in what ways was McCarthy able to maintain the fear of communism?

Answer 1

He had neighbours and friends spy on each other. If they didn't agree to do it, he held some threat over them. He used torture and blackmail and propaganda. It was a classic Witch Hunt full of ignorance, paranoia and despotism.

Answer 2

In some ways Joe McCarthy's ghost is still able to maintain the fear that some Americans feel of Commumism.

Although he's been dead for over fifty years - his influence is still felt today. Look on Yahoo! Answers for answers on questions to the war in Vietnam, questions on Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, questions on Reagan and Carter, or anything on China - and you will see Joe's hands reaching out from the grave gripping the minds of unsuspecting Americans as they shake in their boots from the "Red Menace."

Answer 3

Continuous witchunting propogated the belief that there was an active threat, and it also prevented opposition as he denounced anyone who spoke against them and they risked jail or the loss of their livelihoods

the HUAC in conjunction of the FBI was able to track down and use illegal practises to detain suspected communists, adding to the long list of published people who were thought to be communists by the general population

he used his amazing oratorical skills to play on people's existing fears and supsicions and pushed the idea of 'attack from within'. previously people were scared of outside forces i.e. the japanese, but the idea of communists wroking silently among them was terrifying, and mccarthy exploited this.

in a similar way to hitler, he relied strongly upon people reporting eachother as suspected communists. these people could be neighbours, colleagues or even your own children. this kept the fear alive as people didn't know who to trust, and were suspicious of even thier own families. Mccarthy was able to add to his list of suspects, suggesting to the population that there were huge amounts of communists working to destroy america internally.