Communist Witch Hunt
Similar to the Salem witch trials, innocent people were being scapegoated for problems. The “Red Scare” ruined hundreds of lives, and communist paranoia ruled much of the next two decades.
The Red Dawn
Joseph Raymond McCarthy was a relatively unknown Senator until February 1950, when he won national attention with a speech in West Virginia. He charged that the State Dept. had been infiltrated by Communists. Although a Senate investigating committee under Millard Tydings found the State Department was not guilty and branded the charges a fraud and a hoax. Yet McCarthy repeated his claims in a series of radio and television appearances. Challenged to produce his evidence, he refused and instead made new accusations. He began a series of investigations built on bad evidence, lies, and reckless accusations that ruined the lives of many people. Based on the Smith Act of 1940, he could claim anyone was conspiring against the government, which was a felony. When the Republicans assumed control of Congress in 1953, McCarthy, who had been reelected in 1952, became chairman of the Senate permanent investigations subcommittee (Government Operations Committee), a post in which he wielded great power. During his reign of fear, he accused many prominent members of society of being communist, including most of the media and Hollywood. Arthur Miller, writer of the play The Crucible, was accused of being a communist because his play compared McCarthy’s investigations to the Salem Witch Trials. Over the next few years he even accused George Marshall (general who led US to victory in WWII) and Robert Oppenheimer (lead scientist on the Manhattan Project) of being communist agents. Virtually any person accused of this crime was arrested, fired or otherwise antagonized by the general public.
The Denouement of Demonizing
By 1957, McCarthy was censured by the Senate for unbecoming conduct. The Supreme Court found the Smith Act of 1940 unconstitutional a short time later, but the Red Scare lasted well into the 1960’s. Even today, calling someone a communist or a socialist is a severe insult. Thankfully, freedom of speech and press has been protected once again, and anti-government speech will not lead to persecution.
For more information on the McCarty trials, visit: McCarthy Trials This is an encyclopedia with a wide variety of information about the trials.
The Red Dawn
Joseph Raymond McCarthy was a relatively unknown Senator until February 1950, when he won national attention with a speech in West Virginia. He charged that the State Dept. had been infiltrated by Communists. Although a Senate investigating committee under Millard Tydings found the State Department was not guilty and branded the charges a fraud and a hoax. Yet McCarthy repeated his claims in a series of radio and television appearances. Challenged to produce his evidence, he refused and instead made new accusations. He began a series of investigations built on bad evidence, lies, and reckless accusations that ruined the lives of many people. Based on the Smith Act of 1940, he could claim anyone was conspiring against the government, which was a felony. When the Republicans assumed control of Congress in 1953, McCarthy, who had been reelected in 1952, became chairman of the Senate permanent investigations subcommittee (Government Operations Committee), a post in which he wielded great power. During his reign of fear, he accused many prominent members of society of being communist, including most of the media and Hollywood. Arthur Miller, writer of the play The Crucible, was accused of being a communist because his play compared McCarthy’s investigations to the Salem Witch Trials. Over the next few years he even accused George Marshall (general who led US to victory in WWII) and Robert Oppenheimer (lead scientist on the Manhattan Project) of being communist agents. Virtually any person accused of this crime was arrested, fired or otherwise antagonized by the general public.The Denouement of Demonizing
By 1957, McCarthy was censured by the Senate for unbecoming conduct. The Supreme Court found the Smith Act of 1940 unconstitutional a short time later, but the Red Scare lasted well into the 1960’s. Even today, calling someone a communist or a socialist is a severe insult. Thankfully, freedom of speech and press has been protected once again, and anti-government speech will not lead to persecution.For more information on the McCarty trials, visit:
McCarthy Trials This is an encyclopedia with a wide variety of information about the trials.
Picture found at: http://news.icanhascheezburger.com/2008/10/22/political-pictures-joe-mccarthy-witchhunts-always-easier-than-addressing-real-issues/ The picture helps cement the idea that the trials were ridiculous and wrong.
Ochua, George. “McCarthyism.” American History on File. 2002. Print.