Mccarthyism and the Crack Down on Communists in the 1950’s Essay Example

justify">McCarthy continued to repeat these allegations even after a senate committee investigated his claim and found it to be fraudulent. This behavior that McCarthy exerted became the source of the term McCarthyism, used to describe the unfounded witch hunts dominating that time period. “McCarthy used it [McCarthyism] to try to discredit members of the Democratic Party, and even high-level officials in the Truman administration (Bjornlund 24). ” McCarthy claimed people to be Communists and questioned their political views in public hearings. He interrogated these people with intensity, although he had very little proof.

During hearings, McCarthy often asked extremely detailed questions regarding the person’s actions ten years prior. When the accused person cited the Fifth Amendment in defense, McCarthy said this act is “the most positive proof obtainable that the witness is Communist (Victims of McCarthyism). ” Due to McCarthy’s actions, many careers and reputations of significant government figures were sabotaged. “In 1953, McCarthy became the chair of the Senate Committee dedicated to investigating waste and illegalities in government (Bjornlund 24). He used this position to further exploit the growing fear of Communism in America. While only a few of the people on McCarthy’s list were actually part of the Communist Party, most of the alleged Communists were merely left-leaning liberal democrats. The list also included those who used to or never even worked for the State Department; even being drunk or incompetent while working for the State Department could cause someone to be on the list. One victim of McCarthy’s accusations was Owen Lattimore.

Lattimore was an easy target for McCarthy due to his outspokenness, liberal views, and affiliation with Chiang Kai-Shek,

who was a Chinese political and military leader. Lattimore was accused of being the top spy for the Soviet Union, and was charged with perjury after twelve days of intense questioning. Even though his charges were dismissed three years later, his reputation and credibility had already been destroyed (Victims of McCarthyism). Another individual directly affected by McCarthy’s anti-Communist campaign was Val Lorwin.

Val Lorwin first landed a spot on McCarthy’s list because Harold Metz, an old friend of his, testified that Lorwin had shown him a red card for the Communist Party and had hosted “strange-looking people” at his house. Despite Lorwin being cleared by the Loyalty Review Board when he testified that the red card and “strange-looking people” were in fact socialists, the State Department still charged him with perjury. Like Lattimore, his charges were dismissed a couple years later but his reputation had already been impaired (Victims of McCarthyism).

McCarthy’s career eventually began to decline, despite his initial popularity among fellow party members and the American public. President Eisenhower refrained from publicly reprimanding McCarthy, as it would create more chaos and bring even more publicity to the senator. In 1953, McCarthy appointed J. B. Matthews as his research director, who published an article called “Reds in our churches” which referred to the clergy as “the largest group supporting the Communist apparatus in the United States (McCarthy’s Downfall). ” This resulted in a public outrage towards McCarthy and Matthews.

Then, McCarthy began investigating the members of the Army Signal Corps Laboratory, but eventually gave up after months of quarreling with the army. After, McCarthy concentrated on Irving Peress, and Army dentist.

Invoking the Fifth Amendment in an army questionnaire, Peress was put under military surveillance but was still promoted to Major. McCarthy then launched a campaign to criticize the army for permitting Peress to be promoted. He received much hostility from the press and public after rudely insulting the general.

McCarthy and the Senate proceeded to hold public televised hearings regarding the Peress matter. Americans were able to watch McCarthy bully witnesses for two months. During the hearing, McCarthy made a statement regarding Fred Fisher, a young law associate, who he accused of being the “legal bulwark of the Communist Party”. Joseph Welch, the representative for the army, insisted that McCarthy drop the issue, but McCarthy persisted in questioning Fisher. Welch exclaimed, “You’ve done enough…Have you left no sense of decency? ” which exposed McCarthy unreasonable actions.

At this point, all of the American public viewed McCarthy with disdain and thought of him as cruel, manipulative, and reckless. The ultimate downfall of Senator McCarthy was pretty much confirmed. Six months later, the Senate voted and censured McCarthy, leading him to depression in which he resorted to alcohol, greatly worsening his health and contributing to his death soon after (McCarthy’s Downfall). Joseph McCarthy was a U. S. Senator who went on an accusation spree during the 1950’s. The great amount of fear that the Cold War brought about could have been responsible for his actions.

With the Soviet Union as an imminent threat, it was easy to blame and accuse those who may appear to be a risk to the nation’s wellbeing. Although having little proof of these allegations, McCarthy was persistent in his

attempts to accuse individuals who he believed were members of the Communist Party. Relentless in his actions, the American public’s view of McCarthy greatly deteriorated and his credibility, along with the credibility of many others he accused, was destroyed. Therefore, the series of accusations made by Joseph McCarthy, known as McCarthyism, had a large impact during the Cold War.