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Mccarthyism: The Rise Of Communism In The United States

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McCarthyism occurred in the United States for roughly six years. The movement quickly reached its height in 1950 and progressively declined over the next few years (Cold War Museum). During this time, many major events contributed to the rise of McCarthy and his rash ideas. For example, the U.S. just entered the Korean War; a war fighting against Communist China, The Soviet Union, and North Korea. The ongoing war in Korea increased the fear of communist infiltration; a niche McCarthy quickly filled to improve his public image. By manipulating the public’s opinion, McCarthy rose to a position of power in the senate and later the country. Furthermore, In 1950, McCarthy released the names of 205 State Department officials, who supposedly belonged …show more content…

The Patriot Act, enacted on October 26, 2001 by President George W. Bush relaxed the laws regarding American privacy. A month prior, 3000 Americans lost their lives in a tragic terrorist attack. Therefore, the senate, the people, and the president wanted increased security in the country. Mainly, the Patriot Act allows government agencies such as, the FBI and NSA, to view private information in regard to American safety. The Patriot Act contains four main points. First, The Patriot Act allows investigators to use tools that were already available to investigate organized crime (Patriot Act). Previously, terrorism wasn’t considered organized crime; therefore, investigators couldn’t use common tools to combat terrorism. Second, The Patriot Act facilitated information sharing and cooperation among government agencies so that they can better "connect the dots." Before the Patriot Act, higher levels of law enforcement were unable to communicate with lower

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