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Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy was a Wisconsin senator during the Cold War. He became well known for his outspoken views on anti-communism. McCarthy made accusations that there were Russian spies and members of the Communist Party working in the State Department. He was censured by the Senate in in 1954.
274 Questions
Why were Joseph McCarthy's charges so damaging to individuals?
That's a question that can't be answered without looking at the time in which it happened. In the early 1950s, the Cold War had begun, and Americans had deep suspicion of Russia and Communism as China was taken over by a communist regime in 1949, Korea became two in 1950 as the communists held what is now North Korea, and the Soviet Union was about test a nuclear bomb. Since the late 1930s, some members of congress had already been expressing concern about an alleged takeover of the USA by Communists, and Senator McCarthy capitalized on that fear and concern. FBI founder and head Herbert Hoover, an anti-communist fervor himself, also fanned the flames with names of people who were already dismissed, died, or did not exist. There was no internet yet, TV was still fairly new, and fact-checking was not a common practice, so if a congressman (and most were men) made an assertion, the press generally reported it without question. Until Edward R. Murrow took McCarthy on in the 1954 Army hearings, there was not much mainstream media critique of the claims he made, even though some members of his own Republican party (including President Eisenhower) were becoming more and more uncomfortable with McCarthy's accusations. But due to lack of a strong response, a lot of innocent people lost their jobs and their reputations.
In one televised hearings on CBS and the DuMont stations, McCarthy was seen as ruthless, arrogant, and a bully. The exchange between attorney Joseph Welch and McCarthy more or less ended McCarthy's career:
"Until this moment, Senator, I think I never gauged your cruelty or recklessness...."
When McCarthy resumed his attack, Welch cut him short: "Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator.... You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
Prior to this exchange, McCarthy accused the army of harboring "pixies" and "fairies." His general counsel, who also had the tool to instigate, Roy Cohn, was himself a homosexual, something that is known today but was not known back then.
Prior to that hearing, McCarthy had a positive 50% rating and after, it fell to 34%. I am leaving links for you to review. The first link concerning "McCarthyism" has listed on the bottom members of the film industry who were "blacklisted." Joseph McCarthy was censored by the Senate and anytime he stood up to speak, very few senators were present. The media also stopped covering him. He died as a result of alcoholism in 1957.
*Because he was a senator, he could not be sued for saying these things
-Apex
How did McCarthy affect US politics and culture?
McCarthyism has come to mean an attempt by a politician or politicians, to influence the government to do something even though the information being presented is false or misleading. It is sort of a bully in politics. At the peak of his power, McCarthy managed to strike fear in many politicians. Many Senators were afraid to speak out against the man for fear he would attack them as being a communist and ruin their career. Even Eisenhower, candidate for President in 1952, was afraid to praise Secretary of State Marshall while on a campaign tour of Marshall's home state, Wisconsin, because the former Secretary was one of McCarthy's "traitors." Eisenhower feared McCarthy would attack his campaign. Liberals in Congress rushed to prove their loyalty by voting for laws like the McCarran Act, which outlawed the communist party. Only a few outside politics refused to be intimidated by McCarthy's bullying. Edward R. Murrow and Herbert Block were two. The lesson of McCarthyism is that a politician can build a career by exploiting and agravating anxieties in society. The American public has to examine the statements of politicians carefully to weed out the untruths.
How did the House Un-American Activities Committee affect filmmaking?
Because of the House Un-American Activities Committee, film producers avoided making movies about controversial subjects.
Which action of Joseph McCarthy contributed to increased cold war anxieties?
His 'Red Scare" policy in which he accused people left and right (but mostly 'left') of being Communist sympathizers. Although he almost never produced a single scrap of hard evidence, he browbeated people in either confessing to having Communist - also meaning 'Socialist', or just liberal - leanings, or he threatened to 'expose' them unless they named others.
Although he had been accusing political rivals and basically anyone who crossed him of being Communists for all his adult life, he now had world events giving him some credibility: the recent installing by the USSR of Communist regimes in eastern Europe, plus several cases of USSR espionage in the US, especially in the field of US atom bomb technology. And he had an eager supporter of his Communist witch hunt: the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover.
When he started to also accuse hundreds of public servants of being 'secret' Communists and - even worse in the eyes of his fellow Senators - promised to 'expose' members of US Congress as Communists, his fellow Senators finally stepped in. In an official report by the US Congress it was shown that he had in almost all cases persecuted people for no good reason and without any proof. It proved to be the end of McCarthy's career.
How are The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Joseph McCarthy similar?
In Salem, Massachusetts; innocent people were accused of being witches and warlocks, many were tried and executed. Joseph McCarthy accused innocent people of being communists. Many lost their jobs, were sent to prison, and died in poverty or had their lives destroyed and never fully recovered.
How were McCarthys tactics justified?
They were not justified. Senator Joe McCartney branded many people communists who were not and ruined their lives. He was a disgrace to the USA and to the Senate. One of the worst elected officials in the history of our nation. Communism was a threat in the 1950s, but, that did not excuse McCarthy's witch hunts. He was a terrible person. Cruel and evil. The ends did not justify the means.
Joseph McCarthy created the media frenzy that began his witch hunt by?
Saying that he had a list of Communists employed by the State Department
Who was Joseph McCarthy and what was he looking for?
Joseph McCarthy was a US Senator in the late 1940's who was looking for people,such as Communists who were plotting to subvert the US government.
What gave Senator Joseph McCarthy's charges their popular appeal?
People in the 1950s were genuinely afraid that the Communists could take over the United States and that fear led to people accepting Joseph McCarthy's witch-hunt for "Communists" in the US government and popular culture as a method of protecting the US and its values.
they found him w/ george bush behind the coke machines "wresteling".
How did TV help break the power of Joseph McCarthy?
It proved to the world how crazy his allegations were when he accused so many innocent Americans of communism.
What did joe McCarthy do in 1950?
he had a list of Communist agents working for the gov. in high capacities
What did Joseph McCarthy do to Arthur Miller?
He made suspected communists get interviewed. If they could prove themselves innocent, they were freed. If not, they were sent to jail. Miller was called in and was asked to name other communists he knew of so that they could go after them too. Miller refused and was sentenced to jail. His sentence was eventually taken back. Miller and McCarthy did not personally know each other.
Who did Senator Joseph McCarthy go after?
He believes there were communists in the State Department and the Army. His main target was Alger Hiss.
State Department
What types of people were target by th HUAC?
- people from all walks of life throughout American society
- d.
What state did Senator Joseph McCarthy represent?
Joseph McCarthy was a United States Senator representing the state of Wisconsin.
What Political Party did Joe McCarthy belonged to?
The american politician Joseph McCarthy (1908 - 1957) was at the Democratic party from 1936. In 1944 he left the Democrats and was then at the Republican party until his death in 1957. He was Republican Senator of Wisconsin from 1947 - 1957.
Which group was the target of the red scare during the 1950s?
For the most part the US Senate hearings conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s were designed to expose communists in the film industry and to an extent question whether communists had penetrated the US Government. Eventually the Senate censured McCarthy for practices not in line with the Senate's respect for policies and procedures and personal privacy.
For a time, however, the general public was, to a degree, alarmed by McCarthy's accusations. His position was given some credence by the conviction of Alger Hiss and the trial of the Rosenbergs, charged with giving atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union.
Of note is that for short time New York lawyer Roy Cohn and Robert F. Kennedy were on McCarthy's staff.
What were quotes from Joseph hewes?
Joseph Hewes was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He famously said, 'It is done, and I will abide by it,' in reference to separation from England. He'd opposed the idea.
