Joe McCarthy and
McCarthyism
The Beginnings of the Cold War
For your consideration and reflection
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Please write about the following questions:
bring your responses to class tomorrow
and be prepared to discuss at the
beginning of the hour:
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What are the origins of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry?
Where do the feelings of mutual distrust, fear and
suspicion originate from?
How do wartime allies become post-war
enemies?
Background of Joe McCarthy
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In 1950, Joseph McCarthy was a little known
Senator from Wisconsin
Found political power and a way to promote his
own political career through anticommunism
On Feb. 12, 1950, McCarthy gives a speech in
West Virginia where he held up a list of 205
members of the Communist Party that were
working and shaping policy in the State
Department
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McCarthy said that the country faced a
threat from “a conspiracy on a scale so
immense as to dwarf any previous such
venture in the history of man”.
McCarthy is reelected as Senator and
worked for the next four years to root out
the communist menace he said existed in
government, entertainment industry and
education.
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A member of the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC)
An endless parade of suspected “Communists”
were called to testify before the committee, each
was asked “Are you now or have you ever been a
member of the Communist Party?”
If a witness refused to testify, they were called
“Fifth Amendment Communists”, others simply
guilty by association.
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McCarthy’s favorite targets were writers, actors
and producers
McCarthy’s recognition of anticommunism as a
political tool was not lost on other political figuresthe Democratic Party’s association with liberal
causes and reform politics made it vulnerable to
being charged with being “soft on communism”.
In 1946, the Republican Party proclaimed that
Americans had the choice between communism
and Republicanism.
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Anticommunists claimed that there were not only
“Reds” but “Pinks”, those who would slowly lead
the country to communism. FDR and the New
Deal were cast in the “Pinks” light and McCarthy
said that “20 years of treason” had been
committed.
Conservatism and anti-Communist vigilance were
the only protection against “creeping Socialism”
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The early years of the Cold War provided a
perfect stage for McCarthy dominated by anticommunist fears and tensions.
In 1949, China (and 1/5 of the world’s population
became a Communist state.
Fear of spies and the actual revealing that
information was being passed to the Soviet Union.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted and
executed in 1953 for treason based on spy
activity.
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Hysteria and paranoia of Communism and
McCarthyism permeated American society and
culture during much of the 1950’s.
In 1954, the Congress passed the Communism
Control Act. Supported by both Democrats and
Republicans, made membership in the
Communist party illegal.
6 concentration camps were built around the
country to house suspected Communist
sympathizers in the event of all-out war with the
Soviet Union.
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Despite all the hysteria, McCarthy never proved
his conspiracy charges. Not a single conspirator
was found.
His support waned as his accusations proved to
be empty.
McCarthy finally reached too far when he attacked
the U.S. Army for sheltering communists.
McCarthy shouted to a general: “You are a
disgrace to the uniform. You’re shielding
communist conspirators…You’re not fit to be an
officer. You’re ignorant”.
The End of McCarthy
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Finally after disgracing generals,
congressmen and even President
Eisenhower, the senate passed a vote of
censure against McCarthy in 1954.
He died of liver failure three years later.