5. Americans pride themselves on the idea that they live in a country that embodies the ideals of democracy and freedom for all. Can the Cold War moment of McCarthyism, the fervent pursuit of Communist sympathizers in the United States, and the accompanying suppression of civil liberties be reconciled with this tradition of the “land of the free”? Does it represent an anomaly? Or is it one example of many in which the freedom of individual Americans has been (needlessly) sacrificed to protect perceived threats to the United States? Senator Joseph McCarthy went from a farm boy in Wisconsin to a famous politician during the Cold War era. His meteoric rise to fame was attributed to his patriotic views and fighting against communism in the name of democracy. McCarthy stated that many communists were attempting to infiltrate and sabotage the United States government, specifically the State Department. He slandered communists as god-hating terrorists of whom people should be cautious towards. McCarthy’s crusade against communism led to many hearings held by the House of Un-American Activities (HUAC) where alleged communists were interrogated and bullied into confessions. Many accused communists were American citizens whose rights had been stripped away in the name of national security. McCarthy’s claims of widespread communist infiltration into American society proved to be fictitious political smears and was later ridiculed out of politics. However, the lies and fear mongering accompanying McCarthyism stripped Americans of their civil liberties. This brings up the question, how did you United States allow for this gross civil injustice, surely this an anomaly as the United States is the “land of the free.” Unfortunately, this i... ... middle of paper ... ...http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/23524152.pdf?acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true Morgan, Ted (November–December 2003). "Judge Joe: How the Youngest Judge in Wisconsin's History Became the Country's Most Notorious Senator". Legal Affairs. Retrieved August 2, 2006 http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=290&letter=L&keyword=&search_term= Mui, V. Information, civil liberties, and the political economy of witch-hunts. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 503-525. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3555065.pdf?&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true&acceptTC=true Roark, J. L. (2012). The American promise a history of the United States (Fifth edition, Value ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/americapedia/americapedia-documents/executive-order-9066/
McCarthy was a virtually unknown politician until February 1950, where in a speech at Wheeling, West Virginia, he proclaimed “have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department” (History Matters). This speech coined the “Enemies from Within” propelled McCarthy to the political spotlight and gave him huge power along with the support of the American public. McCarthy, realizing he had a great political opportunity, and continued his “anti-communist” tirade accusing powerful people in hollywood and members of the armed forces as being communists or communist sympathizers. As his skeptics grew, so did his blacklist, with McCarthy accusing every single one of his critics as communists destroying their lives and careers in the process (Victims of McCarthyism). McCarthy used this tactic to discourage any opposition, with many potential critics seeing the potential implications of their skepticism, they simply redacted their statements or never spoke
Eibling, Harold H., et al., eds. History of Our United States. 2nd edition. River Forest, Ill: Laidlaw Brothers, 1968.
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
In the beginning of McCarthy’s political career, he was already walking on thin ice. He launched a series of charges against the government. The first charge was against the communist global apparatus. McCarthy said that the organization had made a sustained attempt to penetrate the United States government and attempt to subvert its foreign policy decisions. The second charge was against the United States government itself. McCarthy said that the official defenses against foreign penetration ranged from weak to nonexistent. The third and final charge was against the government of America, ...
Henretta, James A and David* Brody. America: A concise History . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Document.
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
Since the 1950s, most Americans have condemned the McCarthyite witch-hunts and show trials. By large majorities, Americans oppose firing communists from their jobs or banning communist speakers or books.[2] But over the past several years, increasing numbers of historians, writers and intellectuals have sought to minimize, explain away and justify McCarthyism. A spate of books and articles touting new historical evidence has tried to demonstrate that communism posed a real danger to American society in the 1940s and 1950s. They argue that even if some innocent people suffered and McCarthy was reckless, he was responding to a real threat.[3] As a result, Joe McCarthy doesn't look so irresponsible in hindsight.
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, Alan Lawson, Susan M. Hartmann. Understanding the American Promise, Volume I, Chapter 14. Bedford/ St. Martin’s.
Courts nationwide were faced with trying those accused. Congressional Panels around the United States put forth the question, “Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?” (McCarthyism). Without probable cause, the American government dragged thousands of people to court for crimes they did not commit. To be accused of being a Communist was one of the worst fates one could endure. The accused w...
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
Roark, James, et al. The American Promise: A History of the United States, 4th ed. Boston:
George Browm Tindall, David Emory Shi. American History: 5th Brief edition, W. W. Norton & Company; November 1999
3. Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, eds., America Past and Present Volume II: since 1865 sixth edition (New York: Longman 2002).
Roark, James L. The American Promise: A Compact History. 4th. ed. Volume 1: 1877. New York: BEDFORD/ST. MARTIN'S, 2010. Print.