Joseph R. McCarthy
Joseph R. McCarthy • Born in Wisconsin• Served in WWII• Ran for that senate in 1946– Accused his opponent of being “communistically
inclined”• Never provided any proof of this
– Made very intense speeches• Won the election• Used the same method to gain popularity in
the senate
McCarthyism• Accused many high ranking officials of either
being a communist or covering up communists–Secretary of State Dean Acheson and former army chief and sec. of state George Marshall
• Most Americans believed his accusations–Still did not provide any proof
• McCarran Act was passed out of fear–Required all Communist organizations to register with the attorney general and report their records• Truman vetoed, but congress overrode the vote
McCarthyism
• McCarthy gained more power and became the leader of the Senate subcommittee of investigations– Allowed him to bring communists to court and testify
• He used flimsy evidence and irrational fears – Created a witch hunt
• His tactics became known as McCarthyism– Would badger witnesses and not allow them to answer
• People allowed this to happen in fear of being accused themselves
McCarthyism
• In 1954 McCarthy started to target the US Army in his Witch hunt
• The army instead did their own investigation and found no communists
• Unhappy with these results, McCarthy took the US army to court– The trials were televised so all America could see
• Army Lawyer Joseph Welch went up against McCarthy
Army-McCarthy hearings
• McCarthyism was on full display for all of America to see
• After McCarthy accused one of Welch’s employees, Welch had had enough– Welch attacked McCarthy and his tactics
• America was fed up • McCarthy was censured and denied any real
power in the senate• McCarthyism had ended
Political Cartoons• What big problem is this cartoon concerned
with? • What are the key symbols in the cartoon and
how are they distorted? • How do the distortions help the cartoon make
its point? • Use your background knowledge of the topic• Are there any words?• How would the opposing view see this
cartoon?
Today’s Assignment
• You will be creating a political cartoon that deals with an aspect of chapter 21.
• You can choose from The Red Scare, McCarthy, or popular culture during the Cold War.
• It must be neat, colored and explained on the back of the paper. Remember, political cartoons tell people what YOU think of an issue.
• Have fun!
Tips for Making an Awesome Political Cartoon
• Exaggerated expressions• Symbols• Labels, titles, and captions help the viewer
understand what is going on• Relationships of the objects in the picture• Analogies