SECTION 2 : McCarthyism

What was McCarthyism?

• Senator Joe McCarthy made a name for himself by exploiting these fears. In 1950 he claimed to have a list of many known Communists in the US government.

• McCarthy attacked members of the government, scientists, diplomats, politicians, actors, film producers and writers.

• Many of the people he attacked were blacklisted and could not find work for years.

• Charlie Chaplin left the USA to live in Switzerland and only returned in the 1970s to receive an Oscar.

• In fact, only one or two cases were ever brought, such as that against Alger Hiss in 1948, which added fuel to McCarthy’s accusations. All those who had opposed the New Deal joined in a reaction.

• Hiss was sentenced to five years in 1950, but always denied any criminal acts.

• The Hiss trial was followed by the passing of the McCarran Internal Security Act, which stated that it was illegal for Americans to take part in any actions that might lead to a communist government in the USA and imposed other controls on communists.

• Immediately after the Hiss case, the Rosenbergs were arrested for spying for the Soviet Union and were eventually executed for passing atomic secrets in 1953.

• McCarthy now claimed that he had a list of 205 communists working in the State Department. When a Senate committee chairman said that this was fraud, McCarthy accused him of being a communist.

• Many Americans believed that he was defending the country, they saw him as a crusader against communism.

• McCarthy was also clever, he always attacked and if anybody stood up to him he tried to smear them as well. This meant that few people were prepared to stand up to him, not even President Truman.

• McCarthy was the chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee. This gave him real power in Washington and access to television and the media.

• In 1953 President Eisenhower agreed to an investigation of the Civil service and nearly 7,000 people lost their jobs.

• Many Americans believed that communism was a real threat to the USA and believed McCarthy’s statements. In 1950 and 1951 the communist victories in Korea gave McCarthy a perfect opportunity.

• He forced General Marshall to resign for ‘deliberately allowing communist victories’.

• McCarthy was a skilful and powerful speaker, able to mix up facts with lies until it was difficult to know what to believe.

• He never actually produced any real evidence, he always claimed that it was in his briefcase.

• In 1954 McCarthy attacked the army and accused officers of being communist spies.

• The hearings of HUAC were shown on TV, and McCarthy was revealed as a bully.

• He never produced any of his lists of names. McCarthyism and the Red Scare were over.

• In December 1954 he was censured by the Senate and he died in 1957.

* However, McCarthy’s influence survived him. The communist party was banned in the USA in 1954 and people that he had accused continued to be blacklisted for many years.