McCarthyism in the USA

who was Joseph McCarthy

US republican senator for Wisconsin. He exploited anti-communist anxieties of the time and at first was very successful.

what happened on the 9 Feb 1950

McCarthy made a speech in which he said the State Department was infested with spies & that the Truman administration was too soft on communism

what was the impact of the 9 Feb 1950 speech that McCarthy gave

the development of a witch hunt against the State Department, other public servants & the army

McCarthy was instrumental in…

spreading the Red Scare

what were the reasons for rise of McCarthyism

• The USSR had successfully tested atomic technology in 1949

• China became a communist state in 1949, and formed a alliance with the USSR in 1950

• The outbreak of the Korean War 1950

By 1950, the USA was under pressure from the …`

perceived threat of communism

how did the fall of China to communism lead to the rise of McCarthyism

The fall of China to communism was unexpected & some felt that the State Department should have done more - this led to a powerful ‘China Lobby’ who campaigned for action against the new Chinese regime & wanted an investigation into how the government had let it fall.

how did USSR international attitudes intensify tensions

Stalin in his last years became even more hostile to the West & took on an even more repressive rule of the USSR & Soviet Bloc.

how did US international attutudes intensify tensions

the USA began to see themselves as the ‘leader of the free world’ & the ‘world’s policeman’.

when had the Red Scare being going on since

1947

what does HUAC stand for

House of Un-American Activities Commission

why was HUAC established

There were fears that communists had infiltrated America

when was HUAC established

to investigate those suspected of communist sympathies, and resumed its investigations of peopleby Congress in 1938

what was the purpose of HUAC

to investigate those suspected of communist sympathies

who was Pat McCarran

a democratic senator from Nevada & was a key figure in the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee which tried to persuade people that China had fallen because of secret communist infiltrators in the State Department

what did the USSR developing their own atomic bomb mean

the US lost its nuclear monopoly - the US was no longer the only state with nuclear weapons

what was the result of the USSR developing their own nuclear weapons

Truman pledged to develop a hydrogen bomb with as much as a thousand times the power of an atomic bomb

how many members did the US communist party have

never attracted more than 100,000 supporters and had fewer actual members

why did the US communist party attract fear

There was a fear that if such supporters were in influential positions they could do damage to the US

Although many of his claims had little/no evidence to support them, McCarthy greatly influenced public opinion which put pressure on…

foreign policy

McCarthy stated that Asia…

needed more support against communism than Europe did

 McCarthy used the … & the … as examples of Asia’s vulnerability to communism.

Chinese Civil War

Korean War

McCarthy stated that Truman had been …

too soft on communism in the East

McCarthy suggested that Truman’s refusal to intervene in the Chinese Civil war caused the…

Korean war

how did McCarthy influence Brtain

increasing fear of communism & a desire to cement the ‘special relationship’ between them & the USA `- feared that lack of action in Asia could lead to a weakened Europe

There were a series of … in the US, Britain & Canada. 

spy scandals

Klaus Fuchs

A British physicist was convicted of giving nuclear secrets to the USSR

Julius & Ethel Rosenburg

Scientists were executed for giving away atomic secrets

Alger Hiss

was accused of being communist in 1948 at his time at the State Department which he joined in 1936. He was found guilty of perjury in 1950.

what was the effect of the Alger Hiss trial

Led to widespread accusations of communism in high places as he was a prominent member of President Roosevelts cabinet & was present at the Yalta conference - and still had sympathy from Dean Acheson after his conviction = heighten belief that US leaders were tainted with communism

Hollywood was investigated in the … & …

1940s

1954

who were the Hollywood Ten

writers & artists fired & sentenced for refusing to testify

what was the effect of the 1954 investigation

produced a blacklist of 350 who could not be employed by the film industry

what did McCarthy do in 1954

began his investigation of the army

what turned the public against McCarthy

army investigations, & accusation of highly respected figures such as General George Marshall