McCarthyism

On November 14, 1908, Joseph McCarthy was born into a Roman Catholic family as the fifth of nine children in

 Appleton, Wisconsin. McCarthy’s downfall finally began in October of 1953, when he started to investigate 

“communist infiltration into the military.” This was the final straw for then president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who 

realized that McCarthy’s movement needed to be stopped. Reporters, Drew Pearson included, and other critics 

soon hopped on board, publishing unflattering articles about Joseph McCarthy and his methods of seeking out 

the supposed communists in America. He lost his position as chairmanship on the Government Committee on 

Operations of the Senate and in December of 1954, a censure motion, which is a formal reprimand from a 

powerful body, was issued condemning his conduct with the vote count at 67 to 22. He created McCarthyism to 

gain more followers. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason 

without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair 

investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism." The term has its origins in 

the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from 1950 to 1956 and 

characterized by heightened political repression against communists. As well as a fear campaign spreading 

paranoia of their influence on America and espionage by Soviets agents. The term McCarthyism is also now 

used more generally to describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as attacks on the character or 

patriotism of political adversaries. During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being 

communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning 

before government panels, committees and agencies. Many people were falsely accused of being communists, 

hundreds of americans lost there jobs and were interigated harshly. McCarthy died in May of 1957 after being 

diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to heavy drinking. The resounding effects of McCarthy’s era symbolized 

the pure terror of communism during the time due to the Cold War.