2024年4月11日发(作者：)

What is McCarthyism?

【一提起麦卡锡主义，我的first impression是anti-communist，anti-democratic practices，political

persecution】

 Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957)

He was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin who is infamous for his attacks on suspected

communists without sufficient evidential support. His practice of accusing Americans who have no

evidence of affiliation with Communists became termed McCarthyism.

 Definition【This is definition from Wikipedia】

McCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or

treason without proper regard for evidence.

【Actually, it is sort of a bully in politics.】

【讲一下事件(开头啊，结尾啊)Particularly during the early 1950s, Senator McCarthy claimed that

communist spies and supporters were infiltrating the federal government and spreading across the

nation. Due to the onset of the Cold War, many Americans, believed him.】

 Wheeling Speech (in 1950)

【This speech can be seemed as the beginning of McCarthyism. On February 9, 1950, he

entered the national limelight with a speech before a group of Republican women in Wheeling,

West Virginia, in which he proclaimed: "I have here in my hand a list of 205--a list of names

that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party

and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department."】

 Army-McCarthy Hearings (in 1954)

【In 1954, the famous Army-McCarthy hearings took place, in which McCarthy lost much of his

popularity. The event was publicized through the media, and the nation was able to witness

McCarthy's lack of evidence against the accused Communists. By the end of 1954 the Senate

voted to censure McCarthy for his unprofessional ways. The hearings went on for 36 days and

were viewed on live television across America. It was estimated that 20 million Americans

viewed the hearings. During the hearings, McCarthy had shown himself to be an uncontrollable

and embarrassing extremist who had to be taken down. Though McCarthy was not found guilty

of his charges, millions of Americans saw McCarthy's true character:"bullying reckless, and

dishonesty." The significance of the hearings was the decline in McCarthy's

the Democrats regained the control of Congress in the 1954 midterm elections, McCarthy’s

power and influence diminished still further. and hedied in 1957】

【Next, let’s come to the key point: the impact of McCarthyism.首先, I have to say, there are some

overlapping par, even so, I divided it into 3 aspects in order to have a clear train of thought. they

are political impact, social impact , cultural and intellectual impact.】

Political Impact

(1) The American left (The most obvious casualty)

【?美国版文革,

The institutional toll is clear. The Communist party, already damaged by internal problems,

dwindled into insignificance and all the organizations associated with it disappeared. I

mean the decline or even the disappearance of the left wing. ?With their demise, the

nation lost the institutional network that had created a public space where serious

alternatives to the status quo could be presented. Moreover, with the disappearance of a

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vigorous movement on their left, moderate reform groups were more exposed to

right-wing attacks and thus rendered less effective.】

(2) Politicians (Eisenhower)

【At the peak of his power, McCarthy managed to strike fear in many politicians. Many

Senators were afraid to speak out against the man for fear he would attack them as being

a communist and ruin their career. Even Eisenhower, candidate for presidential campaign

in 1952, was afraid to praise Secretary of State Marshall during a campaign in Marshall’s

home state because Marshall and McCarthy were foes.】

(3) The McCarran Act

【In 1950, Congress passed the Internal Security Act, also known as the McCarran Act. It

required registration of all "Communist organizations," strengthened existing espionage

laws, amended immigration and naturalization laws to restrict the entry into the U.S. of

presumed subversives, and made it possible for the government to detain "suspected"

spies and saboteurs in times of emergency. Truman signed the McCarran Act into law in

1952. Liberals in Congress rushed to prove their loyalty by voting for laws like the

McCarran Act, which outlawed the Communist Party. And they wanted McCarthy on their

side.】

【The impact of the McCarthy era was equally apparent in international affairs. Let’s have a look for

American foreign policy towardsEast Asia.尤其中国】

(4) Foreign policy: East Asia, China

【The fear and hatred of Communism McCarthy sent across the nation was so strong,

therefore the fear of communism at home led to an extreme distrust of all Communist

countries across the globe. The U.S took a very rigid policy towards East Asia. Relations

were so bad in East Asia that the U.S did not even recognize the People's Republic of China

until Nixon became president.】

【The political repression of the McCarthy period fostered the growth of the national security

state and facilitated its expansion into the rest of civil society. In the name of protecting the

nation from communist infiltration, federal agents attacked individual rights and extended state

power into movie studios, universities, labor unions, and many other ostensibly y independent

institutions. Then I’ll talk about its social impact.】

Social Impact

(1)Public fear led to a renewed Red Scare

【社会动荡McCarthy manipulated the minds of many Americans. He made so many believe that

Communists were entering the country surrounding us waiting to take over the U.S.】

(2) Social policy(the New Deal)

【In the realm of social policy, for example, McCarthyism have aborted much-needed reforms.

As the nation's politics swung to the right after World War II, the federal government

abandoned the unfinished agenda of the New Deal, along with other health reforms that would

help middle and lower class America. Measures like national health insurance, a social reform

embraced by the rest of the industrialized world, simply fell by the wayside. The left liberal

political coalition that might have supported health reforms, but with the disappearance of the

liberals, American social policies swung back over to the right.】

(3)Attacked individual rights: Americans/Chinese

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【It destroyed the lives of many innocent American citizens. State governments, colleges and

universities, trade unions and civic organizations purged workers and members who refused to

sign loyalty oaths. The repression reached absurd levels. People applying for licenses to fish in

New York reservoirs had to sign loyalty oaths. During this period, thousands of people lost their

jobs and hundreds were sent to prison.中国人Chinese were suspected as "spies". They were not

allowed to send money to relatives in China. And banned to talk openly about their homeland, may

be accused because of "showing sympathy for the Communist Party"】

(4)Labor movement

【Organized labor was "the most important institutional victim of the Cold War red scare,"

McCarthyism weakened the entire labor movement. As a result, McCarthyism boosted the

control of conservative business unionists in the labor movement. It constricted labor's

organizing agenda and weakened its confidence to take on the bosses. Labor's long decline in

American life began with the triumph of McCarthyism. We are still paying the price

hyism further contributed to the attenuation of the reform impulse by helping to

divert the attention of the labor movement. McCarthyism drew attention away from helping the

people, towards futile searches for Communist searches in the liberally driven labor movement.】

【The nation's cultural and intellectual life suffered as well.】

Cultural and Intellectual Impact

(1) Film industry no controversial issues

【McCarthy was convinced that there were Communists in Hollywood, and developed the

Hollywood Blacklist, or the Hollywood Ten./ In 1947, HUAC(非美活动委员会the House

Un-American Activities Committee) launched its notorious investigation of the entertainment

industry, with a particular focus on Hollywood. The appalling practice of blacklisting writers,

directors and actors suspected of having ties to the CP began in this year. A group of ten

screenwriters and directors who were summoned to testify before the committee (the

"Hollywood Ten") refused to answer questions about their own political allegiances and those

of their colleagues. The blacklist contributed to the reluctance of the film industry to

grapple with controversial social or political issues. 】

(2) Consensus historians

【Consensus historians pushed that formulation into the past and described a nation that had

never experienced serious internal conflict. It took the civil rights movement and Vietnam

War to bring reality back in.】

(3) 卓别林奥本·海姆

【McCarthyism is often remembered as an attack on the creativity and free speech rights of

academics.】

Conclusion

 McCarthyism was a mistake

【Effective propaganda, convincing speeches, and influence from the Cold War made

McCarthy so famous. Or we can say that McCarthyism is nothing but a product of its time.

McCarthyism not only destroyed the lives and careers of many Americans but also the image

of the country. the words "McCarthy" and "McCarthyism" have stood for a shameful period in

American political history.】

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It affected all levels of society

The lesson and reflection

【The lesson of McCarthyism is that a politician can build a career by exploiting and

aggravating anxietis in society. The American public has to examine the statements of

politicians carefully to weed out the untruths.】

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