Red Scare: Rise of McCarthyism
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Hysteria, pandemonium, chaos, words that attempt to describe the state of America during the horrific period known to history as the “Red Scare”. A coup of power in American life was recently completed in Senator Joseph McCarthys rise to national attention as “judge, jury, prosecutor, castigator, and press agent, all in one.” (Army-McCarthy Hearings) The Wisconsin Republican Senator was successfully trampling the State Department and other federal agencies, filling each days headlines with new accusations of Communists inside American society. Perhaps the biggest change in communication, the television, was just now coming into trend. Notably successful in spreading both news and hysteria, it would prove to be crucial during McCarthys reign and his subsequent downfall. McCarthys unceasing avalanche of panic came at a time where many Americans were indeed concerned with or totally in fear of Communism. Less than a year after the conclusion of combat in Korea, the American nation was increasingly on the lookout for possible “Reds”. (Joe McCarthy) The recent electrocutions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage during World War II had hardened Americans beliefs about espionage. Americas once kind neighborhoods had been transformed into hardened trench lines full of false accusations and neighbors turning one another in as possible Communist infiltrators. (Morgan, 290)
In reality, no American was safe, not even the highest government officials from the grasp of Senator McCarthy. Yet the saving grace of America lay in a quiet yet firm Boston lawyer, Mr. Joseph Nye Welch. In the spring of 1954, McCarthy commenced the now famous Army-McCarthy hearings, during which he made charges of lax security at a top-secret military facility. It was during these crucial hearings when Welch boldly stood his ground against the perceivably unstoppable Senator. Therefore, due to Welchs stand against McCarthy America was liberated from McCarthys reign. The days following the hearings conclusion resulted in an eruption of support and gratitude for Welchs work well done. (Oshinsky, 170) McCarthys once mighty engine of power and control suddenly run out of steam.
Before the important proceedings of June 9th 1954 can be analyzed, it is beneficial to understand the general atmosphere of America during the era of McCarthyism. In full swing was the practice of bomb drills, construction of the hydrogen bomb, and fear of “Godless communism”. (Schrecker, 198) It was under these circumstances that Senator McCarthy thrived and rose to immense power in the nations eyes. (Cohen, 24)
Internationally speaking, the United States of America was in a constant state of action. The “Domino Theory” was the main reasoning behind Americas outpouring of troops, supplies, and money to nations on the verge of collapse to hated Communism. With the recent ending of the War of Liberation in China ending in the Communists prevailing, America was determined to ensure no other beneficial foreign powers succumbed to the “red side”. (Joe McCarthy) The Korean had also taken its toll on our nation, being only one of the conflicts attributed to the proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This nearly unanimous fear of communist expansion and influence in our world is what empowered Senator McCarthy; as he used the publics emotion to his advantage in his quest for dominance in the federal government.
In 1938, Congress had created the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). (The Second “Red Scare”) The committees ensuing attack on Hollywood saw the creating of infamous “blacklists” which labeled anyone possibly of being “sympathetic to Communism”. (Herman, 220) Investigations performed by McCarthys own committee, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), were notorious for their prying and ruthless demoralization of suspects effectively ruining the lives of most whom were convicted, despite a verdict of innocence. (Doherty) So compelling and powerful were the committees hearings that an engineer, Ray Kaplan, was driven to suicide in the face of accusations against him. (Herman, 222) McCarthys political rampage was characterized by Newsweeks description of the “political scalps dangling from his [McCarthys] belt.” (Cohen, 79)
Relentless and unflinching in his pursuit of dominance over the American political landscape, McCarthy turned his attention to an Army base by the name Fort Monmouth, located in New Jersey. Once his assistant, Ray Cohn, caught wind of a supposed “leak” in security at the Army base, it was only a matter of time before the hungry Senator sought to devour the Armys reputation. Another glitch in security was one too many for McCarthy as he poured both his proven tactics and an ambitious attitude into the investigation. McCarthys PSI produced innumerable subpoenas and harassesed witnesses along with the help of his essential duo of Ray Cohn and David Schine. (Herman, 239) Complimentary to the ongoing investigation at Fort Monmouth was the widely known “fact” that the Soviets had infiltrated military bases and stolen “atomic secrets”. Though there were apparently legitimate reasons for McCarthys accusations against the Army base at Fort Monmouth, another possible, and highly probable, reasoning exists.
On the brisk, sunny morning of October 20th 1953, Senator McCarthy, his assistant Ray Cohn, Secretary of the Army Stevens and other congressmen and Army personnel paid a visit to Fort Monmouth. The primary goal of McCarthys visit had to do with his allegations that a suspected “Communist spy ring” had materialized at the base following the conclusion of WWII. (InfoAge) Fort Monmouth had been the base where Julius Rosenberg had worked prior to his execution for espionage. Questionings of his past co-workers and affiliates failed to reveal any concrete evidence of a spy ring operating out of the base. (InfoAge) As the party toured the base, they were stopped by security as they prepared to enter the Evans radar laboratories. Lacking proper badges for access to the top security buildings, Secretary Stevens made a decision that only elected officials of the U.S. government would be permitted access. This decision excluded an enraged Mr. Cohn, as he later promised to “get the Army for this affront.” (InfoAge) This specific happening, though not ever mentioned during the hearings, certainly may have been a justifiable cause in the eyes of the Senator. Appearing equal to previous investigations by the PSI, the approaching struggle between the United States Army and Senator McCarthy brought forth