ipl-logo

Joseph Mccarthyism In The 1950's

888 Words4 Pages

"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?" Many Americans had to answer this question to government officials during the 1950s. A widespread paranoia of communist spies in the United States led to this panic in the 1950s. McCarthyism refers to a wrong accusation based on a belief that is easy to follow during the time. The term, “McCarthyism” comes from Joseph McCarthy, an American politician who was a U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until he would later be censured. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became a very easily recognizable face during the beginning of the Cold War, when Communist espionage paranoia was common. He said that in the State Department, there were 205 Communists working for the …show more content…

This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. In July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea’s side. Americans believed this was a war against communism as a whole, not just North Korea. After some early fighting across the 38th parallel, the death toll soared with nothing to show for them. Meanwhile, Americans tried to find a way to peacefully end this conflict. The alternative, they feared, would be a war on a much larger scale with Communist Russia and China. In July 1953, the Korean War was over. In all, 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war. The Korean peninsula is still divided today, the border is known as the D.M.Z. or Demilitarized zone. Americans involved themselves in these foreign affairs against communism because of the paranoid attitude of McCarthyism. McCarthyism both reached its peak and began its decline during the “McCarthy hearings”: 36 days of televised investigative hearings led by McCarthy in 1954. After first calling hearings to investigate possible espionage at the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, the junior senator turned his communist-chasing committee’s attention to an altogether different matter, the question of whether the Army had promoted a dentist who

Show More
Related

  • Allegations Were Made Against The Government During The 1940s And 1950s

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    Akinola Osota Constitution Tiffany Bergman November 19, 2015 During the 1940s and 1950s era, McCarthyism was the practice of condemning others because of false activity deprived of appropriate evidence and the hunt for Communists in the government and public life. When McCarthyism started it was originated from a former senator of Wisconsin in Joseph McCarthy. McCarthyism was originated from him because of the allegation that was made on government officials. Allegations that were made were not good for some careers because it led to different kind of trial and hearing that damaged the career of others.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthy

    1141 Words  | 5 Pages

    Once the U.S. government started the false accusations many continued to panic wanting to avoid being accused of being a Communist with barely any evidence. With no evidence, the Government was arresting with a testimony from someone and no physical proof, which enlargened the widespread fear. McCarthyism was brought upon by Joeseph McCarthy and

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Red Scare And Joseph Mccarthyism

    347 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Korean War Dbq Essay

    1928 Words  | 8 Pages

    ‘Under the leadership of the U.S, the South Korean forces pushed the invaders past the originally established 38th parallel, to the Yalu River that bordered the People's Republic of China (P.R.C). After which, the P.R.C quickly counter attacked and, after 2 years of futile war at the 38th parallel, agreed to the original border.’ (Crash Course, 2013). These excerpts from this source represent the widely accepted reasoning behind the actions that transpired during the war and indicate further information about the events within it. Evidence from both Professor Lee and Crash Course reveal the causes of the Korean War and the reasons for its proxy of the Cold War status.

    Read More

  • The Controversy Of The Rosenberg Trial During The Mccarthy Era

    692 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • DBQ Essay: The Cold War

    469 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sarah Paroya D period I hate MUSH The end of World War II should have marked a period of relief in America but instead, it lead America into a completely different type of war called the Cold War. The Cold War was an ongoing state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. This constant state of tension and fear had been embedded deep in the American public.

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing The Crucible And Mccarthyism

    906 Words  | 4 Pages

    When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.

    Read More

  • Enemies From Within Speech Analysis

    462 Words  | 2 Pages

    Response to Senator McCarthy’s “Enemies From Within Speech” With anti-communism being the dominant political issue during the Cold War, hysteria and paranoia spread throughout the minds of Americans. The “Enemies From Within Speech” delivered at Wheeling, West Virginia in 1950 by Senator Joseph McCarthy focused on worsening that national fear. Senator McCarthy used ethos, metaphor, and hyperbole to create the notion of disloyalty within the federal government. In order to persuade the American public in a convincing way, Senator McCarthy appeals to their ethics.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Salem Witch Trials And The Crucible

    1711 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Korean War

    1796 Words  | 8 Pages

    Grace Fullenkamp Ms. Yane AP Lang March 14, 2018 The Korean War The Korean War was not a conflict in which the United States needed to be involved as to its horrific outcome is testament. Yet, in the 1950s, the U.S. thought it was believed that the only way to stop the spread of communism was to fight back against the potential formation of communist governments. When war broke out in Korea, it became a place for the United States to make a statement against communism on a global front joining with South Korea to combat the communist North.

    Read More

  • The Crucible Dbq Essay

    608 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Rock And Roll In The 1950s Essay

    999 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Beat Generation Analysis

    951 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American culture of the 1950's portrays an unpredictable and absurd picture of dramatic advances in the economic prosperity ; uneasily coinciding with extreme , however , partially recognized social and cultural strains. After the second world war , the united states had a great deal of anxiety about any form of government that was different from their own . The actions and policies of Hitler , Stalin, and Trotsky terrified the Americans ; there was a very real fear that communist spies will weaken the country from the inside .This fear created McCarthyism , in which General Joseph McCarthy rose to national prominence by starting a test to uncover communists holding important positions in the most astounding areas of the government

    Read More

  • The Korean War: An Unending Rift

    682 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Korean War: An Unending Conflict, And a Growing Rift Kaylea Austin History 1700 Professor Crawford October 20, 2015 “Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefield and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. Worse, it was contagious, and could destroy a unit before a battle even began. Because of that, commanders were the first and foremost in the fear suppression business.” –David Halberstam, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War U.S. and Soviet Intervention in the Korean Conflict both helped and hindered the Koreans in their efforts to unite their country, as well as serve to only heat tensions between the two countries throughout the conflict.

    Read More

  • South Korean War Research Paper

    600 Words  | 3 Pages

    monsoon-drenched morning four decades ago and raged up and down a remote peninsula for 37 months. When it finally ended in a stalemate at a bleak "truce village" in no- man's land called Panmunjon, it had involved 22 nations, claimed five million lives and set off political and economic tremors that rever- berate still. It is appropriate on the anniversary of the Korean conflict (the Cold War turned hot) that we are now witnessing the apparent end of the Cold War. The animosity that prevailed be- tween North and South Korea after World War I1 ignited into open war- fare Sunday, June 25, 1950, when, without warning, the North invaded the South. President Harry S. Tru- man promptly ordered U.S. troops, planes and warships into action to defend South

    Read More

More about Joseph Mccarthyism In The 1950's

Open Document