McCarthyism
Made by: Andy Stainer, Zoie Bailey, Kaylen Sanor,
Jenna Smith, and Kailee Gibbons
Definition
● The practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty
or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence.
● The use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods in
order to suppress opposition.
The practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence.
2. The use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods in order to suppress opposition.
The practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence.
2. The use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods in order to suppress opposition.
Creator: Joseph McCarthy
•
•
American politician who
served as a Republican U.S.
Senator from the state of
Wisconsin from 1947 until
his death in 1957.
Publicly made the
accusation that 205
communists had infiltrated
the U.S. State Department.
Creator: Joseph McCarthy cont.
•
Got re-elected in 1952
•
Became chair of the Senate's subcommittee on investigations
•
Spent the next two years investigating many government
departments and countless witnesses
Growth of McCarthyism
● McCarthyism first had a huge spike at the start of the
1950’s.
● As years went on, it had a slight drop, then began to rise
again.
● Coming into our time, the use of McCarthyism had begun
to decrease.
What started McCarthyism
●
Background checks on everyone involved with the government were ordered by
President Truman in 1947. One man, Alger Hiss was convicted of spying during
these checks. This frightened many people in the community.
●
A few years later, McCarthy made a speech to many people in West Virginia about
this same topic. During this speech, he mentioned that he knew of 205 cardcarrying members that were in the Communist Party who also worked for the
Department of State for the United States. McCarthy began grabbing even more
attention from people.
How McCarthyism affected people
•
•
•
•
Thousands of people were imprisoned
Thousand of people lost their jobs
Others were denied work
Government officials were even targeted
to be imprisoned.
People affected
● If you were suspected of homosexuality,
you could be imprisoned as well.
● Some people who were affected were…
○
Owen Lattimore- Former editor for the Institute of
Pacific Relations Journal. Was the government's
liaison to Chiange Kai-Shek.
Another person affected
•
Eisenhower, candidate for President in 1952,
was afraid to praise marshalls home state
because he was an accused traitor within the
senate.
How it affected the government
The government became corrupted and
afraid of Mccarthy for fear of losing their
careers.
Also started to accuse each other to gain
more power within the senate and the
house of representatives.
McCarthyism and The Cold War
•
•
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During The Cold War, McCarthyism
increased extremely.
The Cold War was against Russia, who
was practicing communism.
McCarthy’s accusations became so
intimidating during this time that few
people spoke up to him.
Works Cited
“McCarthyism.” The Free Dictionary by Farlex. Farlex, Inc.,
n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2013.
"Joseph McCarthy." 2013. The Biography Channel website.
Dec 04 2013.
"U.S. History Pre-Columbian to the New
Millennium."www.ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association
in Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2013.
"The War Within." UCI Libraries. UC Irvine Libraries, n.d.
Web. 5 Dec 2013.
“Joseph R. McCarthy.” 2013. The History Channel website.
Dec 5 2013.