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[Opinions] | [Origins] | [Process] | [Effects] |
| Opinions
The social phenomenon known as McCarthyism has been described as many things, and opinions about it are mixed, even within the American population itself; from “illiberal, repressive, obscurantist, anti-intellectual, totalitarian, or merely swinish will” to “To many Americans, McCarthyism is Americanism.” (Fulton Lewis, Jr, radio commentator and McCarthy muezzin), but perhaps the most accurate and neutral definition would be that it is “the persecution of people without any proper cause, who are forced to conform in order to avoid public condemnation. Yet perhaps we may best arrive at a better definition of our own if we were to look to the original McCarthyism. [Top] |
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Origins
Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy, for whom this trend is named after,
was an obscure and unknown Republican from Wisconsin, until he came into
the public eye with his claims of conspiracy, espionage and treason within
the Senate. Until then, America was plagued with the fear of Communist
activity: it was rumoured widely that the Russians had stolen plans for
the atom bomb from America and that the Chinese Communists had acquired
control through ruthless means. It was not until Senator McCarthy started
strongly advocating the slogan, “Better dead than red” did a crusade against
Communists exploded in the States. Backed strongly by fellow senators frightened
of being accused as right-wing or Communist-sympathisers, Senator McCarthy’s
movement against Communism quickly gained momentum and he himself came
to an unofficial seat of power.
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Process
Senator McCarthy went about the business of eliminating “all possible
threats” quickly. He organised committees to investigate “Un-American Activities”,
heading the Committee of the Whole; he announced that there were at least
205 Communists within the Senate, and that he and the Secretary of State
knew all of their names; he censured committees formed by senators who
opposed him, and then locked away these senators for treason. However,
all this power was soon to be discovered to have been used in matters of
Senators McCarthy’s personal interest, and that the description of “demagogue”
had truth in it after all. He usurped executive and judicial authority,
held two presidents captive in their conduct of the nation’s affairs and
lived in constant contempt of the Congress of which he was member.
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Effects
McCarthyism as a whole is not thought to have any positive effects
on the political, social and economical structure of the United States
of America. In fact, it has caused many problems which are constantly resurfacing
today. However, it is speculated that its chief damage lies in what it
caused not to have happened, rather than what it actually directly caused.
Social reforms were not implemented, diplomatic initiatives were not taken,
labour unions that were not formed and literature, film and music that
was not created for fear of the trouble it might have caused.
1. The Communist Party
This is the most obvious of the victims, as the left wing rapidly
lost support and dwindled into insignificance. Many of the causes it advocated
were lost, like labour unions, national health insurance and educational
grants. More importantly, the fall of the left wing meant American politics
would forever lose its public space where serious alternatives to the status
quo could be presented. Also, with the vigorous left wing gone, moderate
reform groups instantly became the targets of the right wing, exposed to
its attacks and became ineffective.
2. Labour
The labour movement, previously backed by the Communists, were
now divided and weakened. The attenuation of the reform impulse was caused
partially by the diversion as a result of McCarthyism, from external organising
to internal politicking, a choice that would ultimately prove fatal as
both the Senate and the Congress were now biased against Communist-affiliated
organisations.
3. Culture and the Intellectuals
Censorship quickly became the downfall of information transfer
and awakening within the American population. Unlike Ireland during its
Civil War, scenes of discrimination, violence and the real situation were
replaced by “family programming”, a tool used by McCarthy to further propagate
his cause.
Cold War liberals, blissfully unaware of the dirty underground scene in politics, celebrated what they claimed to be “the end of ideology”, where they stated that the United States of America had developed a political system so pragmatic and functional that the left-wing ideologists were no longer needed at all. Historians reported prosperity and denied America’s true history, proclaiming it “a nation that had never experienced serious internal conflict”.
4. Abuse of Power
Even after the official fall of McCarthyism, a style of leadership
began to manifest itself in the FBI’s COINTELPRO program of harassing political
dissenters, Watergate-related felonies of the Nixon administration and
Iran-Contra.
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