Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare

Paper Summary:

During the 1950s, after WWII, America was in a period of fear, from communism and conformity. This paper examines how Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin, pushed America's fears to an extreme as a ploy to get re-elected. McCarthy's plan was to make America hate communism as much as he did. The paper explains how Congress immediately started to hunt down the people who were on this supposed list. This period of intense anti-communism, was also known as the (second) Red Scare or McCarthyism, which occurred in the United States from 1948 to about 1956.

From the Paper:

"Joseph McCarthy was a dirty politician who would do whatever it took to get him a place in office. By holding a piece of paper, and saying that the enemy who everyone feared was so close, McCarthy diminished all thoughts that America was truly safe. The actual piece of paper was blank; McCarthy had no writing on the paper at all. He knew that by telling the people of the United States of America that the enemy was so close, he could finally see a war erected against Communism. Everyone knew about it, but no one ever talked about it. "The first knowledge many American's had of Communism came from Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech" (Matusow, 45). Churchill basically said in his speech that the Soviet Union was pushing forward a global Communist takeover. Churchill also said that he believed, "We should not let such a force loose on the planet" (Matusow, 46). That was the first time many American eyes were opened to Communism, and McCarthy made sure it was not the last. "The entire chaos that Senator McCarthy caused had become collectively known as The Red Scare" (Feuerlicht, 34). McCarthy used this entire Red Scare idea to boost his hopes for re-election. But an elected official is supposed to be a representative of the people. All McCarthy did was abuse his power and pull the wool over the people's eyes. McCarthy did not work for the benefit of the people. He only worked for the benefit of himself."

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