...Having dirt on anyone can scare even the cleanest people because people in general are scared of what they don't know. That is exactly what Joseph McCarthy did to so many people. As a result McCarthyism created the Red Scare by making accusations against people for being Communist. McCarthy claimed to have 57 cases of individuals who could have been members of the Communist Party. In (Document 1) he says “I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy.” Even though he said he had proof, he would never show anyone that proof which would have justified the accused of being scared. This occurred during times when the US and Soviet Union were teasing each other with nuclear war, also known as The Cold War. After McCarthy accused everyone of these charges things starts to get out of control. The HUAC gets established to investigate un-american activities going on, and their first investigation was on the movie industry. This led to the creation of which became to be known as the “Hollywood Ten”. They...
Words: 568 - Pages: 3
...scared? Well on two occasions, there were situations in which the society of the United States fell victim to fear. This fear brought two separate movements to try and keep the “Boogeyman” from trying to get into the United States. These movements were both commonly known as the Red Scare. This scare was willing to take anyone as it’s victim. Celebrities, politicians, or common Americans were all vulnerable to this phenomena that brought forth a Salem Witch Trial type of environment. The government of the United States of America tried to take many precautions, whether it was a success or failure, to try and prevent the spread of Communism in a country that is considered the greatest country on the Earth. Whenever there is a moment in history that brings on a mass hysteria, it shows what kind of people are really out there lurking around. This moment in history illustrates what happens during hysteria and what it makes people do in a time in which a common fear is shared amongst individuals of a society. “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” - Stephen King (269) This quote illustrates the moment in time just before the second Red Scare. Unlike the first Red Scare, this Red Scare had many components that provided more fear to the United States citizens. The citizens were not only in fear of the spread of communism, but they were also fearful of the United States Government coming to knock at their door. Let’s backtrack to how this whole event came about...
Words: 3891 - Pages: 16
...paranoid and fighting and preparing for things that aren’t really there. The Red Scare of 1947 to the late 1950s is a perfect example of our nation repeating a history event from 1692, The Salem Witch Trials an event that our nation still remembers today innocent lives lost that definitely didn’t deserve it. One of the victims to the Red Scare Arthur Miller made a satire of it using “The Crucible” (A play based on the witch hunts) comparing the Red Scare to the Salem Witch Trials, he claims everything he was accused for is just as ridiculous and embarrassing to our country as the Salem Witch Trials were. In this Essay I will be comparing Arthur Miller's Crucible to the Red scare of the 1940's. There’s this Guy who basically claims our government is filled to the brim with communists and we need to weed them out, His name is Joseph McCarthy, he was born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin in 1909 and he died in 1957 on May 2nd due to Alcohol poisoning.(Joseph 1) On 9th February, 1950, at a meeting of the Republican Women's Club in Wheeling, West Virginia, McCarthy claimed that he had a list of 205 people in the State Department that were known to be members of the American Communist Party (late he reduced this figure to 57)(Joseph 1). Joseph McCarthy was a dirty man who in fact threw a lot of mud at his opponents; he even claimed so many false accusations against one of his opponents they committed suicide! McCarthy also claimed that La Follette had made huge profits from his investments...
Words: 1605 - Pages: 7
...The 1950’s were a time of fear and paranoia within the United States. During this time Cold War tensions were beginning to intensify giving way to the infamous Red Scare and the communist allegations of Joseph McCarthy. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the communal American fear of communist subversion reached its peak, colloquially known as the Red Scare. At this time, fewer than 50,000 out of the 150 million people, less than 1%, living in the United States belonged to the communist party, however the country remained in a state of panic. As a result of this hysteria, a senator named Joseph McCarthy began making accusations against alleged communist infiltration of government agencies. Therefore, the term McCarthyism, coined by political cartoonist Herbert Block, came to mean the movement to expose Communist subversives in the government and other important public institutions from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s. A...
Words: 972 - Pages: 4
...Crucible, Red Scare, and Palmer Raids are all connected under fear and lies. Throughout the events that occur, multiple lies are created which cause mass amounts of fear and chaos. This chaos weakens the place, causing its inhabitants to lose sight of the truth. As time passes, the severity increases leading to greater consequences. A mass of fear can all be created by one person. The Palmer Raids were a series of raids by the United States Department of Justice intended to capture, arrest and deport radical leftists. The raids took place under the command of A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921, in November 1919 and January 1920. The Palmer Raids and these massive arrests occurred on the main basis...
Words: 2144 - Pages: 9
...The growing sentiments of Senator Joseph McCarthy lead out to protect America’s freedom from communism, although his sweeping lash stripped freedoms from many of his fellow citizens. Strange as it may seem, in this period of American history both communism and McCarthyism threatened America; fear fueled the fire to a Red Scare glow before its flame would dwindle and smolder. In order to better understand these events, a more detailed look into history is needed to explain how this controversy and cultural phenomenon came to be. Understanding the Differences Is there a difference between anti-communism and McCarthyism? Despite the common belief that these two terms have the same meaning, there are indeed fundamental differences. Anti-communism can be understood as a set of beliefs, social values, or political opinions that a communist form of government is unacceptable and wrong. McCarthyism, on the other hand, was suspicious and it unfairly accused American citizens of being a communist. Lead by and named affectionately after Senator Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism and its accusations violated American civil rights, destroyed reputations, caused employers to "blacklist" and created an era of distrust in the United States well into the late 1950's. Media Perspectives The term McCarthyism was coined by Herbert Block who first displayed it in a Washington Post cartoon, March 29, 1950. On June 18, 1950, the New York Times reported, “McCarthy, even allowing for the old fact that...
Words: 734 - Pages: 3
...The Red Scare The Red Scare of WWI The red scare was a national-wide anti-radical terror which was provoked by mounting apprehension, fear and imminence of Bolshevik revolution of the united state. The Red Scare was also involved in the promotion of communism and followed the Bolshevik revolution, as well. Communism is social ownership or economic system that property or resources were collectively owned by classes but not by individuals. When WWI ended, the Bolshevik revolution of Russia and the Red Scare came up due to fear of communist and socialist and took hold of the United State. There were bombings by the anarchist all over and this had put the State in fear. Democracy was not expressed, the innocent were put to jail by putting forward their views. There were no social liberty and everybody was afraid that the Bolshevik revolution could take control. During the First World War, patriotism filled the hearts of people and the state was divided into two major groups. There was a minor group which was unrecognized on governmental affairs. The first group worked in the war industry and the other in the armed forces. During this period, one had to be patriot, communist, slackers or draft dodgers; they were all classified as suspect. Out of this patriotism the Red scare took control in 1920s (Binkley 187). The McCarthyism According to Binkley, McCarthyism also known as the second Red Scare is the act of making accusations of treachery, sedition, or treason...
Words: 542 - Pages: 3
...“Cold War?” The subject researched for this paper is describing the Cold War or the Red Scare; others call it the Red Menace. The Red Scare was the most important political and diplomatic issue of the last half of the 20th Century. Cold War enemies were the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold war got its name because both sides were terrified of a real war directly between the two major nuclear missile countries in the world. In a war nuclear weapons may destroy everything. So instead, they fought each other indirectly bringing the cold war of words to light. They played a game of chance with problems in different countries of the world. They used words as weapons. They threatened and denounced each other. Both sides tried to make each other look foolish. Senator Joseph McCarthy was the prime instigator of this conflict between America and the Soviet Union. Anticommunism and McCarthyism Differences Even though anticommunism and McCarthyism are usually placed together, they are not the same. The meanings of both seem similar but are have differences in the meanings. Anticommunism is beliefs, social values and political, opinions where one part of government holds all the power. McCarthyism accuses men and women unfairly of communism, destroying the reputation of these people. They were placed on what is called a “blacklist”. Because President Eisenhower had faith in McCarthy, he supported or backed him in these beliefs. Eisenhower even stated “the government...
Words: 1016 - Pages: 5
...McCarthyism McCarthyism originated in the late 1940’s during the Second Red Scare period when Senator Joseph McCarthy began making rash accusations of treason and such crimes in fear of Communist influence on American culture. A spectrum of actions resulted from this irrational, growing fear of Communism. The Red Scare began after World War II and carried out tensions from the Cold War between the two world superpowers. The House Un-American Activities Committee was created in 1938 to monitor Communist actions. This committee sought to expose any suspected Communist supporters living in the United States. Many suspected communists lost their jobs, homes, families and were even imprisoned. Government officials, Hollywood stars, and educators were targeted mostly by these exaggerated accusations. Many well-known and appreciated people were subjected to testify their beliefs, involvement with and general knowledge of the Communist Party in the United States. The Hollywood “blacklist” included those who could not be employed due to their supposed affiliations with the Communist party. The “Hollywood Ten” were a group of ten hollywood stars subpoenaed by the HUAC that took a stand and tried to defend their first amendment rights to freedom of speech and the freedom to assemble. The Committee failed to see the value in their argument and sentenced them all to six to twelve months of imprisonment. All those who were accused after the Hollywood Ten case plead the fifth and became...
Words: 581 - Pages: 3
...The Crucible that Arthur Miller wrote exposed the injustice the witch hunting’s were and hysteria outbreak people had with the fear of witches or anything they consider bad. The Red Scare is a good example of people getting scared and blames anyone they see. The Soviet Union communist were named the “Reds”. In 1940s to the early 1950s people were hysterical thinking that the reds were going to take over. The scare had people with a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society. HUAC was formed they found with harbor hoover 12 prominent leaders of the American Communist Party on charges that they had plans to advocated the overthrow of the government. Two were convicted and executed in 1951, The crucible was an example of how the fear of the public drives people to blame and take action. Joseph R. McCarthy was always trying to expose communist just like the judges in the book and Abby she accused women for being witches and the judges just convicted who ever just to maintain their record. But Joseph pointed the finger at almost everyone in the government he worked with. He even launched a full investigation on them 2,000 government officials lost their jobs even though there was a lack of proof, they were fired anyways. He violated people’s civil rights with harsh integrations of witnesses in hearings. Just like in the Crucible the judges harshly interrogated the claimed to be witnesses making them change stories to fit what they wanted...
Words: 607 - Pages: 3
...The Powerful: Joseph McCarthy Imagine being a communist during 1950-1954 when Joseph R. McCarthy hated all communists. He was very powerful against them. Joseph R. McCarthy, a Senator from Wisconsin,was the leader of this in the United States of America. Other people that had to do with McCarthyism was the government. McCarthy's point of this was to get all of the communists out of America. Because the Senator of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy was powerful and the Cold War was in full effect, McCarthyism changed many people's lives. One cause of why people changed their lives was how powerful McCarthy was. According to the author of History.com, “Senator McCarthy spent almost five years trying in vain to expose communists and other left-wing ‘loyalty risks’ in the...
Words: 761 - Pages: 4
...Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible using catastrophic periods in history to create his vivid literature as a metaphor for alienation of the innocently accused and influenced minds of an entire community. The Red Scare connects to The Crucible by the indistinguishable missing evidence of the accused and crossing the border to a megalomaniac. In addition, Miller uses actual names and historical events from the Salem Witch hunt in the 1690s in this play. He uses these events to explain what happened with Abigail’s plan for lovelorn revenge by the similar false accusations, mass hysteria, and aspiration of power during the Red Scare. During the red scare in the 1950s, the senator of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, caused mass paranoia by telling the...
Words: 344 - Pages: 2
...2016 The Crucible VS The Red Scare The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare relate because of the way the trials were held. The Crucible just like The Red Scare has something to do with convicting, killing innocent people and imprisoning. In the Salem witch trial, people were in trepidation of witch craft the same way that Americans were in apprehension of communism. Around this time and between The Cold War, Joseph McCarthy was a first-term senator from Wisconsin and he had won the election in 1946 after a campaign, which he then criticized all of his opponent’s failure to enlist during WWII. By the end of time, McCarthy lost some allies. He kept his job and lost his power. He died in 1957 at 48 years old. The Red Scare has always been said to be the most effective of WWI. The Salem witch trials didn’t have any type of cause and there were even some reports of more witchcraft in other towns. Arthur Miller had become very fascinated with the environment and how it affected society as a whole. Arthur also wrote an essay in 1996 called “Why I Wrote The Crucible; Authors answer...
Words: 442 - Pages: 2
...Anticommunism and McCarthyism, which led to the Red Scare. The Red Scare placed fear into the American people and changed Hollywood forever. In this paper the subject to explain is the differences between Anticommunism and McCarthyism. The media coverage during this period of American history is examined and the Red Scare is described. Anticommunism and McCarthyism are often referenced and described together when teaching this era in American history. Although there is a difference between the two, both terms are often misunderstood by many Americans. The Anticommunism and McCarthyism terms were created in the 1940s and 1950s and have become intertwined confusing many people concerning their meaning. The fact is that each of the terms is closely related, but there is a fundamental difference between the two definitions. Anti-communism is “a set of beliefs, social values, or political opinions that communism or a one party system form of government that holds all power, including the economy is not acceptable” (Baughman, 2001, p. 10). On the other hand, McCarthyism investigated and targeted “unfairly” individuals that were considered (suspected) communist, which in turn ruined the reputations of those suspected, and caused many employers, especially in Hollywood to place the name of a suspect on “the blacklist” because the employer feared risking his or her own reputation. During the 1950s and through the cold war, Senator Joseph McCarthy ruined and destroyed many innocent Americans...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...‘Although the Red scare was exploited by self-seeking individuals it was rooted in a very real threat to the USA’ how far do you agree with this judgment? It is accurate to argue that the Red Scare has been exploited by some self-seeking individuals such as Joseph McCarthy after the Second World War, and that the real problem and monolithic view of communism was a real threat to America during the Cold War up until the 1990s. As the relationship between American and the USSR had intensified through 1940-50s, the panic and mass hysteria in reaction to the perceived threat of communism inversion of American values and its branches of government had lead to a series of actions that would influence America both politically and socially. It could be suggested that the growing hysteria from the public and the government towards communism has upraised due to threats caused by the USSR, as it may impact America’s ideology. The idea of the ‘domino theory’ suggested by Eisenhower states that as one state is influenced by Communism, countries surrounding it may as well be impacted thus become a communist state. In 1949, the USSR had successfully produced a nuclear bomb made people in the US confirm the fear of having traitors at the heart of the government. The loss of China had also created a negative impact on the reaction of the United States, thus make people believe the ‘domino theory’. The majority blamed the loss of China was due to weak-minded individuals by right-wing press...
Words: 710 - Pages: 3
