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What was Red Scare and how is it related to McCarthy and why is it still important?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Both are examples of how government sometimes misuses its powers and does not protect the rights of the citizens. It is especially important today in the "electronic/computer age" that government does not over step it's powers. The main function of the government is to protect the rights of the citizens. Following the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the establishment of the Soviet Union, the Communists made efforts to promote revolutions in Europe and the US. In 1919, President Wilson appointed A. Mitchell Palmer as his attorney-general. His attempts to root out the communists, anarchists, and other radicals became known as The Red Scare. Bombs were found by the US Post Office, addressed to prominent politicians and capitalists. An anarchist was blown up outside of Palmer's home. News was leaked to the press that the government was investigating important Americans and there was a belief that a radical overthrow of the government was in the works. Palmer enlisted the services of an attorney, J. Edgar Hoover, to help enforce provisions of the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act (1917/1918). A series of "Palmer Raids" were held in November, 1919, and thousands of anarchists, immigrants, and communists were rounded up. Many were detained without being charged and many were simply deported back to their native country with no evidence that they had done anything wrong. Palmer continued his raids despite finding no evidence of any kind of communist plot. Senator McCarthy claimed he had a list of known communists in the State Department. He held investigations and hearings and ruined many careers. Presidents Truman and Eisenhower so feared his influence with the public that they did nothing to stop him. When McCarthy attacked the US Army as a hotbed of communist activity, the Senate finally censored him and he died a broken politician.
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∙ 14y ago
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Describe five reforms you learned about in this chapter that are still important in the US today?
The voting rights for the blacks is one of the most important reforms that are important in the US today. Constitutionalism is another reform in the US today.
What prompted hysteria during the red scare?
That is a very complicated question, but let me try to give it some context. The Red Scare did not come out of nowhere. In fact, it has deep historical roots. For generations, ultra-conservatives in a society have sought to distract the public from very real problems by offering scapegoats who are blamed for everything wrong in that society. Liberal and secular people, as well as religious minorities or racial minorities, are often the groups who are made the scapegoats by those forces that want to see theocracy (as in Iran or Saudi Arabia) or that want nationalism or a hyper-version of patriotism (as we saw in Nazi Germany). I am not comparing the folks in the Republican Party in the early 1950s to Nazis or theocrats, but I am saying the motivation is similar-- the Red Scare included the belief that anyone who disagreed with the views of the dominant group of conservatives was unAmerican, unChristian, or unpatriotic. Many of the people called Communists (or Reds) during this period were from organizations considered liberal or secular. Some of the people accused, such as the Hollywood Ten, had in fact belonged to the Communist Party in the 1930s, but more as a social protest against racism and against the rich getting richer while the poor were suffering. I am not defending any of this, but I think some of this was conveniently dredged up during the McCarthy era to get back at critics of the government. Beating up on liberals (or those perceived as liberals) had been going on since the 1920s, in fact. Most historians today will tell you that in the 1950s, there was little concrete evidence that the US government was "dominated by Communists" as the McCarthyites claimed, but it was easy then, as now, to stir people up and scare them. McCarthy would claim he had "a list of 208 names" of Communists in the US government (the number varied, but he would never show the list-- just say that he had it) and he knew how to get headlines with charges like that. it was the Cold War, Americans were terrified of Communism, and it was all too easy to persuade them to fear anyone that was said to be a danger to our way of life. As a result of the Red Scare, many innocent lives were ruined just to score cheap political points. Had Edward R. Murrow and a few others not spoken out so courageously at a time when dissent was not only discouraged but demonized, one wonders if the McCarthy era would have ended when it finally did. Sad to say, keeping Americans afraid of "traitors" and "Reds" gave a number of conservative politicians cover when they sought to go after Jews, African-Americans, the ACLU, and outspoken white liberals, as well as some of the ultra-right wing's political enemies. I fully expect this answer to cause some controversy, and I'd be happy to offer the questioner some good (and objective) books about the Red Scare if he or she wants to know more. But the tactic of calling your opponent's patriotism into question (or demonizing anyone who disagrees) is still around today.
Is Ruby Bridges still alive today in 2013?
No she died in 2007Actually, no. She is still alive, and a successful business woman.Than how did she die
Why do we still remember Louis riel?
Because he stood up against Canadian rule and created an important part of Western Canadian history.
Is scare tactics still on TV?
no scare tactics used to be on tv but its cancelled/deleted.
When did paul McCarthy die?
He is not dead and he is still singing.
What do you do after you move the light on Big Nate Island?
Redirecting the lighthouse light will scare away the seagull, but you still need the missing clapper to fix the bell. You also still need the map to the Time Capsule. (see related questions)
What was the significance of the Army-McCarthy hearings?
The Army-McCarthy hearings, held April through June of 1954, initiated the undoing of Senator Joseph McCarthy as far as his political power was concerned. By year's end McCarthy would be censured by the Senate and completely void of influence.
What scares a chicken?
When you are afraid of chickens. ( I think I might have it{I still have nightmares about Foghornleghorn})
Have all of the important rules of nature already been discovered?
No. We still do not know how gravity and the nuclear forces are related.
Is john McCarthy a ledgend?
John McCarthy was an accident and was never really popular as a child and still is not to day. He is considered ugly according to the girls but is popular with some of the boys at school he has a shocking sense of humour and will often cry when people make jokes at him. so this is why John McCarthy is not a legend.
Does the scary maze Game still scare people if you turn of the audio?
yes the audio will have no effect on scaring your victim LOL as long as they are close to the screen it will definitely scare the crap out of them ( :
Can sea monkeys scare kids?
God yes, I was so scared of them when I was a kid... I still have nightmares. :(
Is Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey still together?
Yes...I just saw them pictured together in a recent magazine of OK.
Are scare crows still used on farms in the 21st century?
Not really- very few actually work.
Were Joseph McCarthy's efforts valuable?
One opinion. Speaking as a well-informed European, Joseph McCarthy cast a blight on America which still persists to this day. Any American public figure with any politically liberal attitudes (however slight) is still suspected of being - at heart - a communist, and therefore 'suspect'. Joseph McCarthy and his activities were a disgrace to a supposedly free country - where freedom of speech is constitutionally guaranteed, but freedom of thought was punished so badly.
