What was the problems with McCarthysim?

Answer 1

The central problem is that it was un-American.

People have the right to their beliefs.

Persecuting people for their beliefs, their associations, and their imagined beliefs and associations is wrong.

Another book worth reading is a biography of Pete Seeger. There's even some transcript from his hearing of the time. His speech to the Committe (apty named Committee on Un-American Activities -- they were expert at un-Americanism) is one of the best things anyone ever said about it.

"It's highly improper to ask any American their philosophical, economic, social, or political beliefs, expecially under such compulsion as this." (Or something like that.)

The First Amenedment to the Constitution says that the government can not prevent people from speaking their minds, publishing their views, or associating with others for peaceful purposes.

That's exactly what McCarthyism was all about.

BTW, one of McCarthy's right-hand men was none other than Richard Nixon.

Answer 2

There were so many things wrong with McCarthyism that's it's impossible to give a short answer, but I think the key here is the "witch-hunt" atmosphere that surronded it. Without getting into the arguement about whether communism is good or bad or even whether it posed a threat to Western democracies, the reality is that certain members of the government, McCarthy being one of them, perceived it as a threat. The problem in dealing with a threat that you don't understand is to become paranoid. I like to compare it to being in a paintball or video game battle, you have hundreds of shots coming from all directions and you don't know where, so you just keep shooting even if you don't know where your targets are. Same thing with McCarthyism. They were so anxious to uncover potential communists that they would accuse anyone who had even the remotest connection to communist causes, whether or not the connection was real. Of course when you do that not only do innocent people get accused of wrong-doing (and their careers ruined in the process), but some real subversives went undetected - flew in under the radar. And lets face it, the real dangerous ones - whether we're talking about communists or the terrorists of today - are not stupid enough to advertise. So that was the main problem, that McCarthyism was a failed attempt to confront a perceived problem that was not fully understood, leading to irrational decisions and misplaced blame.

Oh, and Refugio should remember that McCarthy's counterpart in the Senate was Pat Macarron - a Democrat. He didn't get the press that McCarthy did since he didn't have the personality of McCarthy - and there is plenty of evidence to show that it was primarily J. Edgar Hoover - officially non-partisan, but a lifelong Democrat - who was ultimately running the show. So there's plenty of blame to go around.

Answer 3

There *were* many problems with McCarthyism, but perhaps this snippet will whet your appetite for further research.
Joe McCarthy was a central figure in the anti-Communist movement of the 50's. In his rigorous and paranoid pursuit of suspected Communists, he destroyed the careers of hundreds of individuals who, while having even less than a cursory connection with "fellow travellers," had no agenda to infiltrate, corrupt or otherwise overthrow the US Government. He vilified US citizens (J. Robert Oppenheimer, Father of the Atomic Bomb, for one, with the help of another wingnut, Lewis Strauss) for any connection they may have had with Communists or "sympathizers," and perhaps was the author (if not a frequent user) of the phrase, "card-carrying member of the CP." You will note that today, this phrase is used against those who belong to the ACLU, another organization concerned with social issues like fairness in legal disputes, employment, health care, etc. Eventually, McCarthy himself was vilified for being the whacky wingnut he was. Unfortunately, the damage left in his wake was profound and irreversible, not unlike the damage done by our current administration.

Answer 4

It was propoganda used to jail innocent people, revoke civil liberties and keep people in a panic-frenzy of fear. Sound familiar?

It was also used to inject Christian ideology into the government, to seperate us from "godless Communists."

Here's an excerpt from an article:

"In God We Trust" was put on all paper currency by an Act of Congress in 1955; the phrase was declared the national motto by an Act of Congress in 1956 and first appeared on paper currency in 1957.

The mid-to-late 1950s were a time of overt racism, religious discrimination, and political oppression in the United States. McCarthyism was at its feverous peak. The "red scare" had Congress and President Eisenhower acting in paranoid fits of illegal and unconstitutional activity. The FBI, under the militant J. Edgar Hoover, engaged in illegal spying campaigns against Americans.

During this period, the federal government acted more like an authoritarian dictatorship than a constitutional democracy. The government violated civil rights with impunity.

Adding "In God We Trust" to the US currency was an act of religious and political propaganda, allegedly to counter the threat of "godless communism."



BTW: Go back and replace "communist" with "terrorist," and "communism" with "Islam." Now isn't that scary? Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

Answer 5

You mean apart from spying, character assassination, bullying of witnesses, fabrication of evidence, destruction of careers, intimidation, bill-of-rights violations, and a legacy that persists in the Republican Party to this day? Hmm, let me think.

Oh yes. The other problem is that people like Ann Coulter still try to say that Joe was a hero!

In answer to Rob, I agree that there was plenty of blame to go around at the time. However, most Democrats learned from and rejected those methods, while the Republicans currently at the top apparently did not.

Answer 6

McCarthyism was a committee lead by Congressman McCarthy to investigate people who were accused of being Communists.

Many innocent people lost jobs and black balled from ever holding a good job. It ruined lives...... particularly in the entertainment industry. And they were harangued to give up names of people they knew were Communists.

It was a dark time in US history.

Answer 7

Paranoid witch hunt that destroyed the lives and careers of a multitude of people.

Answer 8

He went overboard with the accusations and it got old. Just like Jugo Chavez.

Answer 9

That it just went too far. Ronald Reagan was on the list of suspected communists. lol

Answer 10

Good question. Most people do not understand what really happened. I suggest you read:

http://www.amazon.com/Treason-Liberal-Treachery-Cold-Terrorism/dp/1400050324/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196707538&sr=1-1