Mccarthyism: The Rise Of Communism In The 1950s

The second Red Scare was a time period where government officials were questioned whether they had Communist affiliations. To eradicate the security threats in the government, President Truman issued Executive Order 9835 to search out “infiltration of disloyal persons.” This action caused the investigation of people like Alger Hiss and other suspected Communists. The government along with the citizens set up effective ways, Blacklists, to bar Communists from getting hired for work. In 1950, Red Channels, a book that exposed 151 writers, actors, musicians, and other radio and television entertainers as Communists, was published.

In Roberts’ view, “At the height of his power in 1953, McCarthy became chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and used the platform to make further charges of Communist spying.” (Roberts 21). Particularly, this shows the secrets the government has been hiding which leads to Americans questioning their loyalty. Moreover, this ties into Americans betraying each other because it goes to show how McCarthyism held the power to enact this action. The government 's mischievous actions led everyone not to trust them.

Sam Robert’s article, “A Decade of Fear” explains how McCarthyism turned Americans against each other after World War 2. In the first place he lied about communists being in the U.S. senate. As stated in Sam Robert’s article, “News of McCarthy’s accusations against the state dept. of president Harry Truman sent shock waves across the nation.” McCarty’s statements made him look like a gallant anticommunist and gave him power. As a matter of fact, he was considered more of a witch hunter.

During McCarthyism there was a committee called (HUAC) House Un-American Activities Committee that was hunting for “infiltrators” card-carrying communist . They decided that if you were suggested of being a communist you would have to face trial. This committee had the power to blacklist you and destroy your career. “...three hundred and twenty artists were blacklisted, and for many of them this meant the end of exceptional and promising careers.

These actions are a rebellion of against Moloch and the idol of conformity. As time progressed, these countercultural acts seemed to escalate causing people to self-destruct into madness. Allen Ginsberg uses the poem “Howl” to criticize the institutions and American culture of the 1950s. In three sections, he answers the questions who, what, and where to blame society for the destruction and sacrifice of the American people. These people were oppressed by the conformist and materialistic ideologies of this time that they started to act in rebellion against it.

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

The mass numbers shared a common goal and this paved the bloody path to the power of the people. The idea of revolution was spread to the oppressed Third Estate citizens and the divisions between the estates lead to an uprising which then created the National Assembly. The partisans of the Third Estate destroyed symbols of royal power through the storming of the Bastille and the Women’s March. The French Revolution is a great example of the violent lash back tyrannized people can have on incompetent leaders.

Sam Robert’s article, “A Decade of Fear” explains how McCarthyism turned Americans against each other by spreading the fear of Communism. Senator McCarthy informed the citizens of America about Communist spies deep within our government on February 10, 1950. He states “ I have here in hand list of 205-a list of names that were made known to the secretary of state as being a member of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the state Department.” This quote proves that McCarthy did infact say to the public that there were Communist spies in the United States. It spread fear into the citizens because they were afraid that the country will turn Communist because of the Russian spies in the government.

According to Commager, among those who are really disloyal are “Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonisms” (Foner 240), i.e. those politicians and public figures who cause national panic and an animosity towards a certain group. At this point in history, those at the wrong end of the stick were communists, for the anticommunist crusade was in full swing during the Cold War. Ironically, in 1950 three years after “Who is Loyal to America?” was published, Senator Joseph McCarthy delivered his infamous speech claiming that the United States State Department was infested with communists, sparking an age of McCarthyism and bringing about the most ruthless times of the anticommunism crusade. Those who did not conform

During the Great Depression, hearings were conducted by congress to investigate suspected communists. This is where McCarthyism came in play and completely ravaged the lives of individuals or organizations that were rumored to be communists. Most of the rumors were biases and rarely had hard evidence against them. According to the author of The Crucible, Arthur Miller, this is another repeat in American history where mass hysteria occurred and threaten people’s freedom and reputation. There is no question that information could not be

In the Cold War era of the 1950s, the US initiated a Red Scare, which was the promotion of fear of Communist ideology through aggressive, and sometimes ridiculous tactics. Under the leadership of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the nation

A hatred for immigrants caused nativism to spread throughout the nation. Immigrants who believed in socialism were deported, without trials and some thought, against the ideas of liberty the U.S. stood for (Doc 9). Some immigrants faced accusations that led to jail and even execution

After the end of the Second World War in 1945 another war, the Cold War, emerged. The Cold War was a power struggle between communism and capitalism. Many capitalist Americans were terrified of Communists and the chance of being hurled into a nuclear war. The American fear of communism, “the red scare”, caused many citizens to become paranoid.

Widespread fear during the Cold War produced a restraint of freedoms in the United States, including freedom of speech and freedom of political association. The Cold War brought feelings of the fear of communism to head with McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Council (HUAC), which led to the restriction of political association. HUAC investigated the alleged communist influence in Hollywood. In Trumbo, HUAC questioned Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Ten because they supposedly inserted propaganda for the Communist Party into films.

The Cold War was a war of ideologies and propaganda. Hence, the smallest display of failure or mistrust on one side meant a great advantage for the other. This is exactly what McCarthy did in the 1950's. He created and developed a period of negativity in his time as a senator. By doing so, he gave the Soviets an advantage, and he weakened America's image internationally.