Topic 7, Lesson 3: What was McCarthyism?

Topic 7, Lesson 3: What was McCarthyism?

The External Causes of McCarthyism

Fall of China to communism in 1949

creation of the ‘China lobby’ which campaigned against the new communist regime

tried to persuade people that China had fallen to communism as a result of Communist infiltrations within the State Department

Development of the Cold War in Europe from 1945

In 1949, the USSR exploded their first nuclear weapon

America no longer had their monopoly on atomic weapons

Topic 7, Lesson 3: What was McCarthyism?

The Internal Causes of McCarthyism

Spy scandals in Britain, Canada and US

it was now feared that the soviets had only been able to develop its own nuclear weapons so quickly through the infiltration of Soviet agents into the Manhattan Project

scientists, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for giving away atomic secrets

Communists had infiltrated government during the war

soviets later claimed they had 221 operatives spying in the various branches of government

1947: Truman introduced the Loyalty Review Board

checked on government employees

any employee found to be sympathetic to communism could be fired

within 4 years, 1200 had been dismissed and a further 6000 reigned

The House of Un-American Activities Committee

set up by Congress in 1938

investigated those suspected of supporting communism

film-maker Charlie Chaplin was forced to leave the US

the “Hollywood Ten” were a group of writers and directors who were fired from their jobs and sent to prison for refusing to testify (give names of Communists) before the HUAC

Topic 7, Lesson 3: What was McCarthyism?

Causes of McCarthyism (1950-1954)

1950: Senator McCarthy made a speech in which he claimed that members of the State Department were communist spies

did not have evidence to back up his claim

McCarthy became one of the most popular men in the US

supproted by Christian fundamentalists and those who were from deprived communities and were uneducated

McCarthy accused people far and wide specifically those campaigning for civil rights or redistribution of wealth

also claimed the New Deal measures were inclined to communism

one school librarian in Indiana banned books about Robin Hood because she said in robbing the rich and giving to the poor, the story promoted communism

Topic 7, Lesson 3: What was McCarthyism?

The Fall of McCarthyism (1954)

McCarthy accused highly respectable figures such as General George Marshall (who introduced Marshall Aid) of being communists

McCarthy was also a drunk and did not have sufficient evidence to back up the claims he was making

When McCarthy began to investigate the military, public opinion dramatically turned against him because the military was the most patriotic organisation in America.

After this attack against the army, McCarthy was discredited.

Children mocked him

President Eisenhower (a former military commander) was critical of McCarthy’s investigation of the army

McCarthy was condemned by the US Senate

McCarthy died of alcoholism in 1957 and the Red Scare fazed out with him