Transcript The McCarthy Era Beginnings to 1954

By
Eric Tolman
Restored tolerance of communism as a
result of the war ended quickly with the
defeat of Hitler
 The Cold war transformed domestic
communism from a matter of political
opinion to one of national security
 The CPUSA became viewed as potential
enemy agents
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McCarthy would not have been relevant had it not
been for these world events
Death of FDR alters the mood at Yalta
Disagreement over composition of Polish
government
Soviet Pressure on Turkey and Iran in 1946
The Greek Civil War of 1947
The communist coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948
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
American communists became ideological
outlaws
 It was believed AC were part of a secret
conspiracy under orders from Stalin
 Most AC were not ideological zombies, but
committed to a program of social change
and equal rights
 Critics argues that communist
sympathizers held sensitive positions in
government
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J Edgar Hoover, a strong anticommunist, was a driving force behind
the red scare
 FBI given 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
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Rooted out those suspected of being
un-American
Began in the 1930’s finding 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
The Hollywood 10 pleaded the First
Amendment out of principal
Many were blacklisted like Charlie
Chaplin who moved out of the country
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Alger Hiss, a high ranking member of
the State department, was accused by
Whittaker Chamber, of being a
communist
Truman dropped the case but a young
senator named Richard Nixon saw an
opportunity
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
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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
Republican 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 media
attention, and he was enjoying the
publicity
In the 1952 elections, the Republicans reaped
the benefits of the hysteria
 Eisenhower appoint 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
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Victims of the Hysteria
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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”
The end of McCarthyism
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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
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
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