McCarthyism

"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?" Between 1950 and 1954 thousands of Americans heard this phrase while being interrogated by Joseph McCarthy. In a desperate witch hunt for communist infiltrators Senator McCarthy turned the US government on its head and shook up many congressional members. 

The Communist Threat 

During the Cold War era Americans faced countless threats of communist takeover. Government leaders warned the American public that anyone could be a communist and that they could be using their status in society to push their agenda. They told the public to be especially wary of college professors, teachers and journalists. Fears spread as the Soviet Union developed nuclear capabilities and nuclear war seemed imminent. The fear of Joseph Stalin's influence on Eastern Europe and more Western countries joining him was also an ever present threat. Then came the Communists winning the Chinese Civil War, taking over the most populous country on earth. 

Propaganda poster showing the far reaching Soviet threat, Courtesy of Investig’Action

Then there were the enemy spies. In 1950 Alger Hiss was convicted of providing sensitive documents to the Soviets. In 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union and were sentenced to death. In 1950 Klaus Fuchs was also arrested for handing over atomic secrets to the Soviets, and these are just a few of the numerous spies apprehended for helping the Soviet Union. 

The US government also passed laws and started committees that made the public more fearful of the communist threat. The House Un-American Activities Council (HUAC) began targeting Americans believed to be communists, in particular those on the left side of the political spectrum. In 1950 Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act which required that those considered to be “subversive” had to submit to government supervision. President Truman vetoed the bill saying that it went against the Bill of Rights, but the House overrode his veto and it was passed. 

It is not hard to see why the American public was terrified of a communist takeover of America. Joseph McCarthy came along and played on this terror, winning over public opinion in order to go after communists with no limits. 

McCarthy’s Rise to Power

Joseph McCarthy was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin and was elected in 1946. He rose to prominence when on February 9, 1950, he gave a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia and claimed to have the names of 205 communists that had infiltrated the state department. In a few other speeches he reiterated this claim, attracting public attention and eventually the attention of the Senate. He was asked to testify before the Senate and on February 15, 1950 he testified and cited 81 cases of alleged communists in prominent positions. Many of McCarthy’s claims were flimsy and he rehashed the same information over and over but the Senate called for a full investigation. 

Joseph McCarthy, Courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica

McCarthy started going after low level officials and even prominent hollywood actors and writers. He soon went after larger targets, accusing Dean Acheson and George Marshall of being communists. Dean Acheson was the Secretary of State and George Marshall was the Secretary of Defense and former General of the Army, some Republicans disavowed McCarthy for his accusations against these high ranking officials. Others, especially Richard Nixon, saw him as an asset. The majority of the public liked McCarthy and sent communist accusers to him. 

In 1952 McCarthy was reelected and obtained chairmanship of the Committee of Government Operations of the Senate and of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He used his newfound power to further his hunt for communists. That same year Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president. President Eisenhower was not a fan of McCarthy but did not criticize him for fear of splitting the Republican party. For the next two years McCarthy investigated various government departments and agencies and questioned thousands of people on suspected communist infiltration. He failed to make a real case against anyone but his clever language and tactful arguments drove many out of a job and made others social outcasts, some were even blackballed and could not find work anywhere. More than 2,000 government workers lost their jobs due to McCarthy’s questioning. He went as far as he could to root out communists and to ensure they were under government supervision even saying, “Any man who has been named by either a senator or a committee or a congressman as dangerous to the welfare of this nation, his name should be submitted to the various intelligence units, and they should conduct a complete check upon him. It’s not too much to ask.” People were terrified of McCarthy and did what they could to stay out of his sights. 

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Presidential Library

McCarthy’s Downfall 

McCarthyism reached its peak in 1954 when he held 36 days of the televised “McCarthy Hearings”. McCarthy went after the US Army, going after many officials and even war heroes. This was McCarthy’s big mistake as President Eisenhower knew he could not sit on the sidelines and watch as McCarthy berated his beloved Army. Eisenhower could not go after McCarthy directly for fear of being seen as going soft on communism, instead he went after those close to him. Especially targeting his lawyer, Roy Cohn and Cohn’s assistant, David Schine. Schine had been recently drafted into the Army and Cohn used threats to make sure that Schine got easy duty. The White House compiled a damning dossier and leaked it to Congress to discredit Cohn. Eisenhower also invoked executive privilege against McCarthy in order to fight back against his subpoenas. Eisenhower told those in the Executive Branch to ignore McCarthy and that they did not have to answer to him. 

Joseph McCarthy interrogating someone, Courtesy of PBS

The hearings originally targeted possible espionage at the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Then he turned his attention to an army dentist who had been promoted even after allegedly refusing to answer questions for the Loyalty Security Screening Board. (The Loyalty Security Screening Board was meant to test those in sensitive positions to make sure they were loyal to the United States.) The claim was uncorroborated and McCarthy was unsuccessful in this investigation. The hearings reached their climax when McCarthy claimed that the Army’s lawyer Joseph Welch had employed a man who had once belonged to a communist front group. Again this claim was unsubstantiated and Welch rebuked the senator by saying, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” This was a turning point in the hearing and the army now went on the attack. They questioned McCarthy’s methods and his credibility, using his own tactics against him. 

Joseph Welch testifying, Courtesy of Politico

The McCarthy Hearings would prove to be his downfall as it showed the American public his meanspiritidness towards those he interrogated, it turned public opinion against him. After the hearings there were many polls that all showed that the public did not approve of his attack on the Army. If it was not for these televised hearings it is difficult to tell how far he might have gone with his witch hunt. McCarthy was also attacked by the press in the form of Edward R. Murrow who tactfully criticized the senator. Murrow carried out editorials on his show See It Now and garnered a wide audience, he attacked McCarthy’s methods and talked about how he intimidated witnesses to give information. These editorials made Murrow the premier journalist of the time. 

After the hearings McCarthy was censured by the Senate and lost his position of power. McCarthy was an alcoholic and drank even more heavily after his downfall. He died of liver failure in 1957. 

Other Communist Hunters 

McCarthy was not the only one who seeked out communists. HUAC also looked for those that might be aiding the communist agenda, specifically targeting the hollywood film industry. Those involved in film had to appear before the committee and give names of colleagues who might be communist sympathizers or members of the party itself. Those who listened and gave names were free to go but those who did not were cited for contempt and faced the threat of losing their job and being blacklisted, and it would take years for those blacklisted to regain their reputation. Even future president Ronald Reagan had to testify before HUAC as president of the Screenwriters Guild, “Sir, I detest, I abhor their [communists'] philosophy, but I detest more than that their tactics, which are those of the fifth column, and are dishonest, but at the same time I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment.” 

Courtesy of Covalent Logic

School boards and state legislatures across america copied many of McCarthy’s tactics in order to root out any possible communists resulting in thousands losing their jobs. Books were even pulled from libraries most notably Robin Hood, as the theme of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor was seen as a communist ideal. McCarthyism had a far reaching impact that has lasted longer than anyone expected. During the later years of the Cold War, even with McCarthyism virtually dead, politicians still faced severe backlash for wanting to open up trade with China or pulling troops out of South East Asia, being called communist sympathizers. McCarthyism is still used in today's political culture when someone is accused of something there is no evidence for. 

Personal Thoughts 

I have always been interested in politics during the Cold War as I find it interesting how far people were willing to go to disavow someone or to just get their way. I think McCarthy had good intentions he just went about them all the wrong way. He preyed on the vulnerable public and used his power and silver tongue to circumvent the constitution but I think he did it all for a good reason. I don’t think that excuses his actions but I don’t see him as a bad guy per se. I hate that so many people lost their jobs and were unable to find work but that’s how it goes when there is a looming threat that everyone is scared of.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/topic/McCarthyism

http://www.ushistory.org/us/53a.asp

https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/age-of-eisenhower/mcarthyism-red-scare

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dean-Acheson

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-C-Marshall

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alger-Hiss

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rosenbergs-executed

https://www.history.com/news/6-traitorous-cold-war-spies