McCarthy And His Committee's Extreme Accusations example essay topic

Passion or Extremity? Deep Passion leads to extremity. Such as in the case of Senator Joseph McCarthy who instilled fear into the minds of the Americans with his deep rooted beliefs in anti-Communist. During 1950-1954, Senator McCarthy disrupted the United States with his HUAC (House of Un-American Activity Committee) Hearings.

These hearings brought government workers, college professors, playwrights and Hollywood screenwriters, actors, artists, musicians, gays, Jews and anyone with a goatee under suspicion. These actions proved in many cases to be outrageous and extreme. During McCarthy's early days he was just an unknown senator from Wisconsin, wanting to be in the public eye. During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator McCarthy declared he had possession of a list proving that the State Department was infested with communists.

The media then immediately centered on McCarthy and his unexpected accusations. Shortly after, a Senate committee was immediately appointed to overview and validate these accusations. Because the United States was already in the middle of a Communist witch-hunt, McCarthy blended in as just another activist. With the Communist take over in Russia with Stalin and in China with Mao Tse Tung, it seemed that America was about to show itself as conservative. At this time, the Republican Party had control of the Congress, talk stirred about atomic secrets being stolen by Russian communists, and President Truman restarted the HUAC to stop the fears of the American people.

Investigations were started to seek out Communist activity in organized labor, the Federal government, and especially Hollywood. Hollywood was hit the hardest with the accusations of Communism. Many of the actors and writers moved to either Europe or Mexico to avoid being jailed. Because of the accusations, a group of Hollywood liberals established the "Committee for the First Amendment". The CFA went to Washington to support their Hollywood but in the end denied all involvement with them because they felt they were being used. Many people in Hollywood had lost their jobs because of the HUAC meetings.

President Truman at a Democratic meeting backed the Anti-Communist feelings to gain political support. It became common for people to take Anti-Communist oaths when they worked in the government. This evidence just proves the stir caused by McCarthy and his committee's extreme accusations. In the end, McCarthyism left its mark on the United States government and especially on its people. If the public was able express their opinions about the government without their fears about being labeled a Communist, an event such as the Vietnam War may have not taken place.

The cultural and academic life was also affected. T.V. shows were bland and non-threatening, as were movies. The United States tried to isolate itself from Communism and liberal views. It was not until the 1960's with the Civil Rights Movement and the full-blown Vietnam War, which the liberal ideas began to be accepted. Looking back on McCarthy's actions it seems Senator McCarthy was looking for attention and made accusations about the State Department having Communist-personnel.

Many of the time, there was no proof of this and he never mentioned how many people were involved. He, however, got media-attention from the story. People react to the fear of the unknown in strange ways. With the McCarthyism, the fear of Communism made people fearful of anyone with independent ideas, different thoughts, or anything out of the ordinary. Throughout history, people have been fearful of being different and the punishment for being that way. In Nazi Germany, the Jews were afraid of being caught, because they were not considered part of the "supreme race".

Before the Civil Rights Movement, there was a fear by African Americans of seeking their individual rights and freedoms. Since McCarthyism has died and the country has advanced out of the "dark ages". People have now learned that they can express their own beliefs with out fearing persecution..