The McCarthy Era Beginnings to 1954

1. The McCarthy EraBeginnings to 1954 By Eric Tolman Edited C. Cullen 2013

2. Background The Cold war transformed domestic communism from a matter of political opinion to one of national security American communists now became viewed as potential enemy agents

3. International Events McCarthy would not have been relevant had it not been for these world events: Death of FDR and appointment of Harry Truman The Greek Civil War of 1947 The Berlin Blockade in 1948 The Communist takeover of China in 1949 The Soviet detonation of the bomb in 1949 The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950

4. Domestic Fears American communists became ideological outlaws Some believed American communists were part of a secret conspiracy under orders from Stalin Many AC were committed to a program of social change and equal rights and were not radical revolutionaries Critics argues that communist sympathizers held sensitive positions in government

5. Federal Bureau of Investigation J Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, was a strong anti-communist and a driving force behind the “red scare” FBI was given the authority in 1947 to investigate gov’t employees for political history From 1947- 1959, 3 million employees were investigated, nobody was charged with spying 212, however, were deemed risks and were forced out of their jobs The FBI passed on information to HUAC

6. House of Un-American ActivitiesCommittee (HUAC) HUAC rooted out people suspected of being “un-American” Began in the 1930’s to find Nazis, but quickly switched to Reds after the war In 1947 HUAC became big news as actors, writers and Hollywood directors became a focus of investigation Many were blacklisted like Charlie Chaplin who moved out of the country

7. High Profile Cases Alger Hiss, a high ranking member of the State department, was accused of being a communist Truman dropped the case but a young senator named Richard Nixon saw an opportunity to make a name for himself and aggressively pursued the case, perhaps even forging evidence. Hiss would be charged with perjury, not spying, and spent 5 years in prison Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried in 1951 and executed for treason for selling nuclear info to the Soviets

8. Joseph McCarthy Some politicians saw the political advantage of finding communists- Nixon set that example in 1947 Joseph McCarthy was a Republican senator from Wisconsin who saw the opportunity Republicans had been out of office since 1932, and many were desperate for power With FBI help, McCarthy toured the country claiming he had lists of names of communists in government The actions gave McCarthy lots of media attention

9. Height of Power In the 1952 elections, the Republicans reaped the benefits of the hysteria and Eisenhower was elected president (an unpopular Truman decided not to run for re-election Eisenhower appointed McCarthy as head of a committee to investigate Communists in gov’t Empowered with presidential support, he bullied and accused 100’s of people. Those who spoke out would themselves be called Un-American A climate of fear developed in the worst domestic witch hunt since the 1600’s

10. Victims of the Hysteria • Many Americans were targeted as part of the communist “witch hunts” • George Marshall was accused of allowing China to go Communist • 100 university teachers were dismissed as a result of pressure from McCarthy • 324 Hollywood actors, writers were blacklisted • Walt Disney, Jack Warner and Louis Mayer supported HUAC • Anti-communist allegories were produced like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”

11. The end of McCarthyism • Not everyone supported McCarthy-public polls showed he never achieved 50% approval from Americans • Some politicians and actors spoke out against the hysteria • Objective media like the Washington Post, New York Times produced sensible and balanced reporting that damaged McCarthy’s credibility • TV journalist Ed Murrow produced a program on “See it Now” where he challenged McCarthy • Lastly, when McCarthy went after the US military his accusations came off as preposterous to Americans • Army lawyer, Joseph Welch, calmly brought to light the recklessness of McCarthy proclaiming “have you no sense of decency?” • After this he lost all credibility and would die by 1957 a tired and ruined alcoholic

12. Legacy • The red scare was part of a more widespread yearning for the US to return to traditional values disrupted by the chaos of the depression and war. • Civil Rights, Rock and Roll and the emerging youth culture of the 1960’s would be a broad reaction against the repressive conservatism of the 1950’s