Joseph McCarthy
"While I cannot take the time to name all the men in the State Department who have been named as members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring, I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department"
Senator Joseph McCarthy, speaking in West Virginia, 1950
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Questions
- Why was there a fear of communism and communist subversion after World War II?
- Were these fears justified?
- Who did McCarthy accuse of having communist sympathies?
- How were the accused investigated? What happened to them?
- What restrictions on freedom of speech did McCarthyism lead to?
- How did McCarthyism end?
- Why were the Army-McCarthy hearings important?
- How is McCarthyism viewed today, and why?
