Joseph McCarthy

The Impact of McCarthyism in the United States

Introduction

Some historians eg William Chafe, believe that there is a traditional intolerance in the US that erupts periodically
Chafe sees the anti-communism of the late 1940s and early 1950s as an example of this ‘seasonal allergy’
Other historians see it as a reaction to the New Deal and all it stood for
Others see a fear of enemies all around which developed as a result of World War 2 and the Cold War, coming together with a fear of internal subversion
Some see it in psychological terms; the US coming to terms with a period of immense and frightening change and trying to find someone to blame for their fears
The anti-Communist fervour of the Truman and Eisenhower saw a massive attack on civil liberties in the US

The Effect of the Cold War on US Domestic History

US and USSR had been allies in WW2 but by the late 40s there was a growing fear of Communism and its expansion
1945 there was a raid on the offices of ‘Amerasia’, a Communist magazine revealed several State Department documents and one from an official in the US Navy
Then the Canadian government uncovered a spy network in the US and sending secrets to the Soviets
Americans knew that communism works for the overthrow other political systems
In Eastern Europe they had installed one Communist government after another and the US feared they would subvert America too
1945 the Communist Party of America had 80,000 members in a population of 140 million – took money and directions from Moscow

1947 National Security Act

Increased the fear of Communism and the USSR
The Act set up a Department Of Defence by joining together the Departments of the Navy, Army and Airforce
Created too the National Security Council to advise the President on security issues
That the Administration felt the need to pass such a measure, created a fear that there were weaknesses in US security
Truman played on this to get the Act through Congress

Executive Order 9835

J. Edgar Hoover the Director of the FBI told Truman that there was a problem with Communist plots in the US
So March 1947 Truman issued Executive Order 9835 to establish Federal Loyalty Boards
This allowed the removal of federal employees if ‘reasonable grounds exist for belief that the person involved is disloyal to the government of the United States’
Although there were safeguards, these were not very effective
A person could be considered a threat if they were members of any group the Attorney general considered subversive
Personal beliefs were as much grounds for dismissal as actions
1947-1951 3,000 forced to resign and 300 sacked – no evidence of subversion was ever found
Truman had set the tone for the next 5 years – accusations of Communist sympathy were as serious as being found guilty of actual activity
States and cities followed the government and employees had to take oaths of loyalty or lose their jobs
In Massachusetts a person could be put in prison for allowing a Communist to use their premises for a meeting
Other states passed their own subversion laws – there were 39 by 1952
A series of events heightened the alarm in America:
1949 the Soviets tested their 1^st atom bomb
1949 the fall of China to communism
1950 start of the Korean War
Race between US and USSR to develop the hydrogen bomb

The House Un-American Activities Committee

The HUAC was established in 1938 when the situation in Europe was tense
Its job was to monitor the activities of extremist groups on both the left and right in case they should present a threat to the US
The Committee was revived during the Cold War and held hearings from 1947
People were called before the Committee and asked ‘Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party’
They would be asked to give the Committee the names of other Communists
One of the most celebrated attacks was on Hollywood 1947-51
Hoover said the Communists had been targeting Hollywood since 1935
Those who refused to answer the Committee’s questions were cited for contempt
The Playwright Arthur Miller was questioned about meetings of Communist writers he’d attended 9 years before
He refused to name the others present so he was fined $500 and given a suspended prison sentence
This inspired him to write The Crucible, a play about the Salem witch-hunts in 1692
In total, 12 actors and writers were sent to prison
Others were blacklisted by Hollywood even when they weren’t found guilty
To be called before the Committee was enough to end a career
It was believed that the Constitution would protect people because the First Amendment guarantees the right of freedom of speech and free assembly
But in 1948 the Supreme Court held that Congress could override the First Amendment if national security was at stake ie people could be sent to prison for things they’d said
Some pleaded the 5^th Amendment which allows the right to silence if there was a danger of implicating oneself in a crime but -
The Committee treated ‘taking the 5^th’ as an admission of guilt
With the support of 3 branches of government HUAC was eroding the constitutional rights of US citizens
The hearings seemed to confirm that there were spies operating in the US

Alger Hiss

Worker at the State Department
New Dealer
With FDR at Yalta
Had been an aide to Secretary of State Dean Acheson
Suspected of treason when another witness named him as having belonged to a subversive organisation in the 1930s
Convicted of perjury and given 5 years prison (January 1950)

Klaus Fuchs

February 1950 arrested by the British for spying
Confessed and named others who worked at the Los Alamos Project where the atom bomb had been developed including David Greenglass
He, in turn, named his sister and brother-in-law Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
The Rosenbergs were arrested and convicted of spying and passing secrets to the Soviets
Sentenced to death and executed 1953
Decoding work by the Venona Project showed that Hiss and the Rosenbergs were working for Moscow

McCarren Internal Security Act

All Communist organisations had to register with the Attorney General
No Communist could work in a defence plant
A further act in 1952 strengthened its terms: Communists could be denied passports; foreigners suspected of subversion could be deported; in a national emergency the authorities could detain anyone classed as subversive
Truman vetoed it – felt it went too far
When it returned to Congress only 58 people in either House supported him
The fear and determination to take action was now widespread
Truman must take some of the blame
He had begun government sanctions against Communists and had played up the threat to get support for the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
Both Republicans and Democrats had emphasised their commitment to root out Communist spies to help their election prospects
This was a process that was to lead to McCarthyism

The Impact of Joseph McCarthy

US senator
Looking for an issue that would make his name
The anti-Communist crusade in the US seemed perfect
He didn’t start the ‘Second Red Scare’
He may have had information about spies in government which the Venona Project has confirmed existed but he was a liar, a drunk and a bully who ruined people’s lives, and damaged the reputation of the US
Gave a new word to the English language – McCarthyism
It had a huge impact
The Republicans could make the Democrats look bad with accusations of treason so they encouraged him
They’d been out of office for 20 years and now had an issue to attack the Democrats with
The Democrats responded by showing they were just as tough on Communism
Both parties gave McCarthy credibility by playing politics with the issue so they must share the blame for his activities
He found support from the public – USA not doing as well in the Cold War as Americans felt they should – especially in Korea
There had to be an answer – it had to be enemies in government
Some groups such as the Roman Catholic Church supported him not only because he was a Catholic but because Communism is atheistic
Also found support in ethnic groups such as the Poles, large numbers of whom had gone to America to escape Soviet oppression
McCarthy was a skilled politician and manipulator of the media, and there was a willing audience for his message

Critics

1950, the Tydings Committee looked into his accusations and called him a ‘fraud and a hoax’
Although McCarthy was skilled in gaining and maintaining press attention, most of the press was critical of him
HUAC investigations continued and McCarthy’s net spread wider
People were afraid to confront him in case they were accused too
1952 election brought Eisenhower to the Presidency
Many hoped he’d stop the ‘witch hunts’
Ike refused ‘to get down in the gutter with that guy’ – believed if he ignored McCarthy he’d eventually go away
Ike seemed to be a little afraid of him – dropped a paragraph from a speech he was about to make in which he would defend McCarthy’s latest target, George Marshall
Ike had let down a personal friend, something he later regretted
Ike was worried what an out-and-out attack would do to the Republicans in Congress where he had powerful support
He didn’t want to divide his Party
In one way he was right because as his accusations grew more extravagant he began to be taken less seriously

Why McCarthyism was in decline by the mid-1950s

Massive damage done to ordinary people by the anti-Communist hysteria
Hundreds lost their jobs due to the blacklists or for having been called before the Committee
300 teachers sacked in New York for example
Firms were blacklisted too
1950-2 117 people cited for contempt of Congress and put in prison – more than in the whole of the previous century
Not just Communists targeted – radicals could be accused
Traditionally left-wing organisations dropped demands for social change and concentrated on being pressure groups
Politicians were called ‘red’ if they wanted a radical agenda
The State Department which, at the time, had some of the most talented men in US history lost hundreds
Their loss meant that the US followed policies that were not necessarily best for America eg the ‘Asia desk’ lost most of the people who were experts on that area
This had devastating consequences for US policy towards Vietnam
Outside the US European youth became very anti-American as their actions seemed to confirm much of what the USSR was saying about America

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