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McCarthyism

McCarthyism. The Witch Hunt without Witches. McCarthyism. A term for the widespread accusations and investigations of suspected Communist activities in the U.S. during the 1950s. -Insufficient evidence -Unfair - Used to suppress opposition. McCarthyism.

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McCarthyism

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  1. McCarthyism The Witch Hunt without Witches

  2. McCarthyism A term for the widespread accusations and investigations of suspected Communist activities in the U.S. during the 1950s. -Insufficient evidence -Unfair -Used to suppress opposition

  3. McCarthyism • Fed by the quick invention of the Soviet Atomic Bomb. It was assumed spies must have helped them. • Blamed the problems of the U.S. on the supposed secret presence of Communists in the government

  4. Joseph McCarthy Senator Joseph R. McCarthy was a little-known junior senator from Wisconsin. He claimed to possess a list of 205 card-carrying Communists employed in the U.S. Department of State. 

  5. How Did it All Start? • Communists in California and New York • All Citizens of the United States • Communism was not illegal • McCarthy wanted to expose them to decrease their credibility • Scared of bombing from Russia

  6. Loyalty Boards/ HUAC Loyalty boards investigated the federal workers under Truman’s command to search The senator created the Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

  7. Loyalty Boards/ HUAC • HUAC- most widely known for its investigations of suspected Communist influence in the late 1940s and early 1950s. • 1947, HUAC subpoenaed 41 witnesses for its hearings on Communist influence in Hollywood.

  8. The Hollywood 10 • Ten of them, mostly writers and directors, refused to answer questions at first, denounced the committee, and were held in contempt of Congress. • These witnesses became known as the “Hollywood Ten” and were “blacklisted” from the industry for many years afterward.

  9. Why it Worked • The Big Hollywood 10: 8 of 10 actors refused to appear in court and were sentenced to a year in prison • The Waldorf statement: stated that 8 of the ten were to be fired • The blacklist: Informally, if you were accused of communism you could not be hired

  10. The Deal Sell out your friends and you keep your reputation McCarthyism is now used as a reference to “reckless public accusations of disloyalty to the U.S.”

  11. Affects of McCarthyism • Innocent people’s careers ruined- three hundred and twenty artists were blacklisted (Among them were Arthur Miller and Charlie Chaplin.) Arthur Miller & The Crucible: • Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory for the unjust accusations of Joseph McCarthy.

  12. Arthur Miller • Grew up during the Great Depression • Wrote screenplays for Hollywood • Won a Pulitzer in 1949 for Death of a Salesman. • 1953- wrote The Crucible based on Salem Witch Trials. • He wrote the play during the McCarthy hearings when his friends were being attacked for pro- communist activities.

  13. Arthur Miller & “ The Crucible”: • When The Crucible opened in January of 1953, audiences noted the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the HUAC investigations. • In 1956 Miller was called to testify before the committee. He was later convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to name persons seen at meetings organized by so-called Communist sympathizers. Miller’s conviction was overturned in 1958.

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