McCarthy and McCarthyism - The Communist Threat to the USA

Hostile, intimidating, and unfazed by the truth, Joe McCarthy single-handedly whipped 1950s USA into a frenzy of anti-communist fear and paranoia.

It was near the start of the Cold War: the Soviet Union had surged ahead of America in the arms race, and Americans everywhere feared the existence of ‘Reds Under the Beds’ within their own communities. In stepped Joseph McCarthy to astonish the country with an astounding statement that confirmed their worst fears.

McCarthy exposes the Reds

It was the evening of February 9, 1950, at a Republican Women’s Club gathering in West Virginia, when 41-year-old McCarthy reported that he had in his grip a list of 205 names of State Department employees known to be members of the American Communist Party. (Four weeks later, McCarthy had revised the number down to fifty-seven).

These informants, said McCarthy, were passing on data to the Soviet Union: “The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because the enemy has sent men to invade our shores, but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest nation on earth has had to offer.”

And so began the time of the Communist witch-hunts. The start of the Korean War four months later, with the Communist North invading the democratic South Korea, confirmed the aggressive nature of global communism.

McCarthy’s rise

A Republican, Joseph McCarthy slandered his political foes on his way up the political pole, accusing them in turn of senility, financial irregularity, draft-dodging, and war profiteering. But when his own career came under threat with claims that he had lied about his role during the war, McCarthy played on American’s dread of Communism, and overnight became the most talked about politician in America.

Red Hollywood

Hollywood, already under suspicion, became the target of McCarthy’s intense scrutiny. From the hard-working novice to the stars, actors were interrogated. Those who admitted their crimes could wipe the slate clean by confessing, begging forgiveness and providing lists of other wrongdo-ers. One screenwriter named 162 Hollywood actors, writers or directors who were Communist, ex-Commie, or supportive of the communist cause. Many were purged, not to see work again for years. Others went overseas rather than face their turn in the McCarthy spotlight.

The film studios, anxious to win back the respect of the American people, produced a series of propagandist films, “I Married a Communist”, or “I Was A Communist for the FBI” (which earned the 1951 Oscar for Best Documentary).

Joe and Ilk

Republican President hopeful, Dwight Eisenhower, disliked McCarthy but needed his support to win the 1952 election. McCarthy had the audacity to accuse George C. Marshall, originator of the post-World War Two Marshall Plan, of having communist sympathies and being “part of a conspiracy so immense, an infamy so black, as to dwarf any in the history of man.” Eisenhower planned to defend Marshall but, worried at losing McCarthy’s support at such an important time, failed to do so.


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