How Did Mccarthyism Lead To The Rise Of Mccarthyism
McCarthyism was introduced by Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare that in general lasted between 1950 and 1956. During this period, McCarthy accused thousands of Americans of being "communists or communist sympathizers," leading to government and private-industry investigations and hearings. McCarthy's primary targets were "government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists" ("McCarthyism").
Several post-World War II events led to the Second Red Scare and consequently to McCarthyism. For starters, after World War II, under the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union controlled eight different communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, creating what was called the Iron Curtain. Soviet Union …show more content…
She also points to the fact that during the movement, the change in presidential power in 1952 helped lead to the decline of McCarthyism. When McCarthy first started making his attacks, the White House was in the hands of Democratic President Truman, and Democrats were accused of being Communist sympathizers, leading to Truman's active policies to ferret out Communist sympathizers within the government. When Republican General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was free of similar accusations, took office in 1952, he told McCarthy to stop his attacks. When McCarthy refused, McCarthy got so out of hand that it led to the Army-McCarthy hearings ("McCarthyism: The Secret"). The Army-McCarthy hearings soon brought McCarthyism to a close. However, before the hearings, a number of court cases put an end to public support of any private investigations and blacklisting. One such court case involved afternoon comedy radio show host and leftist activist John Henry Faulk who began being investigated by AWARE, Inc., one of the private firms McCarthy used to investigate individuals. When AWARE pegged him us unfit for the public and he was fired, Faulk sued AWARE in 1957 and finally won in 1962. The court decision deemed private sector blacklisters as legally liable
Several post-World War II events led to the Second Red Scare and consequently to McCarthyism. For starters, after World War II, under the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union controlled eight different communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, creating what was called the Iron Curtain. Soviet Union …show more content…
She also points to the fact that during the movement, the change in presidential power in 1952 helped lead to the decline of McCarthyism. When McCarthy first started making his attacks, the White House was in the hands of Democratic President Truman, and Democrats were accused of being Communist sympathizers, leading to Truman's active policies to ferret out Communist sympathizers within the government. When Republican General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was free of similar accusations, took office in 1952, he told McCarthy to stop his attacks. When McCarthy refused, McCarthy got so out of hand that it led to the Army-McCarthy hearings ("McCarthyism: The Secret"). The Army-McCarthy hearings soon brought McCarthyism to a close. However, before the hearings, a number of court cases put an end to public support of any private investigations and blacklisting. One such court case involved afternoon comedy radio show host and leftist activist John Henry Faulk who began being investigated by AWARE, Inc., one of the private firms McCarthy used to investigate individuals. When AWARE pegged him us unfit for the public and he was fired, Faulk sued AWARE in 1957 and finally won in 1962. The court decision deemed private sector blacklisters as legally liable