McCarthyism

by Jennifer Perea, Dulce Guzman, Veronica Lara, and

Katherine Morales

What is McCarthyism?

• the act of unscrupulously accusing people of disloyalty (as by saying that they were communists)

• Basically, McCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of

making accusations  of disloyalty or treason without proper regard for evidence

Cause and Effect

The Public's Fear

However, McCarthy used the public's fear to increase his

own political standing

O Due to the immense expansion of communism and the Korean war the public's fear was renewed

Who is Joseph McCarthy?

O Joseph McCarthy was born on a farm in Appleton, Wisconsin in November 14, 1908

O He was 5th of nine childrenO His parents were devoted Roman

CatholicsO During the WWII Joseph joined the

U.S. MarinesO http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.u

k/USAmccarthy.htm

Continued...O He accussed several communist of doing things they

weren't suppose to.O He made up numerous lies in order to remove communist

from the senate and other important positions they upheld.O  McCarthy's next target were books that were in his opinion

anti-American books.O His researchers looked into the Overseas Library Program

and discovered 30,000 books by "communists, pro-communists, former communists and anti-communists."

O After the publication of this list, these books were removed from the library shelves.

O President Eisenhower and the senate finally realized at one point that McCarthy was taking it to far.

O They took a vote and drove him out of office loosing  his chair in the Senate.

Continued...O Now that he had no power base the media

lost interest in his tyrants, and they would not publish anything he said.

O McCarthy, who had been drinking heavily for many years, was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver.

O An alcoholic, he was unable to take the advice of doctors and friends to stop drinking.

O Joseph McCarthy died in the Bethesda Naval Hospital on May 2, 1957.

O As the newspapers reported, "McCarthy had drunk himself to death."

Measures Taken by the United States Government:

McCarran Act (Internal Security Act of 1950)-O this bill was passed by Congress which required the

Communist Party and Communist organization to register with the five-person Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB)

O the theory behind this was that once the communist groups registered, their publicity would destroy their political effectiveness

O President Truman on the other hand believed that this would be to their benefit because "it would actually weaken our existing internal security measures"

O He also saw it as "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798"

O In the end the Supreme Court judged it as illegal because it went against the 5th Amendment which deals with self-incrimination

Smith Act (Alien Registration Act of 1940)

O This law passed by Congress made it illegal for any person to: 1. "knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise, or teach the duty,

necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government of the United States by the force of violence, or by the assasination of any officer of such government."

2. "print, publish, edit, issue, circuate, sell, distribute, or publicly display any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any govt. in the U.S. by violence."

3. "to roganize or help to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any govt. in the U.S. by force or violence, or to be or become a member of, or affiliate with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purpose thereof."

O This law became effective against Communist organizations or people like Joseph McCarthy in judging them as illegal.

Fear's role...O The public's fear

turned into a mass hysteria in which people were robbed of their rights and their position in the community

Connection...O During the Salem

witch trialsO Many people were

accused of being witches without any real evidence

O They could have been accused by others simply for revenge or other unjustifiable reasons such as jealousy

Questions?/VocabularyO What was the McCarran Act?O What was the Smith Act?O Define communismO Define McCarthyism 

Work CitedO 1957, By. "McCarthyism." Wikipedia, the Free

Encyclopedia. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism.

O "Joseph McCarthy : Biography." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthy.htm.

O Klingaman, William K. "McCarran Act, Smith Act." Encyclopedia of the McCarthy Era. New York: Facts on File, 1996. 194-197+. Print.