CONCEPT – JOSEPH MCCARTHY AND MCCARTHYISM IN USA

Excellent study material for all civil services aspirants - begin learning - Kar ke dikhayenge!

CONCEPT – JOSEPH MCCARTHY AND MCCARTHYISM IN USA

---

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

• Fear of Communism in USA: During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the fear of Communists was so scary for ordinary Americans, that it was possible to build a whole narrative around it. The Second World War had ended, and USSR and USA were again at loggerheads.
• What was the fear? These fears had a big impact on society, and the political discourse was poisoned. This “Red Scare” was symbolised by a Republican Senator Joseph P. McCarthy of Wisconsin. He spent almost five years trying in vain to expose communists and other left-wing “loyalty risks” in the U.S. government.
• The suspicious environment: In the hyper-suspicious atmosphere of the Cold War, mere charges of disloyalty were enough to convince many Americans that their government was packed with traitors and spies! In August 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. Later that year, Communist forces declared victory in the Chinese Civil War and established the People’s Republic of China. In 1950, the Korean peninsula witnessed a great Soviet – US standoff.
• HUAC to find the Communists: The Republican-led House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began a campaign to find and cull communist subversion at home. Its targets included left-wingers in Hollywood and liberals in the State Department. In 1950, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act, which required that all “subversives” in the United States submit to government supervision. (President Truman vetoed the Act—he said it “would make a mockery of our Bill of Rights”—but a Congressional majority overrode his veto.)
• National spotlight: In February 1950, McCarthy gave a speech that propelled him into the national spotlight. Waving a piece of paper in the air, he declared that he had a list of 205 known members of the Communist Party who were “working and shaping policy” in the State Dept. Investigations found nothing! But he continued hurling wild allegations, and destroying careers, jobs and reputations.
• Intimidating: McCarthy’s accusations were so intimidating that few people dared to speak out against him. It was not until he attacked the Army in 1954 that his actions earned him the censure of the U.S. Senate.
• The end of McCarthyism: In 1954, McCarthy started “exposing” the supposed communist infiltration of the armed services. Many people who had supported him till date (ant-elite bias) now began to get anxious. First, the Army undermined the senator’s credibility by showing evidence that he had tried to win preferential treatment for his aides when they were drafted. Then came the fatal blow: the decision to broadcast the “Army-McCarthy” hearings on national television. The American people watched as McCarthy intimidated witnesses and offered evasive responses when questioned. When he attacked a young Army lawyer, the Army’s chief counsel said, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” Finally, when the hearings were over, McCarthy had lost most of his allies. The Senate voted to condemn him for his “inexcusable,” “reprehensible,” “vulgar and insulting” conduct “unbecoming a senator.” He died in 1957 at the age of 48.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

Join UPSC Self Prep course | Online Course (PT Gurukul)  | Covid Special Course | Join PT courses

* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.