US History II – Lecture # 4

McCarthyism

Joe McCarthy – Senator from Wisconsin

  • The most visible face of the intense anti-communism era
  • Heavy drinker
  • Basically conducted an unjustified witch hunt searching for communists that didn’t exist
  • Institutionalized paranoia – exploitation of fear for political gain
  • In a speech in 1950, McCarthy made accusations that more than 200 communists worked in the State Department.
  • Then he went on a drinking binge
  • Came back on the scene a few days later and reporters wanted specific names this time.
  • McCarthy had none: (BECAUSE IT WASN’T TRUE!)
  • “I’m not going to tell you anything.” (like it’s a big secret or something)
  • Reality: he had no names and no one was ever found guilty later in investigations
  • Regardless, McCarthy continued to accuse people and upset the country.

Thanks to McCarthy’s antics, this era has become known as the age of McCarthyism.

  • So why did McCarthy do all of this?
  • “show biz”
  • A “no-namer” is now a “big name” – he got his name out there and all of a sudden he’s not just some random senator from Wisconsin.
  • General consensus during this time: East Coast democrats benefited greatly from the New Deal.
  • New Deal Democrats were not well-liked by the rest of the country’s politicians including McCarthy.
  • McCarthyism was partly “the revenge of the noses that for 20 years of fancy parties were pressed against the window pane.”
  • McCarthyism didn’t target the big names as much.
  • Why?
  • It’s much easier to bully someone weaker than you – not as likely to fight back.
  • African Americans
  • Jews
  • Immigrants
  • Homosexuals
  • Women
  • Almost all of these accusations and claims were rhetorical
  • Divisive Opportunism – a ruthless attempt to gain power and fame by exploiting cold war fears.
  • Powerful position players used their fame to their advantage – add to the paranoia.
  • McCarthy used fear tactics to win elections and to help his friends win elections
  • Similar comments and alarms went out to add to the madness:
  • “Communists…are everywhere – in factories, offices, butcher shops, on street corners, in private businesses…At this very moment [they are] busy at work – undermining your government, plotting to destroy the liberties of every citizen, and feverishly trying in whatever way they can, to aid the Soviet Union”
  • How would you respond to these comments?

McCarthy, Truman, and Eisenhower

  • McCarthy and Truman despised one another
  • Truman – Democrat
  • McCarthy – Republican
  • McCarthy portrayed Truman as “soft on communism”, even linked democrats to communists.
  • Truman’s response: “McCarthy’s attempts to sabotage the foreign policy of the United States in a cold war was comparable to shooting American soldiers in the back in a hot war”
  • “Twenty years of Treason” – one of the catch phrases McCarthy made referring to Democrats in office.
  • 1952 – Eisenhower came into office – thought the Red Scare might fade, McCarthy might simmer down a bit.
  • Didn’t happen – changed the phrase to “Twenty-one years of Treason”
  • Eisenhower didn’t really respond back – “didn’t want to get in the gutter with him”

1954 – Televised congressional hearings

  • McCarthy’s not sober
  • “conduct unbecoming a member” – Senate finally steps up
  • Committee investigated McCarthy for trying to make the Army grant special privileges to his staff members.
  • Senate censured him.(disciplined him)
  • So basically his ego gets so big that he decides to go after the Army, but the Army fights back and calls him out, so just like that the “witch hunt” is over
  • McCarthy leaves the scene – dies in 1957, but strict laws and limitations remained intact.

Dissent had become dangerous.