States internal conflicts. The author’s purpose is to point out a vulnerable period of American history in order to demonstrate that Americans felt prey to McCarthy’s negative propaganda. The author writes in a cynical tone for an educated audience. I strongly agree with Robert’s claim.
McCarthyism was a made up theory that only caused hysteria and had no real benefit to the United States. Government officials and people in power did not agree with McCarthy’s actions. The hunt for communists was like an impossible witch hunt. The lives of many were flipped upside down because of the accusations made by Joseph McCarthy. Government officials and people in power did not agree with McCarthy’s actions.
These years are often referred to as the “McCarthy era”, named after a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin who blamed many of his colleagues of Communist subversion. In many cases, defendants were pitted against their own friends, whose only evidence were their words. Cultural and racial bias ran rampant, and often those accused of a crime against the country, such as espionage or conspiracy of espionage, were not given fair trials. In one such case, a husband
After being censured by the United States Senate in 1954, Joseph Raymond McCarthy died in 1957. Admittedly Senator McCarthy led a very successful political career as Senator and chairman of the Committee on Government Operations and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Sadly he left a trail of damaged individual reputations and a red stain in the history books known as McCarthyism. McCarthyism today is the term used to refer to the time when the nation faced persecution and is a reference to any mistreatment of any group. But even though a small percentage of American citizen lost jobs and two people lost their lives, the damaged reputations of thousands even millions of people who were labeled communist was the actual terrible legacy left behind.
McCarthy and the red scare is a very interesting topic, mainly because it fits into history and English. In a article Scott Beason and other sources says that McCarthy was right to flush out communists, and he also thinks ‘it’s inappropriate for Alabama high school students to read the crucible”. “So we’re comparing the McCarthy investigations of the 1950s, in which he turned out to be right, with the Salem witch hunts” Beason stated. There is so much history behind it all that we’re still figuring out today, which is why it makes the story so widespread.
McCarthy manipulated the media, told outrageous stories about the communist conspiracy in the United States, and used his power and America’s fear to besmirch any opponents as “communist sympathizers” to make sure he remained at the top. Actually, most conservative members of Congress supported McCarthy because it helped them gain votes during elections. The majority of McCarthy 's movement attacked liberals and members of the Democratic Party and this aided anyone who was not part of those topics and organizations. Then McCarthy began to target the Army because they wouldn’t favor David Schine, one of his former investigators, who had been drafted in. “Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charged with being ‘soft’ on communism.
McCarthy created the uproar of having a ‘witch hunt’ on communists in America. His influence on the people gave him credibility when he accused those innocent people. “He cited 81 cases that day. He skipped several numbers, and for some cases repeated the same flimsy information. He proved nothing, but the Senate called for a full investigation.”(ushistory.org).
McCarthyism and The Crucible caused a feeling of hysteria and paranoia in all the people that were accused and others that were not accused. Abigail Williams and McCarthy had no evidence on the people accused except rumors that were
However, providing only the fact of the situation Alwood failed to give any analysis and left this task completely in the hands of the reader. He also neglected to provide any historical context for the events mentioned in the book, perhaps assuming that those who would be interested in reading his book would already have prior knowledge of the situation, such as those already studying journalism or the history of media in the United States. Of course, within his account of the “witch-hunt” in the press, he established a timeline in the form of listing events which pertained to the issue one by one as they occurred, but he failed to explain what caused this anti-communist epidemic. In the end, his book is nothing more than a meticulously researched historical study, which while summarizing and accounting for the history of events within the press during the red scare, would not suffice for a regular reader interested in the impact of McCarthyism on America (for a significant amount of the events listed in his book can be considered to be an excess of painstaking
New historicism demonstrates how The Crucible was written due to McCarthyism. The book relates very closely to it in many ways such as that people did not support the men and women
Historian as a Citizen written by noted political science Professor Howard Zinn , regarding historian 's views of human behavior. The passage reminds the reader to critique their perceptions of history and politics. Making the compelling argument that the position of the historian keeps evolving with the times and sociopolitical landscape. Ultimately , the proper role of the historian is to understand how history affects the present. Zinn starts off by saying " Traditionally , he is passive observer, one who looks for sequential patterns in the past as a guide to the future, or else describes the historical events as unique and disorderly- but without participating himself in attempts to change pattern or tidy the disorder" (Zinn 43).
What is more important to humans, national security or individual rights? This question has been asked and brought up many times throughout our nation’s history. One of the most memorable times when this became an issue was the McCarthy era. Did Communism threaten America’s internal security in the 1940’s and early 1950’s or did McCarthy and the HUAAC create a Red Scare and abuse their powers? The answer is yes to both parts.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the true events of the Salem witch trials. Set in the 17th century The Crucible told the story of a town that ensued a hunt for witches, caused by the accusations of Salem 's young girls and their ring leader Abigail Williams. Arthur Miller wrote this play to symbolize 1950’s McCarthyism. Most readers are unfamiliar with McCarthyism. So for a brief explanation, McCarthyism was carried out under senator Joseph McCarthy during 1950-1954 against alleged communist in the US government and in other institutions.