McCarthyism

Senator Joseph McCarthy became popular in the 1950s after alleging that numerous Communists and Soviet spies had infiltrated the United States federal government, universities, and the film industry. McCarthy led a campaign to investigate espionage and communist influence in American institutions, a movement that became known as McCarthyism.What are some examples of McCarthyism in US history? In what context did McCarthyism emerge, what was the impact of the movement, and what ultimately led to McCarthy's downfall?

McCarthyism definition

First off, what is the definition of McCarthyism?

Paranoia about communism, the so-called Red Scare, marked this period of US history, which we will discuss in more detail in the next section. McCarthyism ended only when Senator McCarthy fell from grace due to unfounded accusations of communist infiltration.

Fig. 1 - Joseph McCarthy

In modern times, the term McCarthyism is used to make unfounded accusations or defame a person’s character (damage their reputation).

McCarthyism facts and information

The context of Post-WWII America played a significant role in the rise of McCarthyism. Immediately after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union entered into a military arms race and a series of economic and political conflicts that became known as the Cold War. The rise of McCarthyism can be largely attributed to this rivalry, as much of the United States was concerned about communism, threats to national security, war, and Soviet espionage.

McCarthyism and the Red Scare summary

In the years following World War II, fear characterised American society. Many citizens were highly concerned about the possible domination of communism and the Soviet Union.Historians refer to this era as the Red Scare, which generally refers to a widespread fear of communism. The late 1940s and 1950s were a particularly hysterical example of this.

The following events led to this Red Scare:

• After World War II, the Soviet Union created a buffer zone of communist nations and spread communism throughout Eastern Europe.

• In 1949, the communist Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. Previously, only the United States had possessed nuclear weapons.

• Also, in 1949, China ‘fell’ to communism. The communists under Mao Zedong won the civil war against the nationalists and founded the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

• In 1950, the Korean War began between communist North Korea and non-communist South Korea. The United States intervened on the side of South Korea.

The United States began to fear communism, which rapidly spread across the globe. This fear was justified when it was proven that spies had indeed infiltrated the US nuclear programme and passed information about America’s atomic plan to the Soviet Union.Thus, McCarthy could capitalise on the fears of average Americans and the anxieties within the American political landscape. McCarthy’s campaign only exacerbated Americans’ fear and paranoia of communism, which the Red Scare triggered.

Truman’s Executive Order 9835

As a result of this order, Alger Hiss, a senior State Department official, was convicted of espionage. Alger Hiss was a senior US government official who played a vital role in creating the United Nations. He was charged with Soviet espionage in 1948 and convicted of perjury, although most of the evidence and testimony were unsubstantiated. Hiss was sentenced to five years in prison.

The trial and conviction of Alger Hiss heightened public fear of communism. McCarthy capitalised on this national paranoia and appointed himself a figurehead against the perceived rise of communism.

The Rosenberg trial

In 1951 Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel were charged and convicted of Soviet espionage. They were accused of passing top-secret information about the United States' nuclear plans to the Soviet Union. In 1953, the pair were found guilty and executed by the government. Events such as the Rosenberg trials made McCarthy’s rise to national prominence and political relevance possible.

Duck and cover drills

In the early 1950s, due to increasing fears of Soviet aggression, schools began conducting drills that prepared American children in the event of a nuclear attack.

The drills were known as ‘duck and cover drills’ because the children were instructed to dive under their desks and cover their heads. Once such measures were incorporated into American schooling, the fear of a Soviet takeover no longer seemed so unreasonable, at least not to the American public.

This was another factor contributing to the atmosphere of paranoia and fear that helped McCarthy rise to prominence.

McCarthy’s role

Now that we understand the atmosphere in the US at this time let us consider McCarthy’s specific role.

• McCarthy was elected to the US Senate in 1946.

• In 1950, he gave a speech in which he claimed to know the names of communists in the US government and launch an investigation.

• In 1952, he was re-elected to chair the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

• In 1954, the Army-McCarthy hearings were televised. His allegations during the investigations eventually led to his downfall.

McCarthy’s speech

Senator Joseph Mcarthy’s speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, on 9 February 1950, fueled fears of communist infiltration of the American government. McCarthy claimed to have a list of over 205 Soviet spies and communists working for the State Department.

This was a claim of epic proportions, and within a day, McCarthy rose to unprecedented prominence in American politics. The next day, McCarthy became nationally known and took on rooting out communism wherever it was found in the American government and institutions.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

HUAC was founded in 1938 to investigate communist/fascist subversion. In 1947, it began a series of hearings in which individuals were subpoenaed to ask them, ‘Are you currently a member of the Communist Party or were you once a member of the Communist Party?’

Notable investigations included:

• The Hollywood Ten: HUAC interrogated a group of ten screenwriters, producers and directors were in 1947. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 months to a year. The film industry blacklisted them, meaning they were considered undesirable and should be shunned.

• Alger Hiss: HUAC was responsible for the investigation mentioned above of Alger Hiss.

• Arthur Miller: Arthur Miller was a famous American playwright. In 1956, HUAC questioned him about meetings of communist writers he had attended ten years earlier. When he refused to reveal the names of others who had participated in the meetings, he was held in contempt of court, but he won an appeal against it.

Much of the committee’s work involved a judicial process that was corrupt and charged and convicted people based on little to no evidence. The defendants were bankrupted, whether the accusations were true or not.McCarthy himself was not directly involved with HUAC, but it is often associated with him because he used very similar tactics as Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. HUAC’s activities are part of the general atmosphere of McCarthyism.

Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was given investigative powers over the conduct of government business and national security.McCarthy became Chairman of the Subcommittee in 1953 after the Republican Party gained a majority in the Senate. McCarthy began a highly publicised series of investigations into communism upon assuming this position. Remarkably, these investigations could not pleade the fifth, meaning that there was no normal legal process. This allowed McCarthy to ruin people’s reputations simply because they refused to answer.

This was the high point of McCarthy’s political career, but it did not last long.

The fall of McCarthy

Within days, McCarthy’s popularity across the country changed dramatically. By 1954, disgraced by his party, McCarthy’s Senate colleagues rebuked him and the media tarnished his reputation.

The Army-McCarthy hearings

In 1953, McCarthy began attacking the US Army, accusing it of inadequately protecting a top-secret facility. His subsequent investigation into suspected espionage turned up nothing, but he stood by his allegations.As the conflict continued, the Army responded that McCarthy had abused his position to secure preferential treatment for one of his subcommittee members who had been drafted into the Army.As a result of the tensions that arose, McCarthy resigned as Chairman of the subcommittee. Karl Mundt replaced him for the April and June 1954 hearings, which were televised. While the original purpose of the hearings was to investigate allegations against McCarthy, McCarthy boldly claimed that the US Army was full of Communists and was under Communist influence.The Army hired attorney Joseph Welch to defend them to refute these claims. McCarthy’s public opinion deteriorated during this nationally televised hearing when McCarthy made an unfounded accusation against one of Joseph Welch’s attorneys. McCarthy alleged that this attorney had ties to communist organisations during the hearing.In response to this televised accusation, Joseph Welch famously said to McCarthy:

At that moment, the tide began to turn against McCarthy. McCarthy lost all credibility, and his popularity dwindled overnight.

Edward Murrow

The journalist Edward R. Morrow also contributed to the downfall of McCarthy and thus McCarthyism. In 1954, Murrow attacked McCarthy on his news programme ‘See It Now’. This attack further contributed to undermining McCarthy’s credibility, and all of these events led to McCarthy’s censure.

What were the effects of McCarthyism?

McCarthyism represented a period in American history when fear was used to divert the democratic process of law and order. It had a significant impact on America. Let us examine the effects of McCarthyism in the following table.