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The Role of McCarthy in the Red Scare (Joseph McCarthy (Tydings'…
The Role of McCarthy in the Red Scare
Joseph McCarthy
became Republican Senator for Wisconsin in
1946
February 1950
made a speech
claiming to have a list of
205
members of Communism in the
State Department
made several more speeches, varying the number, until it dropped to
57
Tydings' Committee
found
McCarthy's accusations to
be false
response was McCarthy calling
Senator Tydings
'un-American'
Tydings wasn't re-elected later that year
accusations helped explain why the
Korean War and Cold War weren't
in the USA's favour
had the support of the Republican Party
to carry out further investigations
1952 elections
, Republicans won and Democrats
who opposed McCarthy lost their seats in Congress
President Eisenhower
made McCarthy Chairman of
the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate
Methods used by McCarthy
held hearings first in private, then in public
used bullying and aggressive questioning
of suspected communists, trying to get confessions
gathered evidence, most fed to him by
the FBI, as well as fabricating evidence
Democratic senators & journalists who
opposed McCarthy were accused of communism
thousands attended McCarthy's speeches
millions watched McCarthy's television appearances
seemed like the whole of America was in grip of McCarthyism
Reasons for McCarthy's downfall
Army found and sent evidence
of McCarthy's corruption to
news reporters
McCarthy's accusations
became more extreme
Media produced increasing
number of anti-McCarthy
articles and programmes
Cold War tensions had eased
slightly after the end of the
Korean War in July 1953
Nobody was ever convicted
on spying based on
McCarthy's work
Televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954
meant the public saw McCarthy's bullying tactics
Impacts of McCarthyism
thousands of people who lost their jobs
whose careers or lives were damaged
were directly impacted by McCarthyism
State Department lost hundreds of people
who may have steered US politics
increase in hysteria amongst Americans
people were seen as 'red' if
they had radical or socialist
ideas or even different opinions
Trade unions were seen as communist
organisations, reducing their influence
fewer workers joined unions
due to the fear of being
seen as communist
politicians rarely campaigned
for left-wing policies or
were rarely elected