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McCarthyismMcCarthyism
The McCarthy Era (1950s)The McCarthy Era (1950s)
McCarthyismMcCarthyism
• Anti-Communist hysteria and suspicion• Americans turned on their fellow citizens• Denounced Americans as Communist
sympathizers based on little or no evidence
Senator Joseph McCarthySenator Joseph McCarthy
• Little known Republican senator from Wisconsin
• He would have been defeated in bid for reelection in 1950
• He found a way to promote himself for reelection as an anti-Communist
• On Feb. 12, 1950. McCarthy gave a campaign speech where he said he had a list of 205 people in the government that were communists
• McCarthy was able to get reelected and became an active committee member for HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
• Went after government leaders and movie stars (McCarthy made quite a name for himself in pursuit of supposed communists)
• Main reason for his success was the Cold War
Anti-Communist Anti-Communist Sentiment in American Sentiment in American
SocietySociety• McCarthyism became a major part of our society in the 1950s
• Many states went after Communists, put people in jail for long sentences if affiliated with Communists
• On federal level, illegal to be a member of the Communist Party
• Anti-Communists hysteria influenced American
Education • Textbooks pushed patriotism and preached anti-
communism• Un-American books were banned from libraries
• Movie makers began to make films that promoted American ideals or were anti-Communist
• This is the era that “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance
The End of McCarthyismThe End of McCarthyism
• McCarthy, despite his popularity, proved very little and gradually people became wise to him
• On televised hearings, McCarthy made a fool of himself, acting like a bully and even sounding like he was drunk
• Eventually he was censured by the Senate and faded away, dying 3 years later
• One of the ironies of all of this is that were very few actual Communists in the US
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