Goodnight And Good Luck Mccarthyism Analysis

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.

During this time period, not long after the end of World War II, the USSR (Soviet Union) was on the rise, which led to the Cold War. The Cold War led to increased tension between the United States, and the Soviet Union due to competition and heavy conflict of interest. The involvement of the Soviet Union led to the dramatic fear of communism among the public after witnessing the horrific environment within the USSR. This helped develop McCarthyism, the idea of investigating, and accusing someone in power of being associated with communism. Joe McCarthy himself, the founder of his very ideal also gained much popularity within this time period due to many Americans fearing the rise of communist leaders and communism itself. He maintained support throughout all this time because there was no one that would go against him or his ideals. McCarthy was easily able to gain

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.

McCarthyism turned Americans against each other after WWII by claiming that Communists had infiltrated many areas of American life and government. In fact, “According to a local newspaper McCarthy dropped a bombshell: ‘The State Department is infested with Communists,” (para 3). In other words, this is the beginning of McCarthy turning Americans against each other. Paranoia started to spread through America which all this strongly affected Americans everyday life. McCarthyism was a result of American fear of communism in the 1950s. According to the article A Decade of Fear by Sam Roberts it states, “As his fame and power grew, so did his anti-Communist fervor. He accused government officials and politicians who opposed him,” (para 11). Sam

Sam Robert in the article, A Decade of Fear, argues that Americans turned against each other because of McCarthyism. Robert supports his claim by explaining, contrasting, and demonstrating the effects that McCarthyism had on humanity. The author’s purpose is to persuade in order to convince the reader that McCarthyism sparked betrayal and fear among Americans. The author writes in a tone for his educated audience. I strongly agree with Robert’s claim.

The Red Scare quickly spread across the States as American people feared that communism would take over their country one day. The era had significant impacts on American society during the early stage of the Cold War. Shortly after the beginning of the Red Scare, a phenomenon which is known as McCarthyism appeared and shaped American politics. The anti-communist movement reached its peak in February 1950, when Senator Joseph McCarthy capitalised the fear by claiming he had a list of more than 200 communists working inside the American government.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was a merciless politician who would be censured by the Senate in 1954 for his false accusations. However, his political journey throughout the country had a significant impact on the American public. Americans let fear override their conscious and allowed a bully to insert panic into their minds. McCarthy’s crusade was powerful and convinced the naive public during a time of war to question their own government without sufficient

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.

People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.

On August 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs was dropped on Japan, sparking the start of what is now known as the Cold War. Two large military powers, the Soviet communists and the United States of America, pitted their wits and defense against each other, using any means necessary to find cracks in the others’ defenses. Three days later, the second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, which shook the world with its deafening death toll. The world immediately took up arms in the following years, sparking some of the most controversial years in history. Suspicion turned brothers against sisters, neighbors against neighbors, and caused many lives to be ruined. 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

Similarly, “Good Night and Good Luck” by George Clooney was written in 2005 about Edward Murrow and the CBS News’ coverage of McCarthyism as a method to censor the media. Their newscast was against Senator Joseph McCarthy. They blamed McCarthy because he was discovered of being a communist. Clooney’s film addressed how communism

It was derived from the fear and hatred they had deep inside them. Mccarthy used this plot to get rid of his opponents and secure him a prime spot for a next term as a senator. McCarthy’s trials were no different to The Salem witch trials by raising suspitions he was able to destroy lives with a written list. Although people tried to contradict his allegations the majority’s fear of communists clouded the court’s judgement. They had no remorse for the aftermath of their doings.

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.

Everyone was scared of being accused as shown with the look of terror on the women in the right corner. Most of daily life was disrupted blacklists were formed against those accused of communism even if the accusation was false. This was not the land of opportunity that America once

McCarthyism falsely accused people of supporting communism and being unloyal to America(Document D). These claims had no proper evidence which justified the said assertions. Individuals who were accused of being a communist or a spy, even if the facts were not accurate, were looked down upon and occasionally prosecuted. Accused people no longer supported the war, for it led to the government punishing the innocent(Document G). Not only was the government believed to be unreliable, but trust between people was a large issue during the Cold War.