9th February 1950: Joseph McCarthy starts the Second Red Scare claiming Communist infiltration скачать в хорошем качестве

9th February 1950: Joseph McCarthy starts the Second Red Scare claiming Communist infiltration

Joseph McCarthy was a Republican politician from Wisconsin who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1946. However, he only gained significant national attention after delivering a Lincoln Day speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, on 9 February 1950. In his address to the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club, McCarthy claimed to possess a list of 205 State Department employees with Communist affiliations. This assertion marked the start of what became known as McCarthyism or the Second Red Scare. McCarthy’s speech played into the existing fears of the Cold War era, fuelling suspicions of communist infiltration. His dramatic accusations set the stage for a wave of investigations, interrogations, and hearings by the separate House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The Second Red Scare was marked by an intensified focus on eradicating perceived communist influences. Loyalty oaths, blacklisting of suspected individuals, and a general atmosphere of fear swept through American society. McCarthy’s unsubstantiated claims nevertheless led to a climate of suspicion across sectors as diverse as government, entertainment, and academia. While McCarthy’s influence declined from the mid-1950s onwards, the broader repercussions of the Second Red Scare left an indelible mark on American history. It ruined the lives and careers of countless individuals, while the fear of being labelled a communist or sympathizer created an environment of self-censorship and conformity that persisted for years.