McCarthyism+and+the+Red+Scare


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=McCarthyism and the Red Scare=

McCarthyism, by definition, is the exploitation and encouragement of xenophobia for political purposes. Our constitution, written an worded by possibly the smartest people on the planet at the time, is intended to prevent this sort of thing from happening. It is written in such a way as to cover all loopholes and misinterpretations. The unique and beautiful thing about this nation is that we are allowed to express our own political beliefs, even if it is frowned upon by normal people. It is perfectly legal to be a card-carrying member of the Nazi Party, much less a socialist. It is only illegal once you start advocating violence or overthrow of the government. We trust our elected officials to uphold the constitution as the ultimate law. Unfortunately, sometimes our government puts personal ambition ahead of the good of the nation.

The Beginning of McCarthyism
A common misconception is that McCarthyism pertains solely to the actions of Joseph McCarthy. This is not true. McCarthyism is a political term, not a person. It has existed ever since the first governments arose in the ancient middle east. Probably the first recorded example of McCarthyism in government is the Roman persecution of the Jews. There is not enough time, however, to record every incidence of McCarthyism by every government against every political ideology, so we will restrict our history as it pertains to the rise of Communism.

The two most popular economic ideologies, Communism and Capitalism, have been at war since they were first created. This war, with the notable exceptions in east Asia, has been fought not on battlefields but in the conference rooms of the United nations and the political rallies in Moscow, Beijing, London, and Washington. The world, as described by McCarthy himself, was "divided into two increasingly hostile and armed camps". This began in the smoldering wreck of tsarist Russia, during the Bolshevik Revolution, when firebrands like Lenin and Trotsky were shaping the world. Unfortunatley, we cannot include a complete history of the Soviet Union here, so we will stick to basic details.

McCarthy himself didn't gain public attention until 1950, but the topic of McCarthyism had already become a topic of political stress, even if it didn't quite have a name yet. Vladimir Lenin started Communism in Russia when it had never been tried on a whole nation before. America's fear of Communism began to grow, in thoughts that Communist Russia would grow bigger and stronger than the United States government. The fact that Lenin and Stalin were telling the world how peaceful and great Russia was becoming, didn't help the cause. They made us believe that Communism was becoming a productive way of running a government; one of our biggest fears of all. We did everything in our power to develop our government to the point that we thought we could match up with the so called powerful government, when what we didn't know was that Communism was failing. The Berlin wall only proved that something was wrong within the country. The harsh rule that really controlled the nation came out beyond the lies of peace and stability that Lenin preached. The fall of Communism in Russia finally came with the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.

McCarthyistic Policies and Actions During the Cold War
Many things were said and done during the Cold War that put Communism into question, but the actions of Joseph McCarthy went over the line. The first action that McCarthy committed that earned him public attention was on February 9, 1950 during a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia at which he waved around a piece of paper saying "I have in my hand a list of known Communist loyalists currently working in the State Department." This of course put those people into question, and set people off thinking that there was something the matter with their government. Part of the reason why people believed him even with such harsh and risky accusations was because McCarty gave them something to rely on. In a time when people were confused and scared, McCarthy gave them something to blame.

Another big public offense was accusing Alger Hiss of being a Communist spy. In 1948 he testified against Hiss and the big trial against him began. The case was long and tiresome and in the end, Hiss ended up going to jail for perjury, and McCarthy ended up being sued for slander. In this case, McCarthy exposed the charges to the public, where he made Hiss seem like enemy number one. A similar case relating to this one was the case of David and Ethel Rosenberg. This couple was also accused of being Communist spies and passing information about nuclear/ atomic weapons to the Soviet Union. Although no one really knew the full truth, it was cases like this that scared people into relying more on McCarthy's accusations.

Besides any specific actions of McCarthy himself, certain things that he did sparked other actions to take place in America. One of the results of his actions were the Loyalty Boards that Nixon issued. These were made to check employees or people seeking employment for Communists or people who might become Communist. These Loyalty Boards were groups of people who would go to interview each employee and sometimes have them sign contracts devoting their loyalty to the company and promise never to leave and become Soviet spies.

The Decline of McCarthyism
Since Communism and McCarthyism are very closely intertwined, the decline of Communism strongly effected McCarthyism. Part of the reason for this is because the whole reason why McCarthyism was able to stay strong, was because it was able to work off of the Communist fear in America. The fear that McCarthy saw and felt in the people fed his flame and gave him an opportunity to be in the spotlight. He took that fear and twisted people's minds into thinking that he was the good guy, showing them where America's faults were and attempting to fix them.

Joseph McCarthy's death in 1948 played a role in the decline of McCarthyism. Once the "Red Menace" was gone, many people felt a weight was being lifted off their backs. The fear of their lives being ruined by someone who was willing to attack randomly was somewhat gone. However, things such as Loyalty Boards and being blacklisted from certain professions still haunted the people as the fear of Communism taking over had not completely vanished.

Another big steak in the heart of McCarthyism was the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. This was also a major falling point for Communism and the Soviet Union. After this happened, it was clear that the Communist governments were crumbling. Since Communism was the whole reason that McCarthyism was able to have power, the decline of McCarthyism was evident. People were no longer afraid that Communism would take over after it began to crumble, therefor there was no more reason for such foolish ways of "finding" Communist faults in the U.S.

McCarthyism and Its Effects in the United States Government Today
Another common misconception about McCarthyism is that it belongs solely in the history books. To an extent, it does. The high point of McCartyism was around 60 years ago. Sadly, however, the reverberations of Joseph McCarthy's policies still resound in governments around the world, even in our own. There have been many examples of guilt by associatoin, blacklisting, and other McCarthyist concepts in recent times.

Several actions taken by the United States government, while arguably necessary, have been undeniably influenced by Joseph McCarthy. With the recent events in the Middle East, with internatoinal tensions running high, rather drastic measures have been adopted. These measures may be needed; they probably are. Most of these deal with guilt by association. For instance, it is illegal now to provide 'material support' to an organization deemed by the secretary of defense to be terrorist. If this law was enacted in the 1980's, the many people who sent money to help the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa would be put in jail, as the anti-apartheid movment was labeled terrorist. This is classic guilt by association. You don't have to commit the crime to be punished, you merely have to have been at one point in time associated with the group that went on to commit the crime. It has been estimated by senior government officials that roughly 95% of assets owned by a terrorist organization are used to promote social welfare. Only five percent is actually used in terrorist actions, yet it is illegal to give anything. It is illegal under current laws to donate a box of crayons to a Palestinian government-run daycare, as the government of Palestine is a terrorist organization. Believe it or not, it would be illegal to give a book on Gandhi's theory of non-violence to a terrorist leader, as that constitutes material support. Even if you could prove in court that that action directly caused the terrorist to forgo violence, you would still face a lengthy prison sentence. Another example of guilt by association is the case of a college professor born in Syria. Shortly after 9/11, Sami al-Arian was interviewed on television. During the interview, images were broadcast of him leading a pro-Palestine anti-Israel rally--20 years ago. He was subsequently dismissed from his job. His employers told him that keeping him on would create unneeded complications. He was fired for doing something 20 years ago that wasn't even a crime then or now. That incident is eerily similar to the situation the Hollywood Ten were in.

McCarthyism has been around since the beginning of organized governments, and it isn't just going to go away. It exists in every government around the world, running rampant in some nations (Sudan and Serbia spring to mind), and subtly guiding policy in others, including our own. Although despised when discovered, the very nature of McCarthyism makes it difficult to reveal. Undeniably, McCarthism still exists.

People who had a Major Impact on McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy J. Edgar Hoover Alger Hiss