Thursday, January 7, 2016

Red Scare Paper

1/6/16
Red Scare
    The Red Scare refers to the fear of communism that spread throughout American politics, culture, and society. The Red Scare also led to a range of actions that had an extreme and long-term effect on the U.S. government and society. Many Americans feared that the Soviet Union was planning to forcibly spread communism around the globe. This occurred during the opening phases of the Cold War with the Soviet Union from the late 1940s through the 1950s. These fears were intensified by the Soviet Union successfully testing a nuclear bomb on August 29, 1949 and also the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949. The Red Scare started in 1947 and ended in 1954.


    For many Americans, the most prominent symbol of the Red Scare was Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. Joseph Mccarthy spent almost five trying to expose communists in the U.S. government. His time spent trying to expose and accuse people of being communists led to the creation of “Mccarthyism.” Mccarthyism is defined as the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.  In the alert and suspicious atmosphere of the Cold War, suggestions of disloyalty were enough to convince many people in the U.S. that their government was full of traitors and spies. Joseph Mccarthy’s accusations were so aggressive and terrifying that few people dared to speak out against him. In most of his hearings, he interrogated many people, and was believed to shamelessly violate their civil rights. Despite any lack of proof, more than 2000 people lost their jobs because of Mccarthy’s accusations.  


    The Red Scare began to come to an end in 1954 when Joseph Mccarthy started trying to expose people of the military. He began to slowly lose supporters when the level of discomfort with Mccarthyism began to rise. Joseph Mccarthy began to become very vulnerable and people in the U.S. started trusting him less. After his slight downfall in supporters, the Army weakened his persuasive and trustworthy qualities even more by broadcasting the hearings on national television. The hearings were described by many observers as a shameful moment in American politics. Also, Joseph Mccarthy’s colleagues started to criticize his tactics. The Red Scare ultimately ended in when Joseph Mccarthy lost most of his followers. He died three years later in 1957.


Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

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