Joseph McCarthy, McCarthyism, and the Red Scare

      Following the conclusion of the Second World War, it was quickly becoming clear that a new competition between the Soviet Union and the United States was being created. The American people were told by politicians that Stalin's ultimate goal was world conquest under Soviet rule and the spread of communism. Furthermore, the American liberties prized by Americans for generations would be destroyed. And there was much reason to believe this, with Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe, a communist victory in China, and other civil wars across the globe. It appeared to the average American that communism was spreading across the world, and as they were told by their leaders, this would be the end of American freedoms and potentially even America itself. As a result, the American people were terrified. Furthermore, perhaps what some Americans were even more fearful of, was communism spreading in America itself.

      One figure who capitalized on these fears was Joseph McCarthy, a US Senator from Wisconsin. From the late 1940s to the early 1950s, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy accused politicians of being communists. At the same time, the US government was holding trials for suspected communists in Hollywood and enforced political loyalty tests were being done on government employees. This fear of communism, this Red Scare, drove many Americans into extreme paranoia of communism, believing the baseless accusations such as those that Joseph McCarthy espoused.

      When McCarthy began accusing members of the US government for being communists, and especially at the peak of his power, no one dared to challenge him, unless they wanted to be labeled a communist. The worst thing a person could be called or known as at the time was a communist. And as stated, while McCarthy had no evidence for his claims, he didn't need any. Most people blatantly believed McCarthy, wanting to feel safe and secure, that someone knew who the communists were in the US government when no one else did. Even Eisenhower, famous American general and President at the time, was afraid to confront McCarthy. An attempt at publicly attacking, undermining, or going against with much of was McCarthy was espousing would result in Eisenhower appearing soft on the supposed internal spread of communism. While Eisenhower did actively attempt to undermine McCarthy and his claims, he never made any public comments denouncing them, leading to the continued power of McCarthy for some time.

      Ultimately, however, McCarthy's downfall first began when he aimed his sights at the US Army and the Eisenhower administration itself. This forced Eisenhower to fight back at McCarthy. The Army compiled dirt on McCarthy lawyer and eventually leaked the information, making it appear that McCarthy was guilty of an abuse of power. Following this, Eisenhower pushed for an investigation into McCarthy's abuse of power, leading to a Senate vote which voted 67 to 22 to condemn McCarthy. Following this condemnation, McCarthy's power was essentially gone.
      The Red Scare certainly outlived McCarthy but as the years and eventually, decades wore on the fear of communism subsided. Communism was still viewed as socially unacceptable in America until perhaps the modern-day, but by no means was this hatred and refusal of communism as extreme as it was at the height of McCarthy.

Sources:

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

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

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mccarthy-condemned-by-senate