A woman named Donna Huanca was on her way to work at a museum when to men confronted her and began to talk. The two men were from the FBI and were here investigating the report of un-American activities and wanted to see the exhibit. The exhibit was a film that showed the "secret wars" that contained many anti-war statements before September 11. They asked many questions and took many notes. Then they left. McCarthyism attacked another girl, a freshman in college. Her name A.J. Brown was greeted by a knock on her front door of her dorm and two men from the secret service was at her door and he said there had been a report of un-American material in her apartment. When she said she didn't have anything like that they just said we heard you have an un-American poster in your apartment. The poster that they wanted to come in and get was of Bush holding a rope and saying 152 dead referring to the 152 people that died when he was the governor of Texas.
Another incident that caused much confusion was the firing of student teacher for his lesson and the questions he asked. He wanted the class to do a paper on the Muslim Islamic civilizations. The first class he tested his lesson on went fine nothing too much to worry about. The second class of students began to get out of control in asking questions like " Who is God?" and "What is the purpose of life?" The next morning the school had received a lot of calls from parents accusing the 34-year-old Stephen Jones of trying to convert their kids to Islam. On Monday, of March 11, after leaving study hall he saw his adviser and she said you are in deep do-do. Jones was fired no questions asked and nothing explained he was just another victim to the McCarthyism of today. It is about people being scared of what they don't understand. And people being scared because the Islamic religion has to do with the war today. The war that worries so many are letting innocent peoples life's being changed drastically.
In conclusion this show how McCarthyism still exists in our world today and the effects it can have on peoples lives jobs and relationships. McCarthyism is one of the worst things that could poison the US and drive it down into the ground where it won't be able to work properly. All of these people were doing what they have done everyday as and American citizen, enjoying art, teaching in schools the necessities of life, and not having to worry about being attacked or fired. The McCarthyism had attacked them and ruined their lives, it needs to be stopped and have a final end put to it.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Every one in a while, America erupts into mass hysteria because of the ranting of some crazy people. In the 1600's, we had the Salem witch trials, and as described in the book, "The Crucible", a group of girls falsely accuse their neighbors of witchcraft, and regular, innocent people are hung. Then, in the 1950's, a man named Joseph McCarthy sparked a craze of accusing people, mainly government officials, of being communist, thus scarring their careers. The McCarthy hearing are similar to the Salem witch hunt because the accuser exaggerates and fabricates evidence, the accused are used as scapegoats for society's problems, and McCarthy and the Salem girls use the accusations to obtain power.…
- 889 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
McCarthyism is the act of exposing actions within the government without proper evidence. It is…
- 5434 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays -
In a way, McCarthyism is similar to the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Although the actions taken against suspected communists were not as strict as those during the Salem witch trials, they were still vicious and shattered many reputations of well-liked men and women. This also occurred during 1692 and 1693, the years of the witch trials. There were many differences and similarities between these two topics. The death penalty was the number one difference, along with the after effects of these events and their logic during the time of the occurrences. The similarities were greed and self-preservation. It also gave many an excuse to act on personal grudges bore with one another.…
- 334 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In both the witch trails and McCarthyism the accusations where based on pointless facts. “They be telling lies about my wife” (miller214). People where lie about people that they think where different or that stood out from the normal. These pointless rumors can affect people’s life and effect people that had no actual involved in it. Some of these cases would violate the civil rights of people. “Protect themselves from violations of civil rights”(Schrecker). Often time’s people would try to protect themselves but the government did not care. The lies and accusation soon became a wide spread hysteria.…
- 707 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
McCarthyism wasn't just in Salem, Massachusetts. McCarthyism is found upon Joseph McCarthy; It's when someone will make false allegations against someone else. He was the senator of Wisconsin, and he would accuse everyone of being a communist. This was going on during the Red Scare of 1919. People began to know that they couldn't believe him because he began blaming many officials including some high ranked army soldiers.…
- 310 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Joseph McCarthy is alive and well in today's society, and has been for many centuries, under different names and different faces, but the idea has never changed. Fear, doubt, and uncertainty became the unspoken anthem for many political movements throughout America's history, though it wasn't until the 1950s that the movement claimed the iconic name and face that we associate with it now. Even though it can be proven fruitful in the long run, McCarthyism is a dangerous political tactic that completely bypasses the individuals' constitutional rights; dangerous because it ignores the individuals' right to privacy, and because it provides a powerful political weapon for politicians to use to make people wary and uncertain about a particular group…
- 175 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
During what was known as the Red Scare when the senator claim to possess a list of 205 State Department employees who were known Communist moles. This was after World War II when Russia was rising to power and the fear of communist was fresh in very American. Instead of giving his alleged list to the FBI for investigation, McCarthy chose to hold Congressional hearing to investigate the claims personally. A panic spread throughout America just like in the Salem Witch Trails. Everyone quickly began to suspect his or her family and friends as hidden communist, with little to no evidence. Although there were no deaths, many were blacklisted until it had been clear that the list was fraud. This is just another example how mass hysteria can steer a community out of…
- 913 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Joseph McCarthy was born on November 14, 1908, into a Roman Catholic family in Appleton, Wisconsin. Historians later regarded McCarthy as “one of the least qualified, most corrupt politicians of his time.” His political era later became known as “McCarthyism.” He established his place in the political world by using unscrupulous methods such as propaganda and slander. During the time when McCarthy’s re-election for Senator was approaching, he was advised by Edmund Walsh to start a hunt against supposed communist troublemakers to improve his chances of re-election. On February 9, 1950, McCarthy revealed to the American public that he had a list of 205 people in the State Department that were a part of the American Communist Party. America was…
- 228 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
In the 1950’s as a result of the recent acceleration of the Cold War and the spread of communism ideology around the world, and a national neurosis concerning a communist invasion expanded, Senator Joseph McCarthy took advantage of this "Red Scare" to advance his interests. McCarthy was a Republican Senator for the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. McCarthy made claims that Soviet, Korean and Chinese communist spies occupied the federal administration. In February 1950 when McCarthy asserted in a speech given in Wheeling West Virginia that he had a file that listed of members of the Communist Party who the State Department employed. He chaired the House Committee known as the Un-American Activities. The Committee investigated thousands of people, who were thought to be Communist spies and sympathizers, this was later known as McCarthyism. No one was exempt from the wrath of McCarthy, many individuals who worked for the federal government, universities, film industry, and…
- 582 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
McCarthyism is defined as the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism." This was used in the Cold War by U.S. Senator McCarthy to try and eliminate communists in the United States. It was used with little evidence, and it was in itself a witch hunt like those described in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was inspired directly by McCarthyism when he was writing The Crucible. The many claims of witchcraft made by characters in The Crucible--lacking sufficient evidence--share great similarities with the “witch hunts” of the McCarthy Era.…
- 616 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
"Because of your political views, you will be completely stripped of your civil liberties." If you lived in America during the period that has come to be known as the "red scare", then you were constantly in danger of hearing fatal words such as these that could completely destroy your life. Arthur Miller wrote a story about this dreadful time, titled The Crucible. Since the subject was controversial at the time, Miller had to subliminally write about it through the story of the Salem witch trials. Basic human rights were violated by HUAC, who was symbolized by the court system in Miller's story. To anyone who didn't confess to their supposed crime, there were severe repercussions, such as death or blacklisting. Senator McCarthy, a corrupt…
- 836 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
McCarthyism not only destroyed the lives and careers of many Americans but also the innocent image of the country. Senator Joe McCarthy from Wisconsin was the same as any man. But when he cried Communism the world seemed to listen.<br><br>Following the Cold War between Russia and the United States there came many hardships, such as unemployment and high inflation. These hardships produced a restless society. The society then looked for something or someone to blame (Fried, 39). They found someone to blame. Communists. Throughout the country there was a witch hunt known as the Red Scare. A basic idea was formed: Communism was evil. Anyone who participated in such evil was considered illegitimate and were to be excluded from such things as sharing ideas, and jobs (Reeves, 136). This fear of Communism or anti-Communism as it was called could be described as a type of "virus." When all was calm in America the virus would fade, but the moment a crisis struck, the virus came back stronger than ever (Feuerlicht, 35). Communism was a threat not only for countries overseas but a threat for America and its people. It was a threat on the American way of life, a bruise on the phrase "the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." (Feuerlicht, 45) And McCarthy helped spread this fear.<br><br>McCarthy and his ways challenged the Bill of Rights. "When free speech or due process are denied to any individual everyone's rights are jeopardized. Today's oppressors may become tomorrow's accursed group." (Feuerlicht, 154) And nothing is guaranteed more than the destruction of America when the freedoms promised by the Bill of Rights are denied (Feuerlicht, 154). McCarthy installed a fear in the people. But people feared tremendously the loss of their jobs. They feared that their political afflictions would reflect on their job status (Reeves, 99). By trying to keep America from becoming a Communist nation, McCarthy and his followers turned the country into an anti - Communist…
- 1592 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Since this was an Advance Placement (AP) class, the teacher was allowing students the freedom of investigation and off-task conversation. Remember AP courses are designed to replace entry level college courses if the students passes the AP exam and the college accepts AP credit. So if this assignment was given as a group activity on the college level would the professor care about any of the conversations or inquirers the group had at Starbucks? Also most schools, like this one, have secured internet system that prevent student’s unbridled access to the internet and monitor student’s activity on their servers. When the original questions was asked the typical teenager response, which precipitated the investigations, was “Go ask Google”.…
- 208 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
In American History, many events are started and thrived off of mass hysteria and paranoia; two notable examples of this are the Salem Witch Trials and the reign of Senator McCarthy during the Cold War. During the colonial period of the United States, an event known as the Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts. This infamous event lead to prosecution and eventual hanging of several people, some of which had been falsely accused. A similar event happened nearly 200 years later during the Cold War. Many in the United States feared the spread of communism, and Senator McCarthy of Wisconsin lead the accusation of many politicians being communists. These two events were based entirely on hysteria and paranoia and affected the lives of many people in negative ways. Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible,” and George Clooney’s, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” both explore these events in detail and bring these…
- 593 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Many situations occur because of the beliefs of the students and the beliefs of the education system differ causing a battle of understanding between the two. Students and teachers have different ways of approaching their beliefs towards education.…
- 2862 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays