McCarthyism

By Euan Wilson, Paul Teodorescu, Ian Hughes, & Kaito Takahashi (2-1)
The Cold War

● A half-century long confrontation

between two conflicting ideologies
(Capitalism vs. Communism)

● Known as the “Cold War” because

things never got hot (M.A.D.)

● The term ‘Cold War’ originated from

George Orwell’s essay “You and the
Atom Bomb” written on October 19,
1945
 Joseph Raymond “Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy
(1908-1957)

● Republican US Senator from Wisconsin (1947-1957).

● Rose to prominence in 1950 after his accusation of 205

Communist Party members working in the State
Department.

● Gained popularity due to rabid anti communism and fear

mongering.

● Censured in 1954 for unbecoming conduct, losing all

power. He remained Senator until his death in 1957.
 McCarthyism

● Define as “the practice of making accusations of

disloyalty, especially pro-Communist activity, in many
instances unsupported by proof or based on slight,
doubtful, irrelevant evidence.

● Many accused communists had attended Party rallies

during the 1930s, 15 years or more before their hearings.

● Due to McCarthyism, certain books, such as Robin Hood,

were banned as they were seemingly too Communist-
esque.
McCarthy’s Methods & Objective
● Used defamation
● Severe Intimidation
● Threat of prison time
● Little to no evidence to support his claims.
● Objective was the eradication of all American Communism.
Victims of McCarthyism

● Homosexuals

● Left-leaning celebrities

● Liberal democrats
Those who were Exiled

These people were exiled from the U.S. during the Cold War

● Charlie Chaplin

● Lee Grant

● Aaron Copland
Joe McCarthy’s Downfall
What Happened?

● Due to numerous false

accusations, McCarthy rapidly
lost power

● Journalist Edward Murrow

● Army-McCarthy Hearings

● McCarthy was eventually

censured, and lost all
influence
References

● http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/McCarthyism
● https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lillsie/McCarthyism/Victims.html
● https://history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
● https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-McCarthy
● Dictionary.com
● http://www.ushistory.org/us/53a.asp
● http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lillsie/McCarthyism/downfall.html
● https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joseph-mccarthy-meets-his-match
● https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
● https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history
● https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War