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Mccarthyism and its effects
Mccarthyism its effects
The impact of mccarthyism
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Now back in the 50s, communism was an event that if you were just simply accused of being a communist no one would
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.
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.
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.
During this time it was crucial that everyone stayed loyal to their country. There was a war going on called the Cold War. if you were being disloyal to your county you could get brutally punished. On October 10,1947 members of Hollywood film industry announced communist influence in the american motion picture business (WIlliams). McCarthy accused the Hollywood blacklist of communist which changed their life dramastically.
Although Mccarthyism has become obsolete, Anti-Communism was still very relevant at the time. He put an everlasting effect that made the Communist party banned from the US. Companies and states demanded loyalty tests from employees that lasted until the 1960s. Those that were blacklisted by McCarthy remained in that list for many years. Although McCarthy put so much emphasis on Communism and having false accusations of some people, it proved and made people aware of how much damage the Soviets could have done.
Freedom in the 1950’s was like religion in the 1600’s, it was seen as one of the most important aspects of life. In both of these events, it all comes down to the fact that people were just frightened that what they held dear to them would be taken away. The McCarthy Hearings resulted in the fear of the idea that everyone is a communist. Everyone believed that communism would threaten the American Freedom, the same way witchcraft was threatening the village’s religion as it was sinful and concerned the devil. Due to fear and panic, they were ready to accuse anyone that could have threatened them.
The term McCarthyism was adopted in the 1950s by one Joseph McCarthy, a Republican senator who used his power to ensure that communism was not spread throughout the United States. This time period is known as the “Red Scare”, in which McCarthy accused 205 officials from the U.S. Department of State of being communists or communist sympathizers. Not only were US officials targeted, but many of those involved in the entertainment business got blacklisted when they would refuse to answer questions about their involvement with the Communist Party at the time. Consequently, this caused the public to avalanche into a state of mass hysteria and paranoia because no one wanted to be accused of such a crime knowing that this could cause major repercussions.
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
With all of the accusations going around, people were forgetting that everyone can have their own opinion. Edward R Murrow, a television host of See It Now bashed McCarthy by saying “’We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty’” (Roberts, 2). Murrow was saying that just because a person disagrees with what the president or a government official says, does not mean they are a communist. The United States has freedom of speech, and citizens can say whatever they want about the government.
Fresh off the tail of the hellish nightmare that was WWII, Americans were expecting unprecedented national unity and safety, but they would soon come to find the exact opposite. Following the American defeat of fascism, they quickly set their sights on a new evil ideology, communism. The United States and the Soviet Union quickly devolved into a cold war, which, if either side was pushed too far, could end with the annihilation of the human race as a whole. Stateside, communist paranoia was rampant and many were quick to point fingers at people they suspected of being communist spies. The most infamous finger-pointer of the time was Wisconsin Republic Senator Joseph McCarthy.
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
In 1950s United States, open homosexuality was taboo and legislature in every state had passed anti-sodomy laws. U.S. politicians in the McCarthy Era viewed being gay as tantamount to antinationalism. Gays were perceived as a threat to national
In a time of economic prosperity, a rise in the standard of living and rock and roll, also known as the “happy days”, the 1950s were a time looked back on with nostalgia. On the other hand, the 1950s were also met with many problems involving civil rights, the Cold War and McCarthyism. After the end of World War II, Americans came home to jobs available and a period of consensus. Consensus meaning there wasn’t much debate in politics. However tensions quickly rose throughout the nation when Joseph McCarthy made serious accusations about the State Department.
McCarthy was a public figure that many Americans believed in and rooted for. Even though now in history, we see McCarthy as a villain in the scene of the Cold War, millions of American's at the time saw him to be simply wonderful. One thing that McCarthy was know for, was the number of people he had accused of being communist. McCarthy held hearings, and even brought hundreas of people infront of senate commities, that later on ruined many peoples lives. It was even said in the Pearson's video about McCarthy that he would carry around an envelope of names in his pockets during his press interviews and speeches , claiming to have hundreds of names of known communist that were involved in the government .