6) The rise of McCarthyism

• McCarthyism


  The rise of
• Reasons for the Red Scare


  • American hatred of the Communist ideology
  • American fear of Soviet military strength and Communist expansionism
  • Republican political ambition and Truman's reaction to it
• House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)


  Set up in the 1930s to investigate ideological threats, made permanent and given increased power in 1945
• HUAC's actions


  1. Began a hysterical pursuit of Communists in the entertainment industry (e.g. the Hollywood 10)

  2. Exposed Alger Hiss, a Communist spy in the State Department
• Truman's actions


  Contributed to and exacerbated the Red Scare
• Truman's actions


  • Scared the American people with his Truman Doctrine speech
  • Ordered an investigation into the loyalty of federal employees
  • Allowed the Justice Department and J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to investigate hundreds of thousands of suspected Communists
• Senator Joseph McCarthy's declaration


  There were Communists in the State Department
• Why McCarthy had such an impact

  • The Red Scare was already underway
  • The Soviet atomic bomb test and the fall of China to Communism in late 1949 made Americans even more fearful
  • There were several high-profile spy scandals in early 1950
  • Other Republicans supported him because accusing the Democrats of laxity and/or failure on national security was a vote-winner
  • McCarthy's accusations about Communists in the State Department seemed believable after Alger Hiss
  • McCarthy's accusations were vague, exaggerated and hard to disprove
  • Democrats were slow to defend each other lest they too were attacked
  • McCarthy had a good relationship with the press
  • McCarthy chaired a Senate investigatory committee