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