Sam Robert's Rhetorical Analysis Of 'A Decade Of Fear'

Sam Robert in the article, “A Decade of Fear”, argues that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other. Robert supports his argument by illustrating, describing, and listing the roots of McCarthyism. The author's purpose is to inform people about McCarthyism in order to convince readers that it caused conflict between Americans. The author writes in a factual tone for the adults reading New York Times. I strongly agree with Robert’s argument. For sure, McCarthyism leads Americans to clash with each other through hysteria, psychological warfare, and self-preservation.

Clearly, the conflict between Americans existed because McCarthyism inflected hysteria. One reason for this is the discovery of Communist spies who were suspected of leaking information on nuclear technology which planted fear in the American population. For example, Robert explains, “Anxiety over a

One reason others feel differently is because of the unsightly part of humanity. For example, in the beginning of the Crucible, Miller explains how Parris “cut a villainous path” to become reverend and how “there is very little good to be said for him” (1100). People similar to Parris exist everywhere which roots the argument of inner conflict constantly tieing with humanity. However, one couldn’t openly act in such a way, it would ruin an important reputation in society. In fact, Joseph McCarthy himself suffered this consequence: “It was his clash with the Army that would lead to his downfall” (Robert 3). By accusing the Army of treason, he lost respect in the population and bad opinions spread around, ruining his power streak.This risk prevented these kinds of people from succumbing to actions that would sabotage their reputation. In addition, McCarthyism allowed these kinds of nasty people, such as McCarthy, to act upon unsightly desires. Therefore, the McCarthy trials encouraged the conflict between