McCarthyism

During the Cold War, anticommunist feelings were common among United States citizens. Joseph McCarthy, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, saw this as an opportunity to win the reelection in 1952. He began to claim that Communists were taking over the government, and made false accusations against individuals working in the government. This tactic to attack fiercely on suspected Communists was known as McCarthyism. Using his legal immunity from slander in the Congress, he accused officials from the State Department and people of the Democratic Party of being Communists and spreading communism without any evidence. Even though McCarthy’s approach towards combating communism was radical, the majority of the Republicans did not stop his actions because they thought his actions could aid the 1952 presidential election. However, there were six senators led by Senator Margaret Chase Smith who condemned McCarthy’s irresponsible behavior in Congress. Eventually, McCarthy’s popularity plummeted when the public saw a televised Senate investigation on U.S. Army where McCarthy interoggated the witnesses harshly. In response, the Senate condemned his behavior as “dishonor and disrepute”, and he died three years later from alcoholism.

By Alvin