MCCARTHYISM

WHAT IS MCCARTHYISM

• McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence or treason

MCCARTHYISM CONTINUED

• In 1947 Joseph McCarthy ordered a background check on all civilians who worked for the government. McCarthy wanted to ensure there were no communist spies working in the government.

MCCARTHY MAKES NEWS

• On February 20, 1950, McCarthy addressed the Senate and made a list of dubious claims against suspected communists. He cited 81 cases that day. He skipped several numbers, and for some cases repeated the same flimsy information. He proved nothing, but the Senate called for a full investigation. McCarthy was in the national spotlight. (ushistory.org)

WHAT FUELED THE RED SCARE

• As the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States intensified in the late 1940s and early 1950s, hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. became known as the Red Scare. (Communists were often referred to as “Reds” for their allegiance to the red Soviet flag). (history.com)

BLACKLISTING (ACCORDING TO MARIAM WEBSTER)

• to say that a person, company, etc., should be avoided or not allowed to do something : to place (someone or something) on a blacklist

HOLLYWOOD BLACK LISTING

• Famous people accused of being communists had their Hollywood careers ended during the red scare.

THE HOLLYWOOD TEN

• In October 1947, 10 members of the Hollywood film industry publicly denounced the tactics employed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), an investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, during its probe of alleged communist influence in the American motion picture business. These prominent screenwriters and directors, who became known as the Hollywood Ten, received jail sentences and were banned from working for the major Hollywood studios. (history.com)

NOT EVEN FAMOUS PEOPLE AVOID INTERROGATION

• Alvah Bessie, screenwriter Herbert Biberman, screenwriter and director Lester Cole, screenwriter Edward Dmytryk, director Ring Lardner Jr., screenwriter John Howard Lawson, screenwriter Albert Maltz, screenwriter Samuel Ornitz, screenwriter Adrian Scott, producer and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, screenwriter

JOHN EDGAR HOOVER

• "The teachings of Communism are directed toward one final result—world revolution and the triumph of international Communism. The achievement of this aim would mean the violent and complete destruction of the American Government." -J. Edgar Hoover

HOOVER THE ANTI COMMUNIST

• Following World War II, Hoover became a zealous and high-profile anti-Communist. He focused on the putative threat of Communist subversion. The FBI played a significant role in the investigation of alleged Communist sympathizers and spies in the federal government. Hoover led the bureau in a thoroughgoing string of investigations intended to snuff out subversive activities not only within the government, but the private sector as well.

COMMUNIST CONTROL ACT

• The Communist Control Act is a piece of United States federal legislation, signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower on 24 August 1954, which outlawed the Communist Party of the United States and criminalized membership in, or support for the Party or "Communist-action" organizations and defined evidence to be considered by a jury in determining participation in the activities, planning, actions, objectives, or purposes of such organizations.

SOURCES

• mariamwebster.com
• history.com
• ushistory.org