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In his famous 1950 speech “Communists in the State Department” Joseph McCarthy asked his audience, “Can there be anyone who fails to realize… that this is the time for the show-down between the democratic Christian world and the Communist atheistic world?” McCarthy was talking about the second Red Scare, which was an era marked by a rampant fear of communism; an ideology which would later be dubbed “McCarthyism” after the senator himself. Although the fear was very real, the Communist threat the public was constantly looking over their shoulders for was not as dangerous as it seemed. In reality, speeches and legislation made by the government increased the public mania over the Red Scare due to their aggressive and inflammatory manner. Before …show more content…
One such influential speech was J. Edgar Hoover’s “The Menace of the Communist Party”, in which Hoover’s insinuations that communists had infiltrated the government increased public fear of Communism. J. Edgar Hoover was the long-standing head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thus a well-known and respected individual, whose spring 1947 speech was probably listened to intently by many. In his speech Hoover claims, “... [The Communist Party] stands for the destruction of our American government; it stands for the destruction of American democracy; it stands for the destruction of free enterprise…” Hoover’s claims that the Communist Party’s goal is to destroy America struck fear in the hearts of his audience, putting them on edge, making them wonder what could be done to protect them. Hoover also implied that there were communists in the government: “... It is well known that there are many actual members who because of their position are not carried on [Communist] party rolls.” Here, the audience again felt threatened, and defensive, because if a government official said there were members of the Communist Party in the government, that meant the United States was certainly at risk. Then, in the October following Hoover’s speech, when asked whether legislation should be passed to keep Communists out of the government, 64% of those interviewed said there should be a law keeping Communists from public office, and 36% said a law should ban suspected communist sympathizers from the government. This Public Opinion Quarterly poll shows that Hoover’s speech, and others similar to his, have inspired greater fear in the hearts of the public, making them feel there is a great need for legislation keeping communists out of the
One of the biggest fears of the American people is that the concept of communism contrasts drastically from the concept of capitalism, which the United States was essentially founded upon. The United States, as the public believed, was not a land of perfect communal equality, but rather a land of equal opportunity. However, what made communism so dangerous can be succinctly described by Eisenhower who compared the spread of communism as the domino effect. As his secretary of state, Dulles, put it, the propagation of communism “would constitute a threat to the sovereignty and independence” of America (Doc B). In addition, the Cold War also planted the seeds of rational fear of a global nuclear war. As Russia caught up to the United States in terms of technological advancements, they successfully developed the atomic bomb as well as the hydrogen bomb, which caused Americans to believe that the USSR would use these weapons of mass destruction to forcefully extend their ideologies to the USA. In fact, Americans were so frantic about a potential nuclear disaster that it...
On January 7th 1950, an acquaintance said that the communist-in-government issue would attract national publicity and enhance his chances of reelection. His first speech against the issue was on February 9th in Wheeling, West Virginia and McCarthy revealed a sheet of paper with a list of 205 names, who he said, were members of the Communist party. “He could not remember what figure he had quoted at Wheeling, whether it was 205 or 209 or 57 or whatever…” Oakley adds, which shows that McCarthy’s list wasn’t authentic and credible. In an attempt to restore confidence in the Truman administration, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee established a subcommittee headed by Democratic Senator Millard E. Tydings of Maryland to investigate McCarthy’s charges.
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” (para 9). In this metaphor he compares the State Department to place that has been infested with rats, the rats being Communists spies. Moreover, he made accusations and claims about having in his hand the names of 57 individuals who are card carrying Communist, yet are working in the government and shaping foreign policy. This plants fear in the audience by making them feel as though they are unsafe since the government is falling to Communism, therefore immediate action must be taken to eliminate Communist traitors and restore the security of the country. Furthermore, McCarthy uses an analogy when stating, “This cloak of numbness and apathy has only needed a spark to rekindle them. Happily, this spark has finally been supplied” (para 12). McCarthy claims that after seeing war and mass murder, people become numb and, like a fire, they need a spark to
With the onset of the Cold War, a growing Red Scare would cripple American society – effectively plunging the nation into mass hysteria and unrest over the fallacious threat of communist infiltration. This reaction was precipitated by Republican senator, Joseph McCarthy, in his speech, “Enemies from Within”, delivered in Wheeling, West Virginia, on 9 February 1950. McCarthy paints communists in a particularly harsh light to generate anti-Soviet sentiment within the American public. He uses juxtaposition to engender both indignation and fear in the audience to achieve this effect.
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
Joseph McCarthy was a United States senator in the mid twentieth century who believed that the communists were taking over the State Department and were shaping the foreign policy of America, those same communist that were their foes. Joseph McCarthy’s great fear of the rising of the communist party, in both the Soviet Union and in America, was reflected by a great deal of the country. “The fall of China to communism were the results of the infiltration of communism in to the American government, specially the state department” (The Annals of America).
...y Wheeling speech created nationwide hysteria, and with its impeccable timing just days after the conviction of the State Official Alga Hiss for lying under oath about his association with the communist Soviet as a spy, fueled the fight on communism. (citation) McCarthy war on communism during the “Second Red Scare” did not leave any individual safe from accusations. He attacked government agents, entertainment industry workers, educators, union members, and alienated the left-wing Democrats. McCarthy helped to create the atmosphere of suspicion and panic with his growth in media coverage. McCarthy’s words made for big headlines and the media was quick to cover his stories. This exposure helped facilitate American approval of McCarthy and empowered him to make more accusations on those suspected of subversion. In 1953, McCarthy headed the Government Operations Commit
Although the Red Scare made McCarthy who he was he did not make it any better. Document 6 shows us a cartoon of 2 men driving in a car saying “It’s okay--- we’re hunting communists” This cartoon shows us the fact that people who thought they were doing the right thing ,such as McCarthy, were running their own people over in the process and still thinking that everything they were doing was justified because they were so scared. People running over others just made those people get up and wonder why they weren’t doing as much or why they weren’t as scared as those guys were, so naturally they tried harder. McCarthy was intensified by the Red Scare but his actions only made it worse. He was a state senator. A government official working for the good of our country. Citizens tend to have respect for people of his position and they also tend to listen. Document 4 states “While McCarthy is the worst sort of demagogue, many people listen when he yells, screams and sputters, because they are afraid.” This statement says it all. He may be wrong in his doings but people still look to him out of fear because he is a leader, a respected man, and also an excuse. Document 4 says “In addition to the persecution of many innocent people by this man, the greater danger lies, as you point out, in that those who should be eliminated from public life as being unfit or subversive, can now defend themselves by stating that it is merely
“The great difference between our western Christian world and the atheistic Communist world is not political, gentlemen, it is moral,” is one of the many examples throughout McCarthy’s speech of him assuming an overconfident or superior tone. His claim to own a list of 205 names in the State Department of communist sympathizers gave support for this arrogant tone, but when asked McCarthy refused to provide anyone with the aforementioned list. McCarthy also used this tone when he said, “The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because our only powerful potential enemy has sent men to invade our shores . . . but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this Nation,” expressing the idea that no one but the United States’ own countrymen had the strength to defeat their homeland. McCarthy’s tone throughout the article is one of absolute certainty, and gave his audience the incentive to trust
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, ...
From 1949 to 1954, the citizens of the United States were overcome with terror of the possibility of being accused of Communism. Joseph McCarthy was an anti-communist zealot obsessed with rooting out perceived Communist spies and activities in the United States. Common opinion showed that McCarthy was a bully and a liar. The Senate condemned him for it because at the time, there was no evidence to support him. However, in recent years, evidence has come out that confirms the basis of what McCarthy said. There were Communists infiltrating America, and it seemed McCarthy was the only one who actively trying to find it. McCarthy governed the U.S. people with fear for three year, was censored, and now is being proven correct, despite people trying to hide the truth.
"The Red Scare: McCarthyism." Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More... Web. 29 Dec. 2011. .
The attitude of the citizens of the United States was a tremendous influence on the development of McCarthyism. The people living in the post World War II United States felt fear and anger because communism was related with Germany, Italy, and Russia who had all at one point been enemies of the United States during the war. If the enemies were communists then, communists were enemies and any communists or even communist sympathizers were a threat to the American way of life. "From the Bolshevik Revolution on, radicals were seen as foreign agents or as those ...
Americans identified a threat to their freedoms of society and democracy which facilitated a climax of intense anti-communist sentiment during the 1940’s and 1950’s. This study will examine the creation and influence of the Hollywood’s blacklist on political platforms, economic consequences, and social exile of civil liberties. The events leading Americans to take extreme measures to protect their democracy against a communist takeover did not first appear with the creation of the blacklist, it began in the late 1900’s and early 1920’s as a result of the First World War. Americans were intensely patriotic and more than ever protective of the American way of life, capitalism, wage systems, and the hierarchy of the social class. The concern of a government takeover affected the perception of labor strikes and social welfare programs, and as a result they were considered radical, un-American, and anarchist....
In the speech, McCarthy included utterly unrealistic statistics related to the Communist threat. He stated that in 1950, there were eight hundred million people under the absolute domination of Soviet Russia. (P3) However, there was no where near that many pro-Communists throughout the world, as it would mean that one-third of the world population was affiliated with Communism. Through the use of exaggeration and unrealism in the statistics given in his speech, Senator McCarthy hoaxed parts of the American public into thinking that the Communist threat spread like a plague, infecting the United