Why for four years Senator Joseph McCarthy was able to recklessly attack and falsely accuse people of being communists?

Answer 1

(Many people were afraid too oppose McCarthy.)

For nearly four years, Senator Joseph McCarthy was able to recklessly attack and falsely accuse people of being communists. One reason McCarthy was able to keep making false accusations was that many people were afraid to take a stand against him. They were afraid to oppose McCarthy because he would call them a communist or "soft on communism." During the Red Scare of the late 1940s and 1950s, a person's reputation would be ruined if he or she was called a communist. They would run the risk of being fired from their jobs. Former friends would no longer talk to them for fear of also being called a communist.McCarthy's downfall came in 1954 when he accused popular generals in the U.S. Army of being communists or "soft on communism." The army fought back. They were able to show that McCarthy had no proof to back up his charges. Members of the U.S. Senate also, finally, got up the courage to speak out against McCarthy. The U.S. Senate censured (scolded) McCarthy for his actions. McCarthy's popularity dropped. This period of McCarthyism (the smearing of people with false charges) was a dark chapter in U.S. history.

Answer 2

The simplest answer to why Senator Joseph McCarthy was able to persecute people he suspected of being Communists was that he manipulated the fears of the American people at a time when Soviet Communism was considered to be a direct threat to the American way of life.