what is the meaning of the word 'Mccarthyism'?

Answer 1

noun a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the U.S. government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. • figurative any similar practice that endorses the use of unfair allegations and investigations : he practiced McCarthyism long before there was a McCarthy.

Answer 2

McCarthyism is the term describing a period of intense anti-Communist suspicion in the United States that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. The term derives from U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican of Wisconsin. The period of McCarthyism is also referred to as the Second Red Scare, and coincided with increased fears of Communist influence on American institutions, espionage by Soviet agents, heightened tension from the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, the success of the Chinese Communist revolution (1949) and the Korean War (1950-1953).

Answer 3

That's an excellent question. Somehow, the media has managed to conjure up the notion of a crazy Senator accusing innocent people of being communists based on NO evidence, getting them blacklisted, and ruining their lives forever and ever. The truth is, Joe McCarthy was concerned with, not communists, but Soviet spies in the US gov't, particularly the State Deparment, and what he was MOST concerned about was that it seemed the Democrat Party wasn't particularly concerned about the possibility of Soviet spies in the US gov't.

Answer 4

There was a Senator named "Mc Carthy" who during the Cold War years in the '50's exposed many Communists who were prominent members of society. At that time Communism wasn't just a political party, it was considered by most to be an enemy just like the Nazi party. So Mc Carthy felt right in exposing these people and questioning them in Senate hearings. Many people's careers were ruined by the Mc Carthy hearings. Mc Carthy was given a bad name later on, and the term Mc Carthyism was used for his tactics of pointing his finger at various people and labelling them Communist. That word is carelessly used these days in political debates, and bares little resemblence to what really happened. Please see the link.

Answer 5

Nothing in politics works as easy as frightening people to think their world is about to come to its end, unless they do____________. (Fill in the Blank) Senator Joe McCarthy (R Wisconsin) was a coward at heart who took his fears and combined with political ambition went on a rant claiming the US Government was infested with covert Communists working on the orders of the Soviet Union. With the help of like minded Republicans and Conservative right wingers he set out to publicly confront and bully liberal US citizens under oath before cameras with wild ACCUSATIONS complete with set-up evidence telling half-truths or outright fabrications. His campaign stirred up the emotionally weak who desperately wanted to follow him as the authority representing the US Govt. He got away with plenty until he got what he was doing to others, who exposed his crooked ways leading to his censure in the Senate. He effectively was shut-up and left office. He died a few years later leaving behind a legacy called 'McCarthyism'.

Answer 6

actually, many of the suspects were in fact communists. Communism was a rabid and rapidly growing segment of our population then. There were many people who worked for Russia during those days that worked their way into our society. Many high profile people/actors/governmental people actually switched their allegiances to communism because it melded in with their socialist ideals. You must realize that we were fighting against Russia and its attempted domination of the world. This was our attempt to slow its spread and out those spies within our country.

Answer 7

There was a Senator named McCarthy,-look him up!
If you haven't been watching the political arena lately, you may not have noticed that the U.S. Congress last week handed President Bush a bill that, if signed, would spell the end of America as we know it.

Called the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the bill abandons the Geneva Convention (formed after Hitler's atrocities in WWII), legalizes the torture of U.S. citizens, suspends all civil rights for prisoners and allows the President to declare virtually anyone to be an "enemy combatant" -- artists, writers, scientists, protestors or anyone who does not agree with the pro-war stance of the current regime.

It would also retroactively grant blanket immunity to all U.S. military personnel who have committed war crimes under the Geneva Convention. Such immunity would extend to present and future war crimes as well. In other words, the United States will now officially harbor and support war criminals. In the context of international law, the United States is effectively declaring itself to be a criminal state that will respect no international law.

Just as frighteningly, the new Act would utterly nullify the courts and make it illegal for the judicial branch of government to interfere with the imprisonment and torture of anyone, thus affecting a dangerous power shift from the judicial branch of government to the executive branch.

Hitler followed the same strategy in centralizing his own power, and by nullifying the courts while taking over the media, he was able to propagandize his war, arrest all dissenters, and concentrate power in his own hands. The ultimate result was an unjust war and a humanitarian disaster that haunts the world to this day.

The United States is now firmly on the same path. These are dark times for our nation, and future historians will no doubt look upon this historic vote as the trigger that thrust the United States into a full-fledged police state, complete with secret arrests, government spying on citizens, and the mysterious "disappearance" of those who dared to speak out against the dictator.

A disgraced nation

What the U.S. Congress has done is beyond shameful. The rest of the world now sees the United States as a rogue nation, led by a power-grabbing madman who has, in six short years, taken us to the threshold of Police State tyranny, all while claiming to be protecting the Constitution.

Read the Military Commissions Act yourself! Here's a passage that nullifies the judicial branch:

"No court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any claim or cause of action whatsoever, including any action pending on or filed after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, relating to the prosecution, trial, or judgment of a military commission under this chapter, including challenges to the lawfulness of procedures of military commissions under this chapter."

And here's another passage that rebukes the Geneva Convention:

"No person may invoke the Geneva Conventions or any protocols thereto in any habeas corpus or other civil action or proceeding to which the United States, or a current or former officer, employee, member of the Armed Forces, or other agent of the United States is a party as a source of rights in any court of the United States or its States or territories."

It makes you wonder. What kind of evil nation would reject, with such legal precision, the humanitarian protections of the Geneva Convention? What kind of U.S. Attorney General would allow a new law to nullify the federal courts? And what kind of traitorous Senator or Congressperson would vote for such a law in the first place?

Even twelve Democrats voted for the bill.

Answer 8

Mc·Car·thy·ism (mə-kär'thē-ĭz'əm) pronunciation
n.

1. The practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence.
2. The use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods in order to suppress opposition.

Answer 9

Two good answers:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mccarthyism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mccarthyism

Want to take your teacher by surprise? Joseph McCarthy has been vindicated by history. It turns out he was right about communists infiltrating our government at every level. It's unfortunate that he's become synonymous with "witchhunt".

Answer 10

Unfounded smear campaigns, designed to ruin lives all to further a political agenda based on fear and suspicion.