What did senator Joseph McCarthy have to do with the Red Scare of the 1950s?

Answer 1

Joseph McCarthy was a Senator who ruined the careers of many people by calling them Communists, or "Reds," without sufficient proof.

In 1950, anti-communist hysteria began to emerge in the USA as encouraged by the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy who began accusing high-ranking US officials of being communists, or of selling secrets to the Russians. Some government employees were found guilty of passing on secrets about the Atom Bomb. But McCarthy eventually lost popularity, and then power, as his accusations grew wilder and cruder each day. All of this simply served to increase tension between the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union.

At the same time as McCarthy's denunciations, the House Un-American Activities Committee was also active. Many actors and writers were brought in before the Committee, and their lives ruined by threats and accusations. There were some Hollywood writers who were out of work for years because of these actions. They had been placed on a "blacklist" and studios were afraid to be connected with them.

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Senator McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, was Chairman of the US Senate Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations. He is viewed as a leading figure of the "Red Scare" of the 1950s. His committee, however, was not involved in the Hollywood Blacklist. McCarthy's committee was focused on supposed communists in the State Department, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies.

The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) is the group identified with the Hollywood Blacklist. Or more properly, their investigations into supposed communists in Hollywood led the movie industry to establish the Blacklist as proof of their sincerity in fighting the supposed communists.

Senator McCarthy's activities are frequently confused with those of the HUAC. Richard Nixon was a member of HUAC while a member of the US House of Representatives.

The movie Julie & Julia (2009) is about the chef Julia Child and stars Meryl Streep. Julia's husband Paul Child, played by Stanley Tucci, is a state department official who was questioned by McCarthy's committee investigators and found innocent. Nonetheless the threat of investigation was often used to intimidate witnesses.