Lesson Plan

McCarthyism

Joshua Scott

  1. Open class with a pink slip on a student’s desk falsely accusing him/her of stealing. Give no proof, and do not make the accuser known. Then turn to a friend of the student and charge them also for cooperating with initial suspect. Discuss this type of justice with the class.
  1. Refresh class of the first Red Scare in American History.
  2. Attorney General Palmer
  3. Mass Hysteria and deporting calls of communism
  1. Senator Joseph McCarthy
  2. Bio
  3. Wheeling speech
  4. Senator McCarthy’s letter to President Truman * primary source*
  5. President Truman’s response letter *primary source*
  6. HUAC
  7. Hearing operations and questions asked
  8. 5th Amendment Right – what does it and doesn’t it pertain to?
  1. Misconceptions of McCarthyism
  2. Period of McCarthyism
  3. Who was accused
  4. Successful Case – Alger Hiss and Julius Rosenberg
  5. Ridiculous case – Ethel Rosenberg as an attack on civil liberties
  1. Too Far
  2. Eisenhower and the Army
  3. Edward R. Murrow and CBS *show clip from GNGL*
  1. Consequences
  2. African Americans quest for Human Right dissolved to Civil Rights
  3. Compare human/civil rights
  4. Entertainment Industry
  5. Hollywood Ten
  6. World view of the United States
  7. Political Chill in America
  8. Joseph McCarthy

Joshua Scott10th Grade American History

The lesson will be a traditional lecture based lesson using primary source documents from President Truman and Joseph McCarthy. I will also incorporate a documentary movie on the HUAC trials and McCarthy. My main focus will be on the Red Scare and the affect it had on the overall Cold War.

Rationale - I am using this lesson to emphasize how times of intense fear and tension allow charismatic leaders rise to national fame and push for a restriction of civil liberties in the name of national security. Many times these politicians are working for a political/personal gain at the expense of fellow countrymen/women. Not only are civil liberties lost, but we also sacrifice possible national gains simultaneously.

This lesson will take approximately two class periods.

I came up with this idea from our first speaker, Professor Schrecker.

Objectives:

-Students will gain an understanding of the origins of McCarthyism and the rise of Joseph McCarthy.

-Students will actively engage questions of civil liberties and the appropriateness of governments suspending these inherent rights.

-Students will understand the consequences of McCarthyism in the broader Cold War related to: human rights, the entertainment industry, view of the United States internationally, and political chill and stagnation inside the United States.

Standards –Show Me Standards-

6 – Relationships of groups to institutions and cultural traditions.

7 – Use of tools of Social Science inquiry.

Grade Level Expectations – Social Studies 9-12

USH.2a.D.(4). USHIS – Evolution of US Policy during the Cold War.

Secondary Materials-

“Good Night and Good Luck”- use specific clips of McCarthy interviewed by Edward R. Murrow detailing the public downfall of Senator McCarthy.

Primary Sources –

Include the letter from Senator McCarthy to President Truman, dated February 11, 1950 describing his speech in Wheeling claiming to have the names of 57 communists in the state department and asking the President to become active in kicking “communists” out of the government. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/mccarthy-telegram/images/telegram-page-1.gif (same address through 6 pages)

Include President Truman’s letter to Senator McCarthy in response to McCarthy’s charges and suggestions to the President. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/mccarthy-telegram/images/truman-reply.gif

You will also need a list of the questions HUAC used in their interrogations of suspected communists or you can use the opening scene of Jim Carey’s The Majestic.

For a transcript of a full hearing… Ayn Rand

Technology-Power Point, TV and VCR/DVD

Assessment –

Students will research someone not mentioned in class who was affected by McCarthyism. They must have the following information typed and ready to discuss in three class periods:

  1. Name of the victim.
  2. Year the victim was charged.
  3. The crime charged with.
  4. Evidence presented against the accused.
  5. Why do you believe this person was singled out?
  6. Outcome of the case.
  7. How can we as a society make sure nothing like this happens again?